Afghanistan October
November 2001
Medicine International (MI)) director, Dr. Mark Stinson, was recently called to Afghanistan to act as Disaster Response Medical Officer responsible for ongoing medical care in three IDP (internally displaced persons) camps in northern Afghanistan in collaboration with Relief International (RI). He coordinated staffing of mobile clinics with American, Afghani, and Tajiki physicians and nurses. He also provided regular reporting to other nongovernmental organizations in the region on the health status of the displaced population. Health conditions in Afghanistan are some of the worst in the world, with the second-highest underage mortality rate in the world - second only to Sierra Leone. One in four children die before age 5 because of the lack of prenatal and perinatal care, immunizations, and public health infrastructure, chronic malnutrition, and no access to basic medical care. On his return, Dr. Stinson has participated in numerous fundraising and consciousness-raising events in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also acted as a spokesman for the organization, Relief International, on numerous TV and radio stations. Medicine International has a group of physicians ready to be flown into Afghanistan to carry on its earlier mission.