From Vienna to the world
“Doctors Without Borders” in action for 30 years
Doctors Without Borders has been at the forefront of humanitarian aid for three decades. Founded in 1994 by the Viennese doctor Clemens Vlasich and eleven committed donors, the organization has developed into an indispensable player in crisis areas around the world.
Since its foundation 30 years ago, the organization "Doctors Without Borders Austria" has developed into an important humanitarian aid organization. What began in 1994 with the Viennese doctor Clemens Vlasich and eleven donors is now an institution that is active worldwide. "Private donations are still the only source of funding for our aid missions in Austria," says Managing Director Laura Leyser.
One of the Austrian team's first missions was in Srebrenica during the war in the former Yugoslavia. The organization was also able to help the survivors of the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004. "The best thing would be if one day our organization was no longer needed. But unfortunately we are a long way from that. Today, our work is more necessary than ever due to the many conflicts and crises, but also because of the climate crisis," says Leyser. Doctors Without Borders is also on the ground in the current war in Ukraine.
The location is only determined after evaluation
The decision on where to deploy is based on a careful needs assessment in the crisis area. A specialized reconnaissance team assesses whether and how the organization can help and, if necessary, launches an operation within 48 to 72 hours. However, due to limited financial resources, difficult decisions have to be made about which crises to prioritize.
"We are seeing that more and more people in humanitarian crises are barely visible and there is a corresponding lack of awareness and support for them. We are active in over 70 countries. From this perspective, it is the forgotten crises that are not covered by the media where the biggest gaps exist, both financially and in terms of aid," explains the Managing Director. In war zones such as Gaza or Sudan, there is a lack of surgeons, among other things. But the missions are also becoming increasingly complex and expensive, especially in conflict zones or in places where "Doctors Without Borders" is almost the only remaining aid organization - such as Sudan.
Involving the local population
An important part of the work on the ground is the involvement of the local population. "Of over 69,000 employees in 2023, almost 80 percent were local employees recruited in 70 different countries. Training and further education for local specialists is an integral part of our aid programs. We also have our own Doctors Without Borders Academy to train healthcare staff," says Managing Director Laura Leyser.
The best thing would be if one day our organization was no longer needed.
Geschäftsführerin Laura Leyser
A major goal for the coming years is to reduce the ecological footprint by half by 2030. We are also continuing to work on innovations to make aid on the ground more effective. However, the overarching goal remains the same: to provide emergency medical aid wherever it is needed and to raise awareness of humanitarian crises.
Donation account Erste Bank
IBAN: AT43 2011 1289 2684 7600
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History of "Médecins Sans Frontières" in Austria
- 1994: Doctors Without Borders Austria was founded by the doctor Clemens Vlasich after he returned from a mission with the French section in Bangladesh. He had treated Rohingya there who had been forced to flee Myanmar and witnessed how they struggled to survive on a daily basis. In Austria, hardly anyone knew anything about the difficult living conditions of the Rohingya. He wanted to change that.
- 1995: War in the former Yugoslavia - mission in Srebrenica
- 2000: Over 100,000 donors
- 2001: Antiretroviral therapies for HIV patients
- 2004: Start of relief operations after the tsunami in the Indian Ocean
- 2006: More than 100 relief workers are sent from Austria
- 2010: Emergency aid after the severe earthquake in Haiti
- 2014: Ebola outbreak in West Africa - 15 treatment centers set up in Guinea
- 2020: Covid-19 pandemic - deployment in over 40 countries
- 2022: Ukraine war - Médecins Sans Frontières supports emergency rooms
"We help where people are in need" is the motto of Médecins Sans Frontières Austria. On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, logistician and board member Georg Geyer provides in-depth insights into the challenges and successes associated with working in crisis areas around the world.
Can you tell us about a particularly formative experience from one of your missions?
Yes, of course there are a few. There are both beautiful moments, which are somewhat rarer, and less beautiful moments, which unfortunately are also memorable. So of the good ones, I would definitely say, from my perspective as a technician at Médecins Sans Frontières, that there are situations like the one in South Sudan. There was a local conflict there. People fled two villages away and we had a clinic there where we knew there wasn't enough drinking water. We then built a water treatment plant for 6,000 people within 48 hours. Those are the kind of moments when you are very happy when you can drink the first glass of water that you have "produced" yourself and everyone is happy. Those are the good moments. The less pleasant ones are certainly when there are problems. I was in Sierra Leone twice in 2015 because of Ebola and when you find out that a close colleague has tested positive, those are of course moments that stick with you, but they are not so pleasant.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your assignments?
On the one hand, these are the issues you face in any job. When it comes to personnel management, I don't think it's pleasant for anyone to fire someone, for example. These are things that everyone is familiar with in normal life in Austria. It's also the context, the environment, which is always a challenge. Of course, the security issue is very high, but there are also cultural differences. If we are honest with ourselves, we have to deal with a lot of corruption in less developed countries. So these are all issues that we are confronted with day in, day out.
"Security is a very important issue for us. It's actually the most important issue, even above medical necessity."
Das Vorstandsmitglied über die Wichtigkeit von Sicherheit
What measures are taken to ensure the safety of emergency personnel?
Safety is a very important issue for us. It is actually the most important issue, even above medical necessity. So if we say: "We can't do this for safety reasons", then the doctors have to accept that. Safety management is omnipresent. Safety affects everyone, everyone is on board. The safety concept that prevails in most safety operations is "safety through acceptance". The neutrality and independence of Médecins Sans Frontières gives us the opportunity to more or less demand acceptance from the host community. So it is also the case that when we talk to people on our missions and tell them "We would like to do this, we would like to help here, there are these and those problems", we can only do this if our neutrality and independence are guaranteed. This acceptance among the population means that you are well embedded, but you have to constantly monitor the environment and be constantly alert. There are many projects where we hold a daily briefing with the whole team at 8 a.m., where security issues are also discussed.
What successes and progress have you seen in your missions?
At its core, MSF is an emergency aid organization and if we are honest with ourselves, we don't often succeed in making a medium-term or sustainable change. For us, the goal is paramount: This patient is treated, job done, next patient. Of course there are developments, we try to get the local population on board, for example, as this is the biggest support. But unfortunately, I have often enough experienced that we close a project and three months later we are back in the same area and it is sometimes as if we had never been there. We have to be realistic about that. We are very good at providing fast and good care to patients on site, but sustainable or medium-term development is not actually our primary goal.
What motivates you personally to do this often dangerous and challenging work?
I just find the job incredibly exciting. I've always enjoyed traveling and I've always been interested in other cultures. That's one part and the other is the organization. "Doctors Without Borders is a great employer because this independence is also practiced internally. Independence is not only communicated externally, but also internally. Every vote counts, at the end of the day it is one person who decides and is responsible, but it is a very nice employer. And as I said, if you enjoy working abroad and in different circumstances, then it's also a very exciting and sometimes very rewarding job.
How do you deal with the mental and physical stress of your work?
We keep a close eye on this. As an organization, we are aware that it can be very stressful at times. There are assignments where you have to work 14 to 16 hours a day. It's also clear that you can't do this for much longer than two months. But we make sure that our employees regularly go on vacation and get enough rest. Everyone knows that stress reactions, sleep disorders and much more are serious consequences. However, we try to train people to monitor these things and always keep an eye on themselves and their colleagues.
We are very good at treating patients quickly and well on site, but sustainable or medium-term development is not actually our primary goal.
Geyer über die Effekte ihrer Arbeit
As an organization, we are aware that it is sometimes very stressful. There are assignments where you have to work 14 to 16 hours a day.
Das Vorstandsmitglied über die Belastungen
What else could be improved to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian missions?
It depends very much on where you are in the mission, but in principle, more resources always help, both personnel and financial resources. In terms of efficiency, you also have to look at each case individually.
And how do these cases differ?
On the one hand, there are major problems with logistics, administration or the authorities. It is always complicated to get a visa in difficult countries. You wouldn't believe it, but there are situations where we have people ready but can't get started because we can't get a visa. That would be one case, but there are others. In South Sudan, for example, the weather and the ground are a big problem for half the year. You can't really get around except by plane or helicopter.
What role does public relations work play in raising awareness of humanitarian crises among the population?
That is also a task that we take on. Especially in Austria, where we fortunately don't have any missions, we try to communicate our field observations and raise awareness among the population. This takes place less in the projects and more in Europe or the donor countries.
That brings us to my last question. Apart from donations, what is the best way to support Médecins Sans Frontières?
Donations are of course important. We are the largest privately funded aid organization in the world. This is also what gives us our independence and is therefore an important point. In addition, if you are interested, you can submit an application and see if you would like to go on missions yourself. And you can support us in terms of monitoring by following us on social media and seeing which topics appeal to you.
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