Ignore Borders, Deliver Care and Compassion
As a young surgeon in the Nigerian-Biafra War in 1968, Patrick
J. Aeberhard was elbow deep in blood and carnage, his task made
more grim by the disease and starvation of civilians affected by
combat and social upheaval.
Dr. Aeberhard, co-founder of Doctors Without Borders, shared his
experiences and observations with IUSM faculty, residents and students
in lectures sponsored by the IU Center for Bioethics, the departments
of Public Health and Medicine, IU Center for Aging Research, and
the IUPUI medical humanities program. Doctors Without Borders was
established in 1971, and its physicians have a presence in more
than eighty countries. The organization’s premier goal is
to provide care to people in nations where medical care is virtually
nonexistent.
“We must go to the aid of all victims – wherever they
might be – without discrimination and bear witness equitably,”
said Dr. Aeberhard, a French cardiologist who also went on to co-found
another medical relief organization, Doctors of the World.
But physicians don’t have to travel to war-ravaged and desperately
poor nations to serve others. Dr. Aeberhard told the students and
faculty that many opportunities exist for doctors to practice a
“humanitarian model.”
“Look to the public health systems and needs in your community,”
he challenged his listeners. “Can you spare half day a week
to help the sick and needy? Find ways to work with your local authorities.”
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