University News

Internationally Renowned Humanitarian Dr. James Orbinski to speak at Bishop’s University

SHERBROOKE QC - February 3, 2009

Past international president of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Dr. James Orbinski will speak at Bishop’s University as part of the Donald Lecture Series.

As international president of MSF from 1998 to 2001, Dr. Orbinski accepted the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to MSF for its pioneering approach to medical humanitarianism. His extensive field experience with MSF includes his service as its medical co-ordinator in Baidoa, Somalia during the civil war and famine of 1992-1993 and as its Head of Mission in both Goma, Zaire and in Kigali during the Rwandan genocide.

In 2008 Dr. Orbinski published An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action In The Twenty-first Century, a memoir of his experience from the front lines in Peru, Somalia, Afghanistan, Rwanda, and Zaire. He was the subject of a recent feature-length documentary film, Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma.

“James Orbinski’s passionate humanitarianism has been shaped by his experience around the world,” said Bishop’s Principal Michael Goldbloom. “His message carries the utmost urgency: that we must all take responsibility for each other and for our world. There is an imperative for each of us to act.”

Dr. Orbinski currently practices clinical medicine at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, and is an associate professor of both medicine and political science at the University of Toronto. One of his co-authored papers on HIV/AIDS treatment adherence was recognized by the medical journal The Lancet as one of the world’s top 20 medical research papers of 2006, and cited by former US president Bill Clinton as the “nail in the coffin on discrimination in Africa.”

Dr. Orbinski will address Bishop’s students, faculty and the Sherbrooke community on Monday, February 9 at 7:00 p.m. in Bandeen Hall . The lecture is free and open to the public. The Donald Lecture Series brings speakers of national and international renown to the Bishop’s campus to provide insight, provoke thought, and stimulate debate on the most compelling issues and events in the world today.

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