— Mutual aid, decentralization & coordination —
In times of hardship, humans develop a strong sense of solidarity. Today, this is a necessity because the centralized health structures in the frame of the state system are unable to fully cover the needs of those in distress. Solidarity & mutual aid are the first and most available response in situations of crisis, where people have to rely on each other.
Centralized systems are not optimal to cover needs and coordinate responses among thousands of people at a time. There are many examples of that where communities, facing disasters, developed decentralized autonomously organized groups to answer to the needs of their people. A famous example to illustrate this principle is the collective Common Ground Relief that connected several groups to act in response to the widespread flooding in the city of Orleans, U.S.A.
In MSDN, we see the need for such frames and tools for non-state and non-corporate healthcare actors to mobilize as bodies capable of facilitating mutual aid and disaster relief responses.
Education and training
— Empowerment, agency & autonomy —
MSDN promotes a decentralization of medical knowledge. We offer training; the teaching programs range from people’s health awareness classes, basics of primary and secondary healthcare to specific skills in narrow fields and professional courses.
In Northeastern Syria (NES) the unstable political situation and military aggression results in clashes between tribes, state armies, or terrorists groups. The health authorities are not able to answer to all the war injuries resulting from this constant state of armed conflict.
MSDN engages in training of civilians so that they can practice first response and deal with war injuries on the most basic level. This approach circumvents the lack of first aid responders and develops people’s agency over their own situation.
MSDN asserts that it is essential to propose effective alternatives to state or private health care and emergency services in crisis. That is why the MSDN team working in NES engages directly with medical activities in times of crisis. Our members provide first response in the field, making their work an expression of the values of mutual aid essential to MSDN.
MSDN is an international association of medical professionals, volunteers and healthcare organizations.
We approach health as holistic well-being in mental, physical, social and environmental domains. Free access to medical care regardless of gender, ethnicity, economic position or legal status to support that well-being is everyone’s right.
In the current state of ecological catastrophe, social inequality and economic crises we promote an idea of a different relationship to healthcare. A relation that is based on having agency in health instead of being dependent patients and business objects, a relation which promotes mutual aid instead of charity and circumvents poverty through grassroots empowerment. Practical realization of this relationship is the mission of MSDN.