James Orbinski
Encyclopedia
James Jude Orbinski, OC
, OOnt
, MSC
(born 1960 in England) is a Canadian physician, writer, and humanitarian activist. He is an associate professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto
and a Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs
. In January 2011, he also assumed the Chair of Global Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. He was President of the International Council of Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF
, aka Doctors Without Borders) at the time the organization received the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize
. James Orbinski also is the co-founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of Dignitas International
, a medical humanitarian organization working with communities to increase access to life-saving treatment and prevention in areas overwhelmed by HIV/AIDS. He is a strong advocate for increasing the availability of anti-retroviral drugs to combat AIDS
in poor countries.
He is closely associated with the University of Toronto's Massey College
where he is a Senior Fellow and was the founding Saul Rae
Fellow. He is considered a brilliant orator. In 1998, Orbinski received the Governor General's Meritorious Service Cross
for his work as the MSF Head of Mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. In 2009, Orbinski became an Officer of the Order of Canada and in the citation was recognized by the Governor General as an advocate for those who have been silenced by war, genocide and mass starvation.
His book An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action for the 21st Century talks about his experiences as a physician working for MSF in Rwanda during the genocide'. An Imperfect Offering won the Writers' Trust of Canada
's 2008 Shaughnessy Cohen Award
.
He is the subject of the award-winning 2005 CBC documentary Evil Revisited, which documented Orbinski's visit to Rwanda on the tenth anniversary of the genocide, his first such visit since the violence' He is also the subject of the 2007 documentary Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma, which follows Orbinski's return to Somalia, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
proposal.
in Psychology from Trent University
in 1984, an MD from McMaster University
in 1990, and a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Toronto
in 1998.
In 2001, Orbinski was awarded the honorary degree, Doctor of Laws, from Trent University. He was awarded a second honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Windsor
in 2006. In 2007, he received a Doctor of Laws from Queen's University
and in 2009, was awarded an additional two honorary degrees from the University of Calgary
and Laurentian University
, at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine
's charter class graduation.
In 1997, he was awarded a Meritorious Service Cross
(civil division). In 2009, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
"for his contributions as a physician who has worked to improve health care access and delivery in developing countries, and as an advocate for those who have been silenced by war, genocide and mass starvation". In 2010 he was appointed to the Order of Ontario
.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, OOnt
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
, MSC
Meritorious Service Cross
The Meritorious Service Cross is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, one of the two Meritorious Service Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, generally through his or her viceroy-in-Council...
(born 1960 in England) is a Canadian physician, writer, and humanitarian activist. He is an associate professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
and a Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs
Munk School of Global Affairs
The Munk School for Global Affairs at the University of Toronto is an interdisciplinary academic centre on global issues that integrates research with teaching and public education...
. In January 2011, he also assumed the Chair of Global Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. He was President of the International Council of Médecins Sans Frontières
Médecins Sans Frontières
' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...
(MSF
MSF
MSF may refer to:* Mail Summary File , file extension used by Earthlink, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Netscape mail clients to store folder data in Mork.* Marvel Super Heroes vs...
, aka Doctors Without Borders) at the time the organization received the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
. James Orbinski also is the co-founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of Dignitas International
Dignitas International
Dignitas International is a medical humanitarian organization which works with communities to increase access to life-saving HIV/AIDS-related treatment and prevention in resource-limited settings...
, a medical humanitarian organization working with communities to increase access to life-saving treatment and prevention in areas overwhelmed by HIV/AIDS. He is a strong advocate for increasing the availability of anti-retroviral drugs to combat AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
in poor countries.
He is closely associated with the University of Toronto's Massey College
Massey College
Massey College is a postgraduate residential college at the University of Toronto, established in 1963 with an endowment by the Massey Foundation. Similar to All Souls College, Oxford, members of Massey College are nominated from the university community, and are elected by and as fellows of the...
where he is a Senior Fellow and was the founding Saul Rae
Saul Rae
Saul Forbes Rae was a Canadian diplomat during the Pearsonian era of Canadian foreign policy.Rae's father was born Goodman Cohen in Palanga, Lithuania. The Cohen family had moved to Scotland in the pogrom of the 1890s, and there Goodman met Helen McRae, the daughter of a draughtsman in the...
Fellow. He is considered a brilliant orator. In 1998, Orbinski received the Governor General's Meritorious Service Cross
Meritorious Service Cross
The Meritorious Service Cross is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, one of the two Meritorious Service Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, generally through his or her viceroy-in-Council...
for his work as the MSF Head of Mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. In 2009, Orbinski became an Officer of the Order of Canada and in the citation was recognized by the Governor General as an advocate for those who have been silenced by war, genocide and mass starvation.
President of MSF
Orbinski was president of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) International Council from 1998 to 2001. He worked with MSF since 1992 in a number of settings – including Goma, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) in the fall of 1996 during the Rwandan refugee crisis; Kigali, Rwanda during the 1994 genocide; and Baidoa, Somalia during the civil war and famine of 1992-93.His book An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action for the 21st Century talks about his experiences as a physician working for MSF in Rwanda during the genocide'. An Imperfect Offering won the Writers' Trust of Canada
Writers' Trust of Canada
The Writers' Trust of Canada is a non-profit organization which provides financial support to Canadian writers.Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, David Young and Margaret Laurence, the Writers' Trust of Canada was registered as a non-profit organization in 1976...
's 2008 Shaughnessy Cohen Award
Shaughnessy Cohen Award
The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best non-fiction book on Canadian political and social issues. It was presented for the first time in 2000....
.
He is the subject of the award-winning 2005 CBC documentary Evil Revisited, which documented Orbinski's visit to Rwanda on the tenth anniversary of the genocide, his first such visit since the violence' He is also the subject of the 2007 documentary Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma, which follows Orbinski's return to Somalia, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Activism
He was a founder of the McMaster University Health Reach Program that investigates and promotes the health of children in war zones, and he was a founding member of MSF Canada in 1990. He was President of the Médecins Sans Frontières International Council from 1998 to 2001. Currently, Mr. Orbinski serves on the advisory boards of Engineers Without Borders/Ingénieurs sans frontières Canada and Incentives for Global Health, the NGO formed to develop the Health Impact FundHealth Impact Fund
The Health Impact Fund is a proposed mechanism that would provide a market-based solution to problems concerning the development and distribution of medicines. It would incentivize the research and development of new pharmaceutical products that make substantial reductions in the global burden of...
proposal.
Education and honours
Orbinski received a bachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Psychology from Trent University
Trent University
Trent University is a liberal arts and science-oriented institution located along the Otonabee River in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.The enabling legislation is the Trent University Act, 1962-63. The University was founded through the efforts of a citizens' committee interested in creating a...
in 1984, an MD from McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
in 1990, and a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
in 1998.
In 2001, Orbinski was awarded the honorary degree, Doctor of Laws, from Trent University. He was awarded a second honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Windsor
University of Windsor
The University of Windsor is a public comprehensive and research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000 graduate students...
in 2006. In 2007, he received a Doctor of Laws from Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
and in 2009, was awarded an additional two honorary degrees from the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
and Laurentian University
Laurentian University
Laurentian University , was incorporated on March 28, 1960, is a mid-sized bilingual university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada....
, at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine
Northern Ontario School of Medicine
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is a medical school in the Canadian province of Ontario, created through a partnership between Laurentian University in Sudbury and Lakehead University in Thunder Bay...
's charter class graduation.
In 1997, he was awarded a Meritorious Service Cross
Meritorious Service Cross
The Meritorious Service Cross is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, one of the two Meritorious Service Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, generally through his or her viceroy-in-Council...
(civil division). In 2009, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
"for his contributions as a physician who has worked to improve health care access and delivery in developing countries, and as an advocate for those who have been silenced by war, genocide and mass starvation". In 2010 he was appointed to the Order of Ontario
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
.
External links
- Dignitas International - Dr. James Orbinski
- Dr. Orbinski - National Speakers Bureau Profile
- Access to Medicines Campaign