Group+5.1

=Zimbabwe and Médecins Sans Frontières= =By Alex and Mathew.=

Storyboard

**Zimbabwe**:

 * Population size (2008): || 12,700,000 ||
 * Per capita GDP: || $1,900 ||
 * Main exports: || platinum, cotton, tobacco, gold, and textiles/clothing. ||
 * Main imports: || machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, and fuels. ||
 * Resources: || coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, and platinum group metals. ||
 * Main ethnic groups and religions: || Syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1% ||
 * Unemployment rate: || 80% ||
 * Infant mortality rate: || 51 deaths to 1000 births ||
 * Life expectancy: || 41 years ||
 * Literacy rate: || 91% ||
 * Human Development Index (HDI): || 0.513 out of 1. ||

Paragraph/Summary:
After looking over our findings about Zimbabwe, we concluded that: the Zimbabwean dollar is very weak; the government is a “dominant party,” with Robert Mugabe as the head of state; the standard of living is kind of low, and in fact, is inferior to the U.S. standard of living; Mugabe crippled the economy in 2000 by “redistributing land” and causing a large-scale exodus of white farmers. Mugabe has rigged at least two elections. Finally, in February 2009, he allowed Tsvangirai to be prime minister. Just a few days ago, Susan Tsvangirai was killed in a car crash. She was Morgan Tsvangirai's wife, who is the prime minister of Zimbabwe, and Mugabe's political opponent. Mugabe is accused of trying to assassinate both Tsvangirais to seize power. Mr. Tsvangirai wasn't seriously injured in the incident. Ironically, the car that caused the crash was a U.S. aid truck. Other violent protests on both sides shook the country, and continue to shake the country. Just a couple days ago, Mugabe had his 85th birthday. His political friends threw a //huge// party, with about 3,000 lobsters and many more bottles of champagne. The money used could have been used to help his country, but, no. They didn't care. They //don't// care. That's why MSF is there. MSF is designed to combat this. Originating from France, it doesn't take a side in armed conflicts; rather, it helps on need alone. The paragraphs below explain Médecins Sans Frontières in depth.

Findings on MSF:
Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders (MSF) is an independent aid organization that brings medicine and aid to countries in conflict or if a country has declared a humanitarian disaster, such as the recent cholera outbreak in the Zimbabwe/South Africa region. In 2007, MSF-USA raised $152.1 million, representing 20 percent of the MSF network's private funding. Even with that large sum, only 500 American workers were able to be sent overseas.

MSF is neutral in armed conflicts, it provides medical assistance on need alone. It is free of any political, religious, or military agendas. MSF has consistently been the first aid group to respond to violence. For instance: the 1994 Rwandan genocide; the Serbian massacre of civilians at Srebrenica in 1995; the Russian bombardment of the Chechen capital, Grozny, in 1999; the crisis in Darfur in 2004 and 2005; the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, and Somalia. It has offices in 19 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

MSF does a great job providing aid to Africa. By having offices in 19 countries, it secures a good amount of money for using on medicine. Currently, the crises in Somalia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and Congo are at the top of their agendas. If you had one hundred dollars, this is the organization in which to put it. About 87.38% of that $100 bill would go directly for medicine. 1.14% would be spent on "Management and General," and the remaining 11.48% is used for fund raising efforts. Somalia, Congo, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe all have humanitarian emergencies, and need help. MSF provides help, but more help is needed to get these countries out of their crises. Oh, by the way, the Zimbabwean dollar has inflated so much, that one American dollar equals about 500,000 Zimbabwean dollars.

=Bibliography:=

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===="Raging Cholera Just Tip of Zimbabwe's Humanitarian Crisis | Doctors Without Borders." Doctors Without Borders | MSF USA. 2009. 26 Feb. 2009 .====

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