As War Dangers Multiply, Doctors Without Borders Struggles To Adapt
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders is known for going places many other aid groups won't. But time and again over the last year, its facilities have been hit in airstrikes. It's happened in Syria, in Yemen and in Afghanistan. NPR's Jackie Northam spoke with a senior security adviser for the group about how it's had to adapt to a more threatening world.
JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: Michiel Hofman began working with Doctors Without Borders, commonly known as MSF, in 1992. That was in Liberia. Over the years, whether it's been in Bosnia, Chechnya or South Sudan, he says his clinics and staff have come under small-scale attack, such as looting and burning. Hofman says that's part and parcel of working in a conflict zone, but...
MICHIEL HOFMAN: What is new in the last few years is the dramatic increase of aerial attacks.
NORTHAM: Hofman, speaking via Skype from Beirut, says MSF is seeing more aerial attacks on clinics it runs or supports than ever. Those have been in Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan, facilities that should be untouchable under international law.
HOFMAN: The figures are just astounding. If you take this year alone, we are already at seven I think, including the last one in Aleppo. And we're not even halfway through the year.
NORTHAM: At least when the attacks are on the ground, Hofman says MSF officials can negotiate with local commanders.
HOFMAN: With these aerial attacks, it's much more difficult to actually know who do we actually talk to about this.
NORTHAM: Takes Syria - with so many nations involved in the fight, it's hard to know for sure who's responsible for a particular attack. Hofman says his organization is pushing all countries to adhere to international law protecting health facilities. He says it's hard to keep staff if they don't know they're protected.
HOFMAN: A lot of our ability to operate is based on trust - the trust of the medical staff that we ask to work there but also trust by the patients that these hospitals are safe places.
NORTHAM: Hofman says now there have even been neighborhoods afraid to host MSF facilities in fear they'll be targeted. And airstrikes aren't the only threat that's increased.
HOFMAN: Almost every conflict that is ongoing at the moment - abduction has become a routine strategy of warring parties. A lot of the security measures that didn't exist before are now actually related to mitigating or preventing the risk of abduction.
NORTHAM: That's because as MSF has expanded its operations, it's become better known worldwide. And kidnappers looking for money or headlines focus on its medical workers from the international community.
HOFMAN: Because they tend to have, to say it very crudely, the highest market value. It's actually mostly Western staff, and, if I dare say so, even white Western staff that is most at risk.
NORTHAM: Hofman says sometimes MSF uses just local workers. But he says there are certain programs that can't be done without international staff. Hofman says the group also restricts its workers' movements with things like curfews. It might even pull out of a country. What it still won't do is use armed security.
HOFMAN: Those people that can provide you with armed protection are always connected to one or the other party in a conflict, which means as soon as you accept armed protection from one party, you become a legitimate target for the other side of that conflict.
NORTHAM: Hofman says it's critical MSF, like all humanitarian aid agencies, remain impartial. That includes never turning away a patient, no matter which side he or she is on. Jackie Northam, NPR News.
Copyright © 2016 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.