|
Organised by Médecins Sans Frontières.
In cooperation with Universitat de València.
www.msf.es
40 years of Independent Humanitarian Action
is a travelling exhibition aimed at showing the work
done by MSF over its 40-year long life. It aims to raise
awareness in society about the relief operations
developed by the organisation.
To be able to illustrate 40 years worth of history, 30
photographs have been selected depicting the plight of
different groups hit by armed conflict, natural
disasters, social violence and forgotten diseases.
MSF is an international medical-humanitarian
organisation that helps people in a precarious
situation, without any discrimination by ethnicity,
religion or political ideology.
The independent and impartial presence of MSF in
emergencies and crises contributes to deploying
immediate and temporary aid to those in need, assuming
risks, confronting power and using their testimony as a
means to prompt changes in favour of people.
More than 91% of the funds of MSF come from the fees
paid by 5 million members all over the world (over
542,976 in Spain). This allows the organisation to
decide where and when to intervene based on the needs of
the populations rather than pressured by political,
economic or military interests.
MSF controls the relief distribution chain right from
its origin to the final destination. Tons of materials
and specialised equipment can be shipped to any region
in the world in just 48 hours. Every year, more than
2,500 international collaborators go in the field, to
work with over 25,000 local professionals hired in 60
countries.
MSF takes action when faced with the sharp deterioration
of humanitarian-medical conditions of populations hit by
a crisis that puts their survival or health in danger,
especially of those not covered by any type of relief:
Armed conflict victims.
Actions targeted at people whose lives are directly
threatened by violence, or at groups (forcedly or
voluntarily) evicted as a result.
Victims of endemic or epidemic diseases.
Activities aimed at reducing mortality by cholera,
measles, hemorrhagic fever, HIV/AIDS, malaria,
tuberculosis, chagas disease, Leishmaniasis, sleeping
sickness, etc.
Victims of social violence and people excluded from the
health care system.
Programmes targeted at those affected by policies or
practices that threaten their lives by excluding them
deliberately from health services, such as immigrants in
an irregular situation or ethnic minorities.
Victims of natural disasters.
Emergency responses include surgery, counselling and
social assistance, water and water treatment,
distribution of food and essential non-food items, etc.
Humanitarian action is a gesture of solidarity by civil
society for civil society, person to person, and it
seeks to preserve life and to relieve the suffering of
other human beings.
Humanitarian aid does not aim to transform a society but
to help it go through a critical period. It does not
target states but people, restoring their autonomy and
dignity. |
