war relief

An often harrowing account of the men and women who struggle to improve the lives of people in desperate need. The humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders (also known as M?decins Sans Fronti?res or MSF) delivers emergency aid to victims of armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and those who lack reliable health care. Each year, more than 2,500 volunteer doctors, nurses, and other professionals join locally-hired staff to provide medical aid in more than eighty countries. This book follows these volunteers as they risk their health and lives to treat patients in need. It also covers the raucous founding of Doctors Without Borders in 1971 as the first non-governmental organization to both provide emergency medical assistance and publicly bear witness to the plight of the populations they served. In 1999, the organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.--From publisher description.

James Orbinski shares his experiences working as a humanitarian doctor in Peru, Somalia, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Zaire and discusses the political and economic forces behind human suffering.

Describes the experiences of individual medical professionals who work for Doctors Without Borders around the world, including Africa, Asia, and Europe, and explains how Doctors Without Borders was founded, and how the organization has reacted to world events.