DOCTORS NAME TOP 10 HUMANITARIAN CRISES OF 2008

COMMENTARY ARCHIVES, 23 Dec 2008

Michael Astor

Spiralling violence in Somalia, forced civilian displacements in eastern Congo, and neglected medical emergencies in Myanmar and Zimbabwe were among the Top 10 humanitarian crises of 2008, according to an annual list released by Médecins Sans Frontières.

Other crises on the group’s list included: malnutrition, which claims 5 million young lives across the globe each year; HIV-tuberculosis co-infections, killing some 1.7 million people annually; fighting in Pakistan’s tribal areas; the politicisation of aid distribution in Iraq; violence and harsh climatic conditions in southeastern Ethiopia’s Somali region; and the continuing Darfur crisis and civil war in Sudan.

"With the release of this list, we hope to focus much needed attention on the millions of people who are trapped in conflict and war, affected by medical crises, whose immediate and essential health needs are neglected, and whose plight often goes unnoticed," Dr Christophe Fournier, the group’s International Council President, said in a statement.

Paris-based Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known by its English name Doctors Without Borders, began issuing the annual list in 1998 after a devastating famine in southern Sudan went largely unnoticed by the US media. The list seeks to foster greater awareness of crises that may not receive adequate attention in the press.

The humanitarian group said Somalia experienced some of the worst violence in over a decade in 2008, aggravating problems in a country whose collapsed health system means one in 10 women die during childbirth and one in five children die before their fifth
birthday.

In eastern Congo, renewed fighting between the government and various armed groups has sent hundreds of thousands of people scurrying into the jungle, leaving them with little or no access to health care, food, water or shelter, the group said.

Cyclone Nargis, which left an estimated 130,000 people dead or missing, brought an outpouring of international aid to Mynamar, but diseases like Aids, tuberculosis and malaria are all but ignored by the military government even as they claim tens of thousands of lives each year, the group said.

In Zimbabwe, the group cited the economic collapse under long-time President Robert Mugabe. It said the 231 million per cent inflation rate has left many people unable to afford even the bus fare needed to visit a clinic in a country where two million people are infected with HIV/Aids and life expectancy has plummeted to just 34 years.

Humanitarian efforts in Iraq are frustrated by the politicisation of aid distribution by military and political forces, making charitable organisations the targets of violent attacks in a country where some 4 million people have been displaced by war, the report said.

"In some of these places, it is extremely difficult for aid groups to access populations requiring help," Fournier said.

"Where we are able to provide assistance, we have a special responsibility to bear witness and speak out about intolerable suffering and draw attention to basic humanitarian needs."

MSF is a humanitarian organisation providing emergency medical assistance to populations in danger in 70 countries around the world.

GO TO ORIGINAL

Share this article: email mastodon facebook 🔗 copy link

DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Comments are closed.