Quote
February 15, 2012
“A final curious twist in this story is the professional background of President Assad. He is an ophthalmologist, a doctor bound by the same professional oath as the rest of us. He has broken his contract with society and betrayed his medical colleagues. Perhaps we should all send a letter of complaint.”

—

Dr. Greg Elder


Dr. Greg Elder,

MSF dept. director of operations, in a blog he wrote for the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on the humanitarian principles and medical ethics that have become another silent casualty of the conflict in Syria.

Check out more about the situation in Syria.

(via doctorswithoutborders)

(via darksilenceinsuburbia)

Video
February 08, 2012

doctorswithoutborders:

“They shoot randomly and indiscriminately on all people, whether it’s an old man, a child, or a woman. Any moving person was a target.”

The Syrian regime is conducting a campaign of unrelenting repression against people wounded in demonstrations and the medical workers trying to treat them. Testimonies from injured people and doctors from across Syria were collected by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff between January 30 and February 6, 2012.

MSF is not authorized to operate inside Syria at present and thus is unable to fully verify the information collected here. However, given the recurring nature, consistency, and severity of the acts described in these testimonies, MSF has decided to make them public.

For security reasons, names and locations have been withheld.

(via darksilenceinsuburbia)

Quote
January 25, 2012
“I have worked with HIV-positive patients in many countries in central and southern Africa, but what I’m seeing in the Democratic Republic of Congo has not existed elsewhere for years. The situation here reminds me of the time before any antiretroviral (ARV) treatment was available. Our doctors face serious complications every day that could be prevented if patients received early ARV treatment.”

—

Anja De Weggheleire, MSF’s medical coordinator in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the vast majority of people living with the AIDS virus are deprived of lifesaving treatment due to a withdrawal of international donor support and the lack of national prioritization of the crisis. (via doctorswithoutborders)

“‘If nothing is done, it is highly likely that the 15,000 people currently on the waiting list and in urgent need of ARV drugs will be dead within three years,’ said De Weggheleire.”

Reblog, guys!  Spread the word.

(via darksilenceinsuburbia)

Quote
March 15, 2011
“

Right now the people of Japan are in crisis, their resources are stretched thin, and they need our help. Many organizations are already on the ground providing relief, including Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross. You can provide immediate assistance by donating to help fund the emergency response:

* Doctors Without Borders is sending highly trained teams of doctors into the hardest-hit and most difficult-to-reach regions of Japan. (Note: Doctors Without Borders is not accepting contributions “earmarked” for Japan, but rather drawing from general support to enable their important response work there.) Donate here:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206962&id=26514-9211807-vsEnt5x&t=1

* The Red Cross operates 92 hospitals in Japan and has deployed 700 medical relief volunteers across the country already. Donate here:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206960&id=26514-9211807-vsEnt5x&t=2

Thanks for all you do.

”

— From my Moveon.org newsletter

(Source: mail.google.com)