Doctors Who Put Their Lives on the Line to Meet Urgent Needs: Médecins Sans Frontières

At work in Jabalia, Gaza 

Nearly 50 years ago I met a doctor who would take a month off every year to address medical needs in Haiti. He told me there were many others who did similar work. Several years later we attended a church in which a doctor there told us of a clinic in Madagascar that he devoted a month out of every year to serving the people there. Dr. Roach said the entire clinic had  a rotating staff composed of volunteer doctors and nurses who flew in and took care of patients with every conceivable kind of medical need. 

These memories came to mind in January after a close friend died and his obituary suggested people give to Doctors Without Border in lieu of gifts to the family.

If you follow the news (and not everybody does) Doctors Without Borders (also known as Médecins Sans Frontières or MSF) has been mentioned a lot in the media these past few years for their heartbreaking sacrificial service in Gaza. This is a very different environment from the above-mentioned Madagascar clinic where doctors don't lose sleep worrying about missile attacks and surgeries are conducted with appropriate anasthesia.

Since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, more than 1,700 healthcare workers* (including doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other medical personnel) have been killed in Gaza, according to figures from the Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH), cited by multiple sources including UN agencies, NGOs, and media reports as of early 2026. You may read some quibbling amongst these details, but there's no question that a lot of health care professionals and volunteers have lost their lives trying to meet the needs of the wounded and dying. At least 15 staff members from Doctors Without Borders have been killed.

Attacks on healthcare have been extensive: WHO documented hundreds (e.g., 697–735 verified attacks by mid-2025), affecting nearly all facilities, with many raided, besieged, or hit by strikes. In 2023 there were 35 or 36 hospitals in Gaza. Today 94% of these hospitals have been damaged or destroyed? If 1700 medical staff have been killed one can only imagine what happened to the Palestinians who were receiving care in these hospitals. 

MSF is widely recognized for providing emergency medical aid in conflict zones, disaster areas, and underserved regions worldwide. Founded in 1971, the organization operates independently and has earned strong endorsements from major charity evaluators for its efficiency and transparency.

I don't know about you, but when I consider giving to a charity, the first question is usually this: Will my money actually help people? In the case of Doctors Without Borders (often referred to as MSF USA), the answer is reassuring. Independent charity watchdogs consistently rank the organization among the most trustworthy and effective humanitarian groups. Charity Navigator gives it a Four-Star rating—its highest level—with particularly strong marks for financial accountability and transparency. CharityWatch also rates it an “A,” placing it among the most efficient charities when it comes to using donations for real work in the field rather than overhead.

Just as important, the majority of donated funds go directly toward helping people in crisis. Recent financial reports show that roughly 85 to 87 cents of every dollar spent goes to medical programs—things like emergency surgery, vaccines, treatment for malnutrition, and frontline care in war zones and disaster areas. Only one percent is used for administration. 

Doctors Without Borders also publishes detailed annual financial reports and audited statements so donors can see exactly how money is used. For donors who want their contributions to translate quickly and directly into lifesaving care, Doctors Without Borders remains one of the most respected and effective options available.

While the organization, like any large international effort, has faced occasional criticism or internal debate, there have been no credible scandals involving misuse of funds or systemic fraud. 

Related Link

Remembering Our Colleagues Killed In Gaza

https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/remembering-our-colleagues-killed-gaza

* The numbers are disputed by some who suggest that only 1500 have been killed.

The Ethical Outliers Nobody Knows, Nobody Sees

I don't know about you but with me, if I am not noodling thoughts then I have music running through my mind. If it's not songs with lyrics, it might be a familiar symphony (frequently Beethoven or Tchaikovsky), piano excursions by Chopin or cool blue jazz (Ahmad Jamal or Miles Davis are regulars.)

While shoveling snow recently (we've had a lot the past two weeks) it was Johnny Cash. The song going through my head was "The Long Black Veil."

The Long Black Veil

Ten years ago, on a cold dark night
Someone was killed, 'neath the town hall light
There were few at the scene, but they all agreed
That the slayer who ran, looked a lot like me

The judge said son, what is your alibi
If you were somewhere else, then you won't have to die
I spoke not a word, though it meant my life
For I'd been in the arms of my best friend's wife

She walks these hills in a long black veil
She visits my grave when the night winds wail
Nobody knows, nobody sees
Nobody knows but me

Oh, the scaffold is high and eternity's near
She stood in the crowd and shed not a tear
But late at night, when the north wind blows
In a long black veil, she cries ov're my bones

She walks these hills in a long black veil
She visits my grave when the night winds wail
Nobody knows, nobody sees
Nobody knows but me

Songwriters: Danny Dill / Marijohn Wilkin

* * *  

The words I wanted to focus on were these: "Nobody knows, nobody sees." 

We all know about the things that we hear about in the news. In fact, most of us who have been around a while know that secrets don't remain secret very long once they're shared. A pastor once said to me that he had learned that "if I tell one person I am telling the whole church." He was referring here to the secrets people confided to him in private counseling.

My brother, a professional counselor, likewise understands the importance of confidences 

While singing this song I thought about the people who are moral outliers, the people who are extremely bad or remarkably generous. Tommy Lee Jones near the end of No Country For Old Men was reflecting on how frighteningly dark and bad the evil is out there, but we only learn about the world's Jeffrey Dahmers after they get caught. Until it comes to light, becomes headline news, we're unaware of it. 

This prompted me to reflect on the amazing people who are serving others in sacrificial ways, but who don't put press releases out to the media or draw attention to their actions in other ways. They are generous as an expression of their gratitude for having themselves been blessed. Perhaps they don't even have money, but they volunteer at a hospice or raise a child whose parents have died. I know the media can foster animosity toward the rich, but some of these may be giving far beyond what they could have in ways we can't even imagine. Countless doctors donate their services overseas to serve at hospitals run by volunteer doctors who take turns meeting needs in Madagascar and elsewhere. 

We're familiar with Mother Theresa, but how many others are doing the same whom we've never heard of or never will.

As we stand on the threshold of a new year, maybe we can slow down a little and pay attention a little more to what is going on around us so we can notice opportunities to heal a hurting heart with a kind word, befriend someone who has lost a loved one or _______. (Fill in the blank.)

Make your 2023 an adventure by making a difference for good, whether anyone sees or not.

SPECIAL REPORT: YouTube Removes Viral Video by Kern County Doctors Presenting Alternative P.O.V. On COVID-19 Response

Does sheltering in place make sense as a response to COVID-19? Maybe, maybe not. But we'll never know if each time those who question the lockdowns are gagged or forbidden to present an alternative P.O.V.

On Friday I shared a significant video by a pair of doctors who presented facts based on the last few months of historical data. Based on what they've observed, the doctors drew conclusions at odds with the prevailing views and held a media event to make known their findings.

By Tuesday, a few days later, after more than 5 million people had watched it (including Elon Musk, who tweeted about it), the video was removed by YouTube as inappropriate. Why? "For violating YouTube's terms of service." (i.e: Community Standards.)

When ABC of Bakersfield, California contacted YouTube for further illumination on this action, a company spokesperson for the social media giant "issued a statement saying the video was pulled because the content contradicted the guidance of the local health authority."

Was it because the doctors pointed out that there has never once been a pandemic in human history in which the response has been to quarantine the healthy instead of the sick?

“We quickly remove flagged content that violate our Community Guidelines, including content that explicitly disputes the efficacy of local healthy (sic) authority recommended guidance on social distancing that may lead others to act against that guidance," said the statement. "However, content that provides sufficient educational, documentary, scientific or artistic (EDSA) context is allowed -- for example, news coverage of this interview with additional context. From the very beginning of the pandemic, we’ve had clear policies against COVID-19 misinformation (emphasis mine) and are committed to continue providing timely and helpful information at this critical time.”

* * * *

Does it make sense for YouTube to exercise censorship so as to prevent any alternative viewpoint on a significant issue that impacts all of us?  I do concede that they have a right to maintain standards. On the other hand, how do we learn what is true and what is not if we're not even permitted to hear something contrary to a government sanctioned point of view? (And in this case, they stated it was a local health policy, which seems to stretch credulity.) How can the court of public opinion draw accurate conclusions on important matters if they are not permitted to hear more than one side of an issue?

Abraham Lincoln went out of his way to hear all sides on important issues and maintained a cabinet comprised of contrary views for the express purpose of listening as they each argued their positions.

* * * *

Here's the beginning of that ABC News story.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — YouTube issued a statement Tuesday regarding the removal of a video press briefing with Accelerated Urgent Care doctors Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi. The video was the first of two videos playing the entire briefing from a press conference last week. Reports of the video being taken down suggest YouTube pulled it for violating community guidelines.

23ABC received an email from YouTube on April 27 giving the station notification the video had been taken down, citing YouTube’s “community guidelines.” 23ABC has appealed the ruling through YouTube.

23ABC News also reached out to YouTube regarding the notification and a company spokesperson issued a statement saying the video was pulled because the content contradicted the guidance of the local health authority.

YOU CAN READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE:
https://www.turnto23.com/news/coronavirus/video-interview-with-dr-dan-erickson-and-dr-artin-massihi-taken-down-from-youtube

AND WATCH THE ORIGINAL CENSORED VIDEO HERE:
https://www.turnto23.com/news/coronavirus/accelerated-urgent-care-doctors-recommend-lifting-shelter-in-place-order

* * * *

When I wrote my original blog post, my working title was, The Most Important BIog Post of My Life. While posting I changed it to the softer, less hysterical-sounding Important Information Related to COVID-19 -- April 24.

ADDENDUM: Here is a blog post that presents an opposing point of view regarding the statements made by Dr. Erickson, claiming it to be shoddy statistics and false claims. 

For what it's worth, it's sometimes useful to be aware of the psychology concept of "confirmation bias." We're all, to some extent, stained by pre-existing presuppositions. Our inability to observe things through a totally objective lens ought to keep us humble. All too often we don't know what we don't know.

Related Links

He Who Controls the Narrative Controls the People

For the interested, a Friend Link to my poem, The Lamp of Liberty

Important Information Related to COVID-19 -- April 24

I HAVE BEEN TRACKING NEWS STORIES and trying to work through what is happening by reading about the COVID-19 story from as many angles as possible. I believe that what these doctors are presenting is a "must hear."

The above video is a brief excerpt from a longer video that was shared with me this morning. I strongly encourage you to watch it from the beginning:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=537566680274166&ref=watch_permalink

Key points:

1. The Panic/Fear of the unknown has resulted in measures taken that are doing more harm than the disease itself.  "There are a lot of secondary effects that are not being talked about. We want to look at how we respond as a nation."

2. When in human history have the Healthy been quarantined rather than  the sick?

3. Initial responses to the pandemic were based on guesswork based on projected scenarios. But The scenarios were created without real data. These immunologists now have two months of data to begin making more accurate assessments on how to respond.
4. Exposure to Coronavirus will strengthen are immune.
5. Corollary to point one about secondary effects from the lockdown: A spike in domestic abuse, more suicide, more stress.

* * * *

What resonated with me in this presentation here is that it corresponds with a bottom line conviction of mine regarding the use of our critical thinking faculties. i.e. Applied Common Sense. Doctors make prescriptions based on diagnosis. An accurate diagnosis can only be made when we have the facts. Our political response was based on panic extrapolations without regard for all the real facts.

* * * *

Here's a related article that shows how our Panic Reactions led to wildly unreal expectations as regards what was going to happen.  The article is titled Instead Of ‘Flattening The Curve,’ We Flattened Hospitals, Doctors, And The U.S. Health Care System. Here's a quote:
During a press conference Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis noted that health experts initially projected 465,000 Floridians would be hospitalized because of coronavirus by April 24. But as of April 22, the number is slightly more than 2,000.

* * * *

I have noticed that there are some very strong emotions associated with this issue. How can we see clearly what is happening when the noise from both sides is so deafening? It would be great if we had a time machine into the future, even the near future, to see what has really been happening here in 2020.

If able, I may share a few more thoughts soon.

Related Links
Instead of Flattening the Curve"...
This is what a death certificate looks like 
This next one was written for marketing and business professionals but is applicable and a good ruling principle for decision making of any kind.
Who Are Your Experts?