Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The forgotten continent

Endemic disease, war, famine....we rarely hear about Africa's suffering and they don't get the outpouring of support they need. Remember Haiti after the earthquake? That's Africa every day.

Doctors without Borders has been in Africa since at least the 1970s. Recently one of their missions has included aiding villagers in South Sudan, who have been the victims of raids - dealing with gunshot wounds and burnt homes. Now the doctors are the victims.

The Doctors without Borders (Medecins sans Frontieres) South Sudan clinic was raided, looted, and burned, and many of their staff members killed.

It is a sad state of affairs when a doctor cannot help one who is in need for fear of his/her life. These fears are the results of ethnic-based warfare, tribes stealing each other's cattle and not worrying about collateral losses.
Poverty is an international issue and can affect the health and lives of an entire continent.

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