Doctors Without Borders

You're Invited to Hear Dr. Marc Levin Speak
About His Work with Doctors Without Borders
on Monday, November 9th, at UCO in Edmond

Your OKC Chapter of the United Nations Association is proud to announce an appearance by Marc Levin, MD, a family physician, who has completed three field assignments with Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). While not on assignment with MSF, Dr. Levin works as Coordinator of Obstetrics, Maternity Care and Community Health for the Beth Israel Residency in Urban Family Medicine in New York City.

Dr. Marc Levin

Dr. Levin will present a talk about his field experience as it relates to the Global Goals that were recently adopted by the United Nations. He is also expected to address the refugee crisis that presently confronts our global community. The talk is being co-sponsored by the Model UN program at the University of Central Oklahoma, and it will be generously hosted by the International House at UCO.

Date: Monday, November 9, 2015
Time: 4 - 6pm
Location: The UCO International House, 912 Chowning Avenue, Edmond, Oklahoma

*There is limited parking at the International House. Additional parking is available across the street at the football stadium.
For more information about the International House, please see their website, http://www.uco.edu/student-affairs/international-house/index.asp.

The International House at UCO

This event is FREE and open to the public. At 4pm, there will be a "meet & greet" with Dr. Levin. Light refreshments will be provided. Then, at 5pm, his formal presentation will begin. The title of Dr. Levin's talk is "Compassion Knows No Boundaries."

Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization working in dozens of countries to assist people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 "...in recognition of the organization's pioneering humanitarian work on several continents."

The Nobel Prize Committee describes MSF in this way:

"Médecins Sans Frontières is an independent, neutral and impartial emergency aid organization that was founded in France in 1971. It demands full and unimpeded freedom to carry out its work in accordance with medical ethics and the rights of human beings to humanitarian aid. The organization is a frequent critic of violence and violations of human rights in areas of conflict where it has stationed doctors and aid workers." 

In accepting the Nobel Prize, James Orbinski, president of the MSF International Council, commented:

"Our volunteers and staff live and work among people whose dignity is violated every day. These volunteers choose freely to use their liberty to make the world a more bearable place. Despite grand debates on world order, the act of humanitarianism comes down to one thing: individual human beings reaching out to their counterparts who find themselves in the most difficult circumstances. One bandage at a time, one suture at a time, one vaccination at a time. And, uniquely for Médecins Sans Frontières, working in around 80 countries, over 20 of which are in conflict, telling the world what they have seen. All this in the hope that the cycles of violence and destruction will not continue endlessly."

Christopher Stokes, general director of MSF, inspects
the hospital in Afghanistan that was destroyed by U.S.
bombs earlier this month. 

Earlier this month, an MSF hospital was bombed by American airplanes in Kunduz, Afghanistan. President Obama apologized for the attack, and the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan said it was a mistake. Christopher Stokes, the general director of MSF, says the bombing should be investigated as a possible war crime.

For more information about MSF, please visit www.doctorswithoutborders.org.

We are so grateful for the members of our UNA-OKC chapter who make it possible for us to bring Dr. Levin to Oklahoma in cooperation with our friends at the University of Central Oklahoma.

The United Nations Association is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization that supports the work of the United Nations and encourages active civic participation in the most important social and economic issues facing the world today. As a local chapter of the nation's largest grassroots foreign policy organization, your UN Association of Greater OKC offers Oklahomans the opportunity to connect with issues confronted by the UN -- from global health and human rights to the spread of democracy, equitable development, and international justice.

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www.unausa.org/membership