MSF in Hong Kong loses a committed, experienced and passionate Board Member, who was loved and respected by all

On 6 April 2005 Dr. Raymond Lasserre, member of the Board of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Hong Kong passed away in peace at the age of 82 years. Dr. Lasserre had been ill for quite some time. With the passing of Dr. Lasserre, a Swiss national who had worked and lived in Hong Kong for more than 30 years, MSF in Hong Kong loses a committed, experienced and passionate Board Member, who was loved and respected by all.

Dr. Lasserre joined MSF in 2000, when he offered his services as a volunteer to the organization. With great modesty, he was able to share with MSF some of his formidable medical erudition, his experience in working in developing countries and his expertise in the control of infectious diseases. He worked in a wide range of countries, from Indonesia to Sudan, from Guatemala to Vietnam. Drawing from his vast experience in clinical medicine and public health, he was able to provide judicious opinions for our field teams tackling malaria in remote settings, such as the MSF projects in Assam/India, in Indonesia and in northern Cambodia. He also contributed to an updated edition of MSF's "Clinical Guidelines - Diagnostic and Treatment Manual" (5th edition, 2002), a field guide for medical volunteers worldwide.

MSF remembers Dr. Lasserre as a true "humanitarian", who provided medical care to thousands of patients all over the world. In many ways, he acted "sans frontieres" long before the MSF organization was founded. He believed that, in situations of crisis and with limited resources and time available, a doctor's priority should always remain with the patient and that all attempts should be made to save as many lives as possible. For this reason he was an enthusiastic supporter of MSF's Access to Essential Medicines Campaign, which has made great efforts to increase access to effective medicines for many people in developing countries.

Dr. Lasserre was an enthusiastic amateur photographer and leaves us hundreds of pictures of a world long gone. Some of these pictures are now on show at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong Kong under the title "Photographe sans Frontieres". Recently, he published a book with memories of his life under the title "Medecin sur tous les fronts" in which he captures the reader with his sense humour and feeling for details.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family of Dr. Lasserre and to his many friends all over the world. We wish the loving memory of Dr. Lasserre, who so much enjoyed his life, will strengthen them in these difficult moments.
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