Spotlight On

Mission:
Doctors of the World mobilizes the health sector to promote and protect basic human rights and civil liberties for all people, in the United States and abroad. In collaboration with a network of affiliates around the world and in partnership with local communities, we work where health is diminished or endangered by violations of human rights and civil liberties.

Background:
Doctors of the World-USA is an international health and human rights organization founded in 1990 by a group of volunteer physicians including the late Dr. Jonathan Mann, a pioneer in the field of health and human rights. Doctors of the World-USA operates within a network of 11 Doctors of the World/Médecins du Monde delegations. Working with local partners around the world where health is diminished or endangered by violations of human rights and civil liberties, Doctors of the World-USA builds long term solutions to urgent health crises with a particular focus on:

• HIV/AIDS and TB prevention and treatment
• orphans and vulnerable children
• women’s health
• survivors of human rights abuses including torture and trafficking

Current Programs:

In response to the unprecedented humanitarian disaster in South Asia and East Africa, Doctors of the World/Medecins du Monde has mobilized to bring emergency medical help to the victims of the tsunami and to lay the foundation for reconstruction of health services once the acute phase of the emergency is over.

DOW teams began arriving on December 29, 2004. To date more than 60 physicians, nurses, psychologists and logisticians have been deployed to Sri Lanka and Banda Aceh (Indonesia) along with tons of supplies and materials, to provide emergency aid to the victims, to restore health care systems in the stricken zones, and to reduce the growing risk of epidemics.

In Sri Lanka Doctors of the World teams are providing aid in both Tamil and government controlled areas, including Colombo, Galle, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Mullaittivu and Trincomalee.

In Indonesia, our teams are concentrating their efforts in Banda Aceh, which was severely devastated by the tidal waves due to its proximity to the epicenter of the earthquake. This northern region on the island of Sumatra remains difficult to access. Numerous zones remain out of the range of aid, raising fears that the most recent estimates of the destruction caused by this emergency (more than 100,000 deaths, 500,000 homeless, 900,000 children vulnerable to disease, trafficking and orphaning, 100,000 destroyed houses and only one hospital standing) will be greatly increased.

In addition to emergency medical relief, each Doctors of the World team is assessing the situation on the ground to establish priorities for further aid, and to enable a rapid response to new crises including the outbreak of disease. Teams are distributing chlorage kits and food, setting up shelters for families, establishing medical care units, and administering vaccinations as indicated.

Funding Needs:
Donors are urged to contribute funds to support this mobilization, and to support other Doctors of the World programs addressing urgent health crises throughout the world.

Every month, the "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in the tri-state region (NY, NJ, or CT). The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector. While the Foundation Center strives to showcase the diverse range of organizations in the area, selection for "Spotlight On" does not constitute an endorsement by the Foundation Center.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," please use this submission form to send us a profile of your organization. Or e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to nyweb@foundationcenter.org with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.