Doing a world of good (Page 3)

PHOTO: IAN BROWN

"Perhaps the Nobel Committee was awarding it to us as a sort of protest over a world in which organizations like MSF seem to be becoming more important rather than less, and a recognition of the need to speak out loudly against human rights abuses."

In an earlier interview for the online publication HealthyWay, Schull emphasized MSF's dual mission. "On the one hand, we have a mandate to deliver humanitarian and medical aid in a rapid, efficient manner. But on the other hand, we act as witnesses to bring the stories of the people we work for back to our societies to try to initiate change in the field but also at home in the way people think about the issues."

The Nobel Prize means that "our message is now more credible than it ever was," says Schull. As he told the News, "This award underlines the importance of combining simple and direct acts of humanitarianism with a self-imposed mandate to advocate and witness on behalf of populations suffering abuses."