Médecins Sans Frontières - Delivery Emergency Medical Aid Globally

This year marks the twenty year anniversary of Médecins Sans Frontières Australia. From our humble beginnings in 1994, to our enormous response to the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, or our current work in Ebola stricken West Africa, we have delivered emergency medical aid to those most in need. 
Twenty years ago we witnessed the shocking events in Rwanda, where more than 800,000 people were killed. Médecins Sans Frontières felt compelled to call for armed intervention in the face of these mass crimes, denouncing publically that “you cannot stop genocide with doctors”.
A few years later, Médecins Sans Frontières reached another defining moment when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The judges chose Médecins Sans Frontières “in recognition of the organisation’s pioneering humanitarian work on several continents”. But we do more than provide medical care, we also speak on behalf of the people we treat and act to expose injustice.
The Nobel Peace Prize offered such an opportunity. During his acceptance speech, Dr James Orbinski, the International President of Médecins Sans Frontières, condemned Russian violence against civilians in Chechnya, saying “We are not sure that words can always save lives, but we know that silence can certainly kill.”
[caption id="attachment_11065" align="aligncenter" width="691"] An Australian Medicins San Frontieres doctor in the Domeez refugee camp, Iraq. Copyright MSF[/caption]
Fifteen years later, as we work in Liberia, Syria and South Sudan, this statement remains as relevant now as it did then.
This past year has been punctuated by numerous acute crises that have left entire communities vulnerable, with little skilled medical help. In some cases, external assistance was their only lifeline and yet Médecins Sans Frontières often found itself alone tackling not just their medical but also their other humanitarian needs.
Our work has at times felt like an uphill struggle. Yet despite the challenges, and sheer number of people caught in crises this past year our teams delivered medical care to more than eight million people in their hour of need.
Hundreds of Australians and New Zealanders have responded to their plight with direct care on the ground. They are the doctors, nurses, administrators, field coordinators, epidemiologists and mental health professionals.
From our maternity hospital in Afghanistan, to the surgery and maternity care we provide at Aweil hospital in South Sudan, to supporting the two main public hospitals of Gaza, our field workers are currently on assignment all around the world.
Quite often I get asked what does it take to go into the field with Médecins Sans Frontières? Everyone’s motivations are different but there are some commonalities– perhaps the most notable being a desire to assist people who need help.
Other motivations include a genuine interest in people from other cultures, an ability to share knowledge, experience and skills with others, and an interest to challenge yourself professionally, personally and culturally.
As Médecins Sans Frontières surgeon John Swinnen puts it: “I had always wanted to do humanitarian work using my skills as a doctor and surgeon. Médecins Sans Frontières was an opportunity to bring together my skills as a surgeon and patients with curable illnesses in need of treatment.”
[caption id="attachment_11066" align="aligncenter" width="691"] Robin Sands working in Liberia[/caption]
Working with Médecins Sans Frontières is not your average job. It’s about more than qualifications and professional experience. Your motivation to help people in need will help keep you enthusiastic when you’re exhausted. Your commitment to our principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence will help keep you safe in areas of instability. Your appreciation for cultural nuances different to your own will help keep you learning and growing wherever you might be working. As Médecins Sans Frontières Operating Theatre Nurse Ursula Alwash puts it: “You also need to be culturally sensitive and have the insight that it is not about us, but about the people we support”.
We are always looking for skilled people who are motivated to work within an international team and dedicate their time to support our medical humanitarian work around the world. We particularly need surgeons, anaesthetists, midwives, doctors with experiences in TB or HIV, obstetricians/ gynaecologists, nurses and doctors with paediatric experiences and human resources and finance and administration professionals.  Female medical professionals, particularly obstetricians/gynaecologists and anaesthetists, are highly sought after, due to the religious and cultural contexts we work within in some locations.
More than half our projects are in contexts of conflict or instability. People may be directly wounded, or indirectly affected through lack of access to a functioning  healthcare facility. Working in areas of instability can be highly stressful and requires a lot of flexibility and adaptability.
Staff security is always a priority for us. Security briefings and protocols are constantly being reviewed and applied  to manage and mitigate risks for international and national field staff and our patients. These are an essential part of every project.
While working in the field, safety regulations may restrict your freedom, movement or your ability to interact with local populations, even outside of working hours.
[caption id="attachment_11067" align="aligncenter" width="691"] A Medicins Sans Frontieres field worker in Central African Republic. Copyright: Tom Koene[/caption]
I’m often asked what field life is like. Some projects such as large HIV/TB programs, and ongoing mother and child health programs, have been operating for years and are very well established. This means you might have a hot shower, a variety of foods, and perhaps the freedom to go for a run after work. Other projects have been set up in an emergency response to a flood, a famine, a conflict, or an outbreak.  So there is also every chance you could have bucket showers, drop toilets, eat beans and rice every day, or be living in a compound, with no access to the outside world other than the hospital. There could be any combination of the above or anything in between, and no two projects will ever be the same.
Our international teams are made up of a variety of medical and nonmedical professionals, from a range of countries. In the field you’re working together and living together, often under fairly stressful conditions, so it’s incredibly important to be a good team player.
Where a fieldworker is placed is driven by the needs of the field. The project you go to is the one that most needs your particular skills and experiences. For example, the skills of an emergency doctor will be much more useful in a conflict setting than in a HIV/TB project. But No matter where and what work you do in the field, you will have the opportunity to develop your professional and personal capacities in ways which you would not have imagined. Time and again we hear from our fieldworkers that their experience with Médecins Sans Frontières helps make them better medical professionals - no matter what their area of expertise might be.
As one of our midwives, Janine Issa says:
“Working with Médecins Sans Frontières will change your life and outlook in so many ways. You will meet extraordinary people and you will have extraordinary experiences. It will challenge you and make you question yourself and your values. But it will also reward you unexpectedly.”

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Robin Sands

Field Human Resources Manager - Médecins Sans Frontières Australia
An electrical and communications engineer, Robin Sands joined Médecins Sans Frontières in 2005 as a logistician. His experience ranges from the refugee camps of Liberia, to managing the projects in Darfur to coordinating two million tons of food supplies in Niger for the largest malnutrition program at the time. Robin also worked as Human Resources officer in the Paris Headquarters on two occasions, first at the program manager for Palestine, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Colombia, and second at the program manager for Sudan, Kenya and Georgia. Robin is now the Head of Field Human Resources for Médecins Sans Frontières Australia.

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About Médecins Sans Frontières

Médecins Sans Frontières is an international, independent medical humanitarian organisation that was founded in France in 1971. The organisation delivers emergency medical aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, exclusion from healthcare and natural disasters. Assistance is provided based on need irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation. When Médecins Sans Frontières witnesses serious acts of violence, neglected crises, or obstructions to its activities, it will not be silenced.
Today Médecins Sans Frontières is a worldwide movement with 23 offices, including one in Australia. Médecins Sans Frontières field staff include doctors, nurses, administrators, epidemiologists, laboratory technicians, mental health professionals, logistics and water and sanitation experts. Each year around 2,500 international personnel contribute to a global team of close to 30,000 Médecins Sans Frontières field staff providing emergency medical care in more than 60 countries.. In 2013, 184 field positions were held by Australians and New Zealanders.
Australian and New Zealander field staff are currently on assignment in Afghanistan; Cambodia; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Ethiopia; India; Iraq; Jordan; Kenya; Lebanon; Liberia; Malawi; Myanmar; Nigeria; Pakistan; Palestinian Occupied Territories; Papua New Guinea; Russian Federation; Sierra Leone; South Africa; South Sudan; Swaziland; Syria; Uganda; Uzbekistan; Yemen and Zimbabwe.