Physician Faced the World's Worst Crises

As a physician with Medécins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Dr. James Orbinski has helped the victims of some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. He witnessed the terrible toll of the horrific genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and served as MSF’s head of mission in Goma, Zaire, during the 1996 refugee crisis.

The health of individuals in the developing world is often dependent on factors beyond their control. Climate change causes famine. Wars within and beyond borders inflict terrible suffering. Orbinski will discuss the roles that citizenship and international governance play in these complex issues in an upcoming public lecture, “Global Health and Global Citizenship,” on March 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the University of Victoria’s Farquhar Auditorium. The event is free, but reserved seating tickets are required. Only a limited number remain and are available by calling (250) 721-8480.

This is the inaugural lecture in UVic’s new Aspreva Distinguished Speaker Series, sponsored by Victoria-based Aspreva Pharmaceuticals, an international company that develops new applications for existing medicines in the treatment of less common diseases.

Orbinski received his MD from McMaster University in Hamilton in 1990 after studying pediatric HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. He was a co-founder of MSF Canada in 1991 and served as its vice-president until 1995. Orbinski was serving a three-year term as MSF’s international president when the organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 for its work with over 400 projects in more than 80 countries.

Orbinski has worked as an international health consultant for the Canadian Public Health Association in Zambia and for Street Kids International in Brazil. He is also the co-founder of the McMaster University Health Reach Program, committed to investigating and promoting the health of children in war zones. Orbinski received Canada’s highest civilian citation, the Meritorious Service Cross, in 1997 for his work in Rwanda. He is currently a research scientist and an associate professor of family and community medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Centre for International Health at the University of Toronto.

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