Didier Fassin
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520271166
- eISBN:
- 9780520950481
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520271166.003.0010
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This chapter discusses how within the arena of humanitarianism itself, hierarchies of humanity are passively established where the expatriate aid workers are provided with due protection whereas the ...
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This chapter discusses how within the arena of humanitarianism itself, hierarchies of humanity are passively established where the expatriate aid workers are provided with due protection whereas the aid workers from the recipient society are paradoxically excluded from this protection. It discusses the decision of the French chapter of Médecins Sans Frontières' to remain in Baghdad during the onset of Iraq War which finally exposed the politics of life in humanitarian actions. By exposing themselves to danger during the bombings, the French team raised the question of the equality of lives in a concrete and immediate way to show that life is equally vulnerable for the Iraqis and for the humanitarian agents assisting them. Similarly the military forces that intervene in international conflicts in the name either of country or of higher concerns also do not reject the idea and sentiment of humanity in principle, however, their practice of according value to lives calls it into question.Less
This chapter discusses how within the arena of humanitarianism itself, hierarchies of humanity are passively established where the expatriate aid workers are provided with due protection whereas the aid workers from the recipient society are paradoxically excluded from this protection. It discusses the decision of the French chapter of Médecins Sans Frontières' to remain in Baghdad during the onset of Iraq War which finally exposed the politics of life in humanitarian actions. By exposing themselves to danger during the bombings, the French team raised the question of the equality of lives in a concrete and immediate way to show that life is equally vulnerable for the Iraqis and for the humanitarian agents assisting them. Similarly the military forces that intervene in international conflicts in the name either of country or of higher concerns also do not reject the idea and sentiment of humanity in principle, however, their practice of according value to lives calls it into question.
Annette Rid and Annick Antierens
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190624477
- eISBN:
- 9780190624507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190624477.003.0008
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
In 2014, the world began to witness an unprecedented Ebola epidemic in West Africa that is now smoldering. Ebola had a fatality rate of 40% to 60% in this epidemic due to a lack of adequate health ...
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In 2014, the world began to witness an unprecedented Ebola epidemic in West Africa that is now smoldering. Ebola had a fatality rate of 40% to 60% in this epidemic due to a lack of adequate health infrastructure and overwhelmed aid organizations at the height of the outbreak. These grim prospects quickly prompted proposals to use experimental treatments and vaccines for Ebola that were in the earliest phases of development at the time. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) played a key role in the rapid launch of clinical trials of the available experimental interventions. This chapter traces how MSF negotiated the trials under challenging circumstances, focusing on trials of experimental treatments. It provides a detailed account of the difficult tradeoffs MSF faced and shows how the organization’s values and beliefs shaped key decisions about research priority setting and clinical trial design.Less
In 2014, the world began to witness an unprecedented Ebola epidemic in West Africa that is now smoldering. Ebola had a fatality rate of 40% to 60% in this epidemic due to a lack of adequate health infrastructure and overwhelmed aid organizations at the height of the outbreak. These grim prospects quickly prompted proposals to use experimental treatments and vaccines for Ebola that were in the earliest phases of development at the time. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) played a key role in the rapid launch of clinical trials of the available experimental interventions. This chapter traces how MSF negotiated the trials under challenging circumstances, focusing on trials of experimental treatments. It provides a detailed account of the difficult tradeoffs MSF faced and shows how the organization’s values and beliefs shaped key decisions about research priority setting and clinical trial design.
Didier Fassin
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520271166
- eISBN:
- 9780520950481
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520271166.003.0009
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This chapter presents a study on Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde assistance programs in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to analyze the transformation of the status of witnesses in ...
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This chapter presents a study on Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde assistance programs in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to analyze the transformation of the status of witnesses in humanitarianism. Humanitarian workers, on the basis of a moral imperative, are increasingly taking on the role of witness for those they assist and thus end up as spokespeople for the oppressed in order to make their suffering public. The process of humanitarian subjectivation has found psychiatry a key tool for giving form to the experience of victims of war, disaster, and famine. The presence of mental health specialists in Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde in their Palestinain missions where the health services are fairly equipped indicates their aim to expose the consequences of a humanitarian crisis. The massive overrepresentation of young men among the Palestinians who fought and died during the Second Intifada and the prevalence of enuresis in them is also discussed.Less
This chapter presents a study on Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde assistance programs in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to analyze the transformation of the status of witnesses in humanitarianism. Humanitarian workers, on the basis of a moral imperative, are increasingly taking on the role of witness for those they assist and thus end up as spokespeople for the oppressed in order to make their suffering public. The process of humanitarian subjectivation has found psychiatry a key tool for giving form to the experience of victims of war, disaster, and famine. The presence of mental health specialists in Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde in their Palestinain missions where the health services are fairly equipped indicates their aim to expose the consequences of a humanitarian crisis. The massive overrepresentation of young men among the Palestinians who fought and died during the Second Intifada and the prevalence of enuresis in them is also discussed.
Ticktin Miriam
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520269040
- eISBN:
- 9780520950535
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520269040.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This chapter traces the genealogy of one critical transnational regime of care—what has been called the “new humanitarianism,” referring to the movement of sans-frontière-isme that started with ...
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This chapter traces the genealogy of one critical transnational regime of care—what has been called the “new humanitarianism,” referring to the movement of sans-frontière-isme that started with Médecins sans Frontières in 1971. The chapter suggests that, in practice, this shift to the moral imperative occurs through a conflation of the social, the political, and the medical: for instance, illness becomes one of the primary ways not only to render visible but to experience forms of alienation, isolation, malaise, inequality, hardship, violence, or disability. It also explores the increasing emphasis on doing politics through regimes of care by discussing two movements born about twenty years apart, but brought into the world by many of the same actors: Médecins sans Frontières and SAMU Social, the social emergency service.Less
This chapter traces the genealogy of one critical transnational regime of care—what has been called the “new humanitarianism,” referring to the movement of sans-frontière-isme that started with Médecins sans Frontières in 1971. The chapter suggests that, in practice, this shift to the moral imperative occurs through a conflation of the social, the political, and the medical: for instance, illness becomes one of the primary ways not only to render visible but to experience forms of alienation, isolation, malaise, inequality, hardship, violence, or disability. It also explores the increasing emphasis on doing politics through regimes of care by discussing two movements born about twenty years apart, but brought into the world by many of the same actors: Médecins sans Frontières and SAMU Social, the social emergency service.
Peter Redfield
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231156851
- eISBN:
- 9780231504683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231156851.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter considers the degree to which secular organization finds a “sacred purpose” through seeking to preserve human existence. The key example for this study is the humanitarian association ...
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This chapter considers the degree to which secular organization finds a “sacred purpose” through seeking to preserve human existence. The key example for this study is the humanitarian association Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The MSF is a secular organization—a group operating without mandate, and maintains complete independence from all political, economic, or religious powers—that conducts emergency response operations and provides AIDS medication. Beyond regularly deploying calls to “save lives,” the group offers the nominal advantage of combining an assertive faith in medical care. The organization also reflects a biopolitical expectation that states should attend to the health of their populations. However, their vision exceeds questions of governance—whereas a state might display the capacity to “make live” or “let die,” MSF members can never legitimately reject a suffering person.Less
This chapter considers the degree to which secular organization finds a “sacred purpose” through seeking to preserve human existence. The key example for this study is the humanitarian association Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The MSF is a secular organization—a group operating without mandate, and maintains complete independence from all political, economic, or religious powers—that conducts emergency response operations and provides AIDS medication. Beyond regularly deploying calls to “save lives,” the group offers the nominal advantage of combining an assertive faith in medical care. The organization also reflects a biopolitical expectation that states should attend to the health of their populations. However, their vision exceeds questions of governance—whereas a state might display the capacity to “make live” or “let die,” MSF members can never legitimately reject a suffering person.
João Nunes
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190624477
- eISBN:
- 9780190624507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190624477.003.0001
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
The contemporary security environment presents a challenge for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). It exacerbates a tension that has shaped this organization since its inception, ...
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The contemporary security environment presents a challenge for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). It exacerbates a tension that has shaped this organization since its inception, between its role as a humanitarian action and emergency response organization and its advocacy for global health justice. The 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in West Africa underscored this tension. This security landscape also offers an opportunity to move forward. The chapter argues that MSF should embrace its security actorness without reservations, embedding its emergency response role within a conception of health security that looks toward the alleviation of harm and vulnerability. MSF can also move forward by acknowledging the broad transformative potentialities of health interventions. MSF should revisit its approach to borderlessness in a global health arena that is still strongly determined by multiple borders, not just territorial divisions but also inequalities based on gender, race, class, and sexual orientation.Less
The contemporary security environment presents a challenge for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). It exacerbates a tension that has shaped this organization since its inception, between its role as a humanitarian action and emergency response organization and its advocacy for global health justice. The 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in West Africa underscored this tension. This security landscape also offers an opportunity to move forward. The chapter argues that MSF should embrace its security actorness without reservations, embedding its emergency response role within a conception of health security that looks toward the alleviation of harm and vulnerability. MSF can also move forward by acknowledging the broad transformative potentialities of health interventions. MSF should revisit its approach to borderlessness in a global health arena that is still strongly determined by multiple borders, not just territorial divisions but also inequalities based on gender, race, class, and sexual orientation.
Michiel Hofman and Sokhieng Au (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190624477
- eISBN:
- 9780190624507
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190624477.001.0001
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
Although Ebola and similar hemorrhagic fevers have occurred in the past, both the numbers and geographic spread of the 2014-15 West African Ebola epidemic were unprecedented. Ebola and the associated ...
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Although Ebola and similar hemorrhagic fevers have occurred in the past, both the numbers and geographic spread of the 2014-15 West African Ebola epidemic were unprecedented. Ebola and the associated risks drove an improvised, sometimes ineffective, response from political and medical authorities. Fear, rather than rational planning, drove many decisions made at population and leadership levels. Institutions, practices, economies, and governments were all deeply affected by the demands engendered by this emergency. Ultimately, the epidemic revealed serious fault lines at all levels in the theories and practices of global public health. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), as the major provider of medical care to the afflicted, was deeply entangled in many of these issues. From difficult choices made for the care of individual patients to the impact of Ebola on entire health systems, the common thread in each chapter is how fear influenced the political and medical response. Using materials from the MSF archives, this book explores this theme in ten chapters and four eyewitness vignettes. The book examines the epidemic from the perspectives of a wide range of actors from distinct sectors, including a bioethicist, a political scientist, a historian, clinical doctors, policymakers, and anthropologists.Less
Although Ebola and similar hemorrhagic fevers have occurred in the past, both the numbers and geographic spread of the 2014-15 West African Ebola epidemic were unprecedented. Ebola and the associated risks drove an improvised, sometimes ineffective, response from political and medical authorities. Fear, rather than rational planning, drove many decisions made at population and leadership levels. Institutions, practices, economies, and governments were all deeply affected by the demands engendered by this emergency. Ultimately, the epidemic revealed serious fault lines at all levels in the theories and practices of global public health. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), as the major provider of medical care to the afflicted, was deeply entangled in many of these issues. From difficult choices made for the care of individual patients to the impact of Ebola on entire health systems, the common thread in each chapter is how fear influenced the political and medical response. Using materials from the MSF archives, this book explores this theme in ten chapters and four eyewitness vignettes. The book examines the epidemic from the perspectives of a wide range of actors from distinct sectors, including a bioethicist, a political scientist, a historian, clinical doctors, policymakers, and anthropologists.
Armand Sprecher
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190624477
- eISBN:
- 9780190624507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190624477.003.0010
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF)’s prior engagements with the Ebola epidemic elsewhere in West Africa prevented it from mounting a robust response to the outbreak in Monrovia, ...
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Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF)’s prior engagements with the Ebola epidemic elsewhere in West Africa prevented it from mounting a robust response to the outbreak in Monrovia, Liberia, in July and August 2014. Unfortunately, this would be the time and place where the West African outbreak would undergo its most dramatic explosive growth. Faced with great suffering and mounting need for care, the MSF team in Monrovia decided to open an Ebola treatment unit, ELWA 3, despite their being woefully understaffed. This forced the team to make difficult compromises in the care it provided. These tradeoffs became the source of much controversy and debates over medical ethics and healthcare rationing, both within MSF and in the public sphere.Less
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF)’s prior engagements with the Ebola epidemic elsewhere in West Africa prevented it from mounting a robust response to the outbreak in Monrovia, Liberia, in July and August 2014. Unfortunately, this would be the time and place where the West African outbreak would undergo its most dramatic explosive growth. Faced with great suffering and mounting need for care, the MSF team in Monrovia decided to open an Ebola treatment unit, ELWA 3, despite their being woefully understaffed. This forced the team to make difficult compromises in the care it provided. These tradeoffs became the source of much controversy and debates over medical ethics and healthcare rationing, both within MSF and in the public sphere.
Heather Pagano and Marc Poncin
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- October 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190604882
- eISBN:
- 9780190604912
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190604882.003.0002
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Epidemiology, Public Health
In chapter 2, Heather Pagano and Marc Poncin detail, from the perspective of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières), the unique features of the outbreak that made past approaches to ...
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In chapter 2, Heather Pagano and Marc Poncin detail, from the perspective of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières), the unique features of the outbreak that made past approaches to filovirus-infection emergencies inadequate, as well as the core reasons the global response preliminarily failed. The chapter describes how the dispersal of small numbers of cases over a wide geographical area multiplied the human resources, logistics, and laboratory capacity required in each individual location to bring the epidemic under control while also presenting communication and coordination difficulties between MSF, healthcare workers, UNICEF, WHO, and the US CDC. It analyzes WHO leadership, including poor logistical presence and politicized decision-making. The chapter highlights the critical gaps in the formal national and international system for responding to serious infectious disease threats and the process by which those gaps may be filled by nongovernmental organizations.Less
In chapter 2, Heather Pagano and Marc Poncin detail, from the perspective of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières), the unique features of the outbreak that made past approaches to filovirus-infection emergencies inadequate, as well as the core reasons the global response preliminarily failed. The chapter describes how the dispersal of small numbers of cases over a wide geographical area multiplied the human resources, logistics, and laboratory capacity required in each individual location to bring the epidemic under control while also presenting communication and coordination difficulties between MSF, healthcare workers, UNICEF, WHO, and the US CDC. It analyzes WHO leadership, including poor logistical presence and politicized decision-making. The chapter highlights the critical gaps in the formal national and international system for responding to serious infectious disease threats and the process by which those gaps may be filled by nongovernmental organizations.
Jennifer C. Rubenstein
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199684106
- eISBN:
- 9780191764660
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199684106.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory, International Relations and Politics
In making large-scale decisions about resource use, how much weight should INGOs put on considerations of cost-effectiveness? Chapter 6 examines three answers to this question: the principle of “aid ...
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In making large-scale decisions about resource use, how much weight should INGOs put on considerations of cost-effectiveness? Chapter 6 examines three answers to this question: the principle of “aid based on need alone,” the “harm minimization” principle, and the “ethics of refusal.” It argues that all three of these approaches fall short. Among other things, they all fail to acknowledge the cost-effectiveness conundrum. They therefore do not direct INGOs to develop the kind of political judgment that is necessary to navigate this conundrum effectively. Drawing on the example of Médecins sans Frontière’s response to an Ebola epidemic in Northern Uganda, the chapter introduces an appropriate type of political judgment for this purpose, the “ethics of resistance.”Less
In making large-scale decisions about resource use, how much weight should INGOs put on considerations of cost-effectiveness? Chapter 6 examines three answers to this question: the principle of “aid based on need alone,” the “harm minimization” principle, and the “ethics of refusal.” It argues that all three of these approaches fall short. Among other things, they all fail to acknowledge the cost-effectiveness conundrum. They therefore do not direct INGOs to develop the kind of political judgment that is necessary to navigate this conundrum effectively. Drawing on the example of Médecins sans Frontière’s response to an Ebola epidemic in Northern Uganda, the chapter introduces an appropriate type of political judgment for this purpose, the “ethics of resistance.”
Peter Redfield
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262515788
- eISBN:
- 9780262295710
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262515788.003.0011
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
The two World Wars and the Cold War resulted in mass destruction across the globe and subsequent episodes of humanitarian crisis. This chapter explores the growth of the infrastructure to respond to ...
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The two World Wars and the Cold War resulted in mass destruction across the globe and subsequent episodes of humanitarian crisis. This chapter explores the growth of the infrastructure to respond to humanitarian crisis following the the Wars and the Cold War. It examines the role of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or “Doctors without Borders,” formed in 1971 in Paris, to provide rapid emergency response in human tragedy by way of mobile medical supplies and hospital care and the technopolitics of emergency. MSF has helped thousands of wounded victims in Bangladesh and Cambodia. They provide excellent healthcare and emergency care all over the world, which constitutes an effort to clean up the grim aftermath of the Cold War.Less
The two World Wars and the Cold War resulted in mass destruction across the globe and subsequent episodes of humanitarian crisis. This chapter explores the growth of the infrastructure to respond to humanitarian crisis following the the Wars and the Cold War. It examines the role of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or “Doctors without Borders,” formed in 1971 in Paris, to provide rapid emergency response in human tragedy by way of mobile medical supplies and hospital care and the technopolitics of emergency. MSF has helped thousands of wounded victims in Bangladesh and Cambodia. They provide excellent healthcare and emergency care all over the world, which constitutes an effort to clean up the grim aftermath of the Cold War.
Caroline Abu Sa’Da
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520286931
- eISBN:
- 9780520961982
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520286931.003.0018
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter examines how the Syrian crisis has exposed the limitations of mixing political and humanitarian activities and its damaging impact on the delivery of much-needed assistance to Syrian ...
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This chapter examines how the Syrian crisis has exposed the limitations of mixing political and humanitarian activities and its damaging impact on the delivery of much-needed assistance to Syrian civilians. Some actors, such as United Nations and some of its agencies, have faced challenges in their ability to provide aid to people on the ground because their political mandate has largely overruled the humanitarian imperative. Other actors, such as Médecins Sans Frontières (or Doctors without Borders; MSF), are compelled to challenge this political frame, even if they face huge difficulties in delivering humanitarian aid in an impartial and independent manner. The chapter considers how the Middle East challenges conventional actors—in particular MSF and the UN—over the limits of their mandates and/or actions. It presents case studies to demonstrate how these limits have influenced the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Syria.Less
This chapter examines how the Syrian crisis has exposed the limitations of mixing political and humanitarian activities and its damaging impact on the delivery of much-needed assistance to Syrian civilians. Some actors, such as United Nations and some of its agencies, have faced challenges in their ability to provide aid to people on the ground because their political mandate has largely overruled the humanitarian imperative. Other actors, such as Médecins Sans Frontières (or Doctors without Borders; MSF), are compelled to challenge this political frame, even if they face huge difficulties in delivering humanitarian aid in an impartial and independent manner. The chapter considers how the Middle East challenges conventional actors—in particular MSF and the UN—over the limits of their mandates and/or actions. It presents case studies to demonstrate how these limits have influenced the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Syria.
Sarah S. Stroup
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450730
- eISBN:
- 9780801464256
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450730.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This introductory chapter presents three prominent nongoverment organizations—Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (Oxfam International), and Cooperative for Assistance ...
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This introductory chapter presents three prominent nongoverment organizations—Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (Oxfam International), and Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE)—that convened a donor conference to discuss Haiti's reconstruction and development after the nation was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. These three charitable groups had decades of experience in Haiti and all faced the same situations, but throughout the year following the earthquake, each organization focused on distinct aspects of the crisis and used different tactics to make their point. In relation to this case, the book details the organizational life at many of the world's leading international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) in order to understand the causes and consequences of this variation in organizational practices.Less
This introductory chapter presents three prominent nongoverment organizations—Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (Oxfam International), and Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE)—that convened a donor conference to discuss Haiti's reconstruction and development after the nation was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. These three charitable groups had decades of experience in Haiti and all faced the same situations, but throughout the year following the earthquake, each organization focused on distinct aspects of the crisis and used different tactics to make their point. In relation to this case, the book details the organizational life at many of the world's leading international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) in order to understand the causes and consequences of this variation in organizational practices.
Wendy H. Wong
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450792
- eISBN:
- 9780801466069
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450792.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Why are some international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) more politically salient than others, and why are some NGOs better able to influence the norms of human rights? This book shows how the ...
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Why are some international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) more politically salient than others, and why are some NGOs better able to influence the norms of human rights? This book shows how the organizational structures of human rights NGOs and their campaigns determine their influence on policy. Drawing on data from seven major international organizations—the International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Médecins sans Frontières, Oxfam International, Anti-Slavery International, and the International League of Human Rights—the book demonstrates that NGOs that choose to centralize agenda-setting and decentralize the implementation of that agenda are more successful in gaining traction in international politics. Challenging the conventional wisdom that the most successful NGOs are those that find the “right” cause or have the most resources, the book shows that how NGOs make and implement decisions is critical to their effectiveness in influencing international norms about human rights. Building on the insights of network theory and organizational sociology, the book traces how power works within NGOs and affects their external authority. The internal coherence of an organization, as reflected in its public statements and actions, goes a long way to assure its influence over the often tumultuous elements of the international human rights landscape.Less
Why are some international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) more politically salient than others, and why are some NGOs better able to influence the norms of human rights? This book shows how the organizational structures of human rights NGOs and their campaigns determine their influence on policy. Drawing on data from seven major international organizations—the International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Médecins sans Frontières, Oxfam International, Anti-Slavery International, and the International League of Human Rights—the book demonstrates that NGOs that choose to centralize agenda-setting and decentralize the implementation of that agenda are more successful in gaining traction in international politics. Challenging the conventional wisdom that the most successful NGOs are those that find the “right” cause or have the most resources, the book shows that how NGOs make and implement decisions is critical to their effectiveness in influencing international norms about human rights. Building on the insights of network theory and organizational sociology, the book traces how power works within NGOs and affects their external authority. The internal coherence of an organization, as reflected in its public statements and actions, goes a long way to assure its influence over the often tumultuous elements of the international human rights landscape.
Gabrielle Hecht (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262515788
- eISBN:
- 9780262295710
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262515788.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
The Cold War was not simply a stand-off between the two superpowers. Its theaters were not just in Washington and in Moscow, but also in the social, economic, political, and cultural arenas of ...
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The Cold War was not simply a stand-off between the two superpowers. Its theaters were not just in Washington and in Moscow, but also in the social, economic, political, and cultural arenas of geographically far-flung countries emerging from colonial rule. Moreover, tensions surrounding the Cold War were manifest not only in global political disputes but also in the struggles over technology. Technological systems and expertise offered a powerful tool to shape countries—politically, economically, socially, and culturally. This book explores how Cold War politics, imperialism, and postcolonial nation building became enmeshed in technologies and considers the legacies of those entanglements for today’s new global order. It addresses such topics as the the taking over of islands and atolls for military and technological purposes by the supposedly non-imperial United States, efforts to achieve international legitimacy as a nuclear nation by South Africa during apartheid, international technoscientific assistance and Cold War politics, the Saudi irrigation system that spurred a Shi’i rebellion, and the “technopolitics” of emergency as signified by the portable medical kits used by Medecins sans Frontières in the killing fields of the Cold War. The contributors—coming from such diverse fields of study as anthropology, the history of development, diplomatic history, international history, imperial history, and science and technology studies (STS)—chart the course of these historical and geographical entanglements with technology during the Cold War.Less
The Cold War was not simply a stand-off between the two superpowers. Its theaters were not just in Washington and in Moscow, but also in the social, economic, political, and cultural arenas of geographically far-flung countries emerging from colonial rule. Moreover, tensions surrounding the Cold War were manifest not only in global political disputes but also in the struggles over technology. Technological systems and expertise offered a powerful tool to shape countries—politically, economically, socially, and culturally. This book explores how Cold War politics, imperialism, and postcolonial nation building became enmeshed in technologies and considers the legacies of those entanglements for today’s new global order. It addresses such topics as the the taking over of islands and atolls for military and technological purposes by the supposedly non-imperial United States, efforts to achieve international legitimacy as a nuclear nation by South Africa during apartheid, international technoscientific assistance and Cold War politics, the Saudi irrigation system that spurred a Shi’i rebellion, and the “technopolitics” of emergency as signified by the portable medical kits used by Medecins sans Frontières in the killing fields of the Cold War. The contributors—coming from such diverse fields of study as anthropology, the history of development, diplomatic history, international history, imperial history, and science and technology studies (STS)—chart the course of these historical and geographical entanglements with technology during the Cold War.
Adia Benton
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190624477
- eISBN:
- 9780190624507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190624477.003.0002
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
In early September 2014, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) urged governments to send military personnel and assets to respond to the Ebola crisis in West Africa. MSF emphasized ...
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In early September 2014, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) urged governments to send military personnel and assets to respond to the Ebola crisis in West Africa. MSF emphasized that the military’s medical assets could be effectively separated from the military’s association with force and coercion to improve the quality and extent of care. However, foreign troops’ zero-casualty approach, in which little clinical care was provided, and domestic military–civilian conflicts, which arose during military-led containment efforts, suggested otherwise. Drawing on a review of images, key program documents, and news accounts, this chapter addresses the stakes and pitfalls of trying to separate military logics from military logistics. It focuses on what happened as foreign militaries largely organized their work around logics that prioritized the “rescue” of foreigners and risk avoidance, and as domestic militaries, at least nominally, secured state interests by threatening violence against vulnerable citizens.Less
In early September 2014, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) urged governments to send military personnel and assets to respond to the Ebola crisis in West Africa. MSF emphasized that the military’s medical assets could be effectively separated from the military’s association with force and coercion to improve the quality and extent of care. However, foreign troops’ zero-casualty approach, in which little clinical care was provided, and domestic military–civilian conflicts, which arose during military-led containment efforts, suggested otherwise. Drawing on a review of images, key program documents, and news accounts, this chapter addresses the stakes and pitfalls of trying to separate military logics from military logistics. It focuses on what happened as foreign militaries largely organized their work around logics that prioritized the “rescue” of foreigners and risk avoidance, and as domestic militaries, at least nominally, secured state interests by threatening violence against vulnerable citizens.
Lindis Hurum
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190624477
- eISBN:
- 9780190624507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190624477.003.0003
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
When several small disasters occurred in rapid succession during the larger unfolding disaster of the Ebola epidemic in Liberia, the fight against Ebola seemed increasingly hopeless. This vignette ...
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When several small disasters occurred in rapid succession during the larger unfolding disaster of the Ebola epidemic in Liberia, the fight against Ebola seemed increasingly hopeless. This vignette recounts just such a moment. In late July 2014, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) staff had to decide whether to remain on the ground after Samaritan’s Purse, the only other international nongovernmental organization working with them in providing care for Ebola patients, withdrew from the country after a healthcare worker became infected. At the same moment, violence against healthcare workers in the Ebola response was rising, as was the number of dying and dead. Ultimately, the choice to stay in the face of an impending human catastrophe did not derive from organizational logic or medical planning, but was based on a spur-of-the-moment choice driven by a sense of solidarity and commitment.Less
When several small disasters occurred in rapid succession during the larger unfolding disaster of the Ebola epidemic in Liberia, the fight against Ebola seemed increasingly hopeless. This vignette recounts just such a moment. In late July 2014, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) staff had to decide whether to remain on the ground after Samaritan’s Purse, the only other international nongovernmental organization working with them in providing care for Ebola patients, withdrew from the country after a healthcare worker became infected. At the same moment, violence against healthcare workers in the Ebola response was rising, as was the number of dying and dead. Ultimately, the choice to stay in the face of an impending human catastrophe did not derive from organizational logic or medical planning, but was based on a spur-of-the-moment choice driven by a sense of solidarity and commitment.
Tim O’Dempsey
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190624477
- eISBN:
- 9780190624507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190624477.003.0009
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
On July 29, 2014, Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan, Sierra Leone’s leading expert on viral hemorrhagic fevers, died of Ebola virus disease in the Ebola treatment center in Kailahun run by Doctors Without ...
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On July 29, 2014, Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan, Sierra Leone’s leading expert on viral hemorrhagic fevers, died of Ebola virus disease in the Ebola treatment center in Kailahun run by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). From the day he learned he had tested positive for Ebola until the day he died, Dr. Khan became the focal point of urgent discussion and debate on medical ethics. These discussions included the proper use of experimental therapeutic agents during an unprecedented epidemic and policies and preparedness for international medical evacuation. Healthcare workers debated ethical points such as whether they should prioritize the greater common good over the interests of an individual. They agonized over whether they could justify placing the value of the life of one person above that of another.Less
On July 29, 2014, Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan, Sierra Leone’s leading expert on viral hemorrhagic fevers, died of Ebola virus disease in the Ebola treatment center in Kailahun run by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). From the day he learned he had tested positive for Ebola until the day he died, Dr. Khan became the focal point of urgent discussion and debate on medical ethics. These discussions included the proper use of experimental therapeutic agents during an unprecedented epidemic and policies and preparedness for international medical evacuation. Healthcare workers debated ethical points such as whether they should prioritize the greater common good over the interests of an individual. They agonized over whether they could justify placing the value of the life of one person above that of another.
Duncan McLean
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190624477
- eISBN:
- 9780190624507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190624477.003.0013
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter reviews the medical evacuation policies of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) and how they were adapted to the West African Ebola epidemic. Medical evacuations for ...
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This chapter reviews the medical evacuation policies of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) and how they were adapted to the West African Ebola epidemic. Medical evacuations for international staff were just one of the challenges facing aid agencies, but it was a challenge that weighed heavily on the response. Unable to guarantee the evacuation of sick staff members, recruitment difficulties for an already unprecedented epidemic response could only worsen. International medical evacuations are expensive regardless of the circumstances. In the context of Ebola, further complications included the availability of pilots and crews prepared to transport potential cases, along with ensuring appropriate hospital care on arrival. However, the most significant obstacle to a shared air service of pooled resources was not cash or technical difficulties but the lack of political, which became indicative of a broader fear that further isolated the stricken countries.Less
This chapter reviews the medical evacuation policies of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) and how they were adapted to the West African Ebola epidemic. Medical evacuations for international staff were just one of the challenges facing aid agencies, but it was a challenge that weighed heavily on the response. Unable to guarantee the evacuation of sick staff members, recruitment difficulties for an already unprecedented epidemic response could only worsen. International medical evacuations are expensive regardless of the circumstances. In the context of Ebola, further complications included the availability of pilots and crews prepared to transport potential cases, along with ensuring appropriate hospital care on arrival. However, the most significant obstacle to a shared air service of pooled resources was not cash or technical difficulties but the lack of political, which became indicative of a broader fear that further isolated the stricken countries.
Sam F. Halabi, Lawrence O. Gostin, and Jeffrey S. Crowley (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- October 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190604882
- eISBN:
- 9780190604912
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190604882.001.0001
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Epidemiology, Public Health
The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa shocked the world as the disease spread rapidly from its origin to neighboring countries, Europe, and North America while the systems in place to ...
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The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa shocked the world as the disease spread rapidly from its origin to neighboring countries, Europe, and North America while the systems in place to handle such an epidemic failed. The United Nations, the World Health Organization, and major international humanitarian organizations scrambled to respond as thousands died and infections spiraled out of control. All are now contemplating: What went wrong, and how do we stop it from happening again? Global Management of Infectious Disease After Ebola is the first and most comprehensive volume to address these questions. It brings together the analyses and retrospectives of diplomats, scholars, and advocates studying from afar, as well as those of physicians and front-line responders who witnessed the epidemic sweep through already poor, devastated countries as their nascent health systems collapsed. The volume assesses not only the global response to Ebola but also current and emerging infectious disease threats, changes in the global system to handle them, and the critical ethics and human rights issues that will shape the next episode in the perpetual struggle against infectious disease.Less
The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa shocked the world as the disease spread rapidly from its origin to neighboring countries, Europe, and North America while the systems in place to handle such an epidemic failed. The United Nations, the World Health Organization, and major international humanitarian organizations scrambled to respond as thousands died and infections spiraled out of control. All are now contemplating: What went wrong, and how do we stop it from happening again? Global Management of Infectious Disease After Ebola is the first and most comprehensive volume to address these questions. It brings together the analyses and retrospectives of diplomats, scholars, and advocates studying from afar, as well as those of physicians and front-line responders who witnessed the epidemic sweep through already poor, devastated countries as their nascent health systems collapsed. The volume assesses not only the global response to Ebola but also current and emerging infectious disease threats, changes in the global system to handle them, and the critical ethics and human rights issues that will shape the next episode in the perpetual struggle against infectious disease.
