In the first week of June, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) launched “Starved for Attention,” a multimedia campaign exposing the neglected and largely invisible crisis of childhood malnutrition. Working with the photographers from the VII Photo agency, MSF has created a series of documentaries that combine stunning photography and video that depict the realities of malnutrition around the world. Having seen all the documentaries and photos at the VII Gallery in Dumbo, I could only stand in awe of the footage. The images can be haunting and chilling (see Marcus Bleasdale’s images below). But there is a direction and purpose to the campaign: that malnutrition in many third world countries is actually a solvable and treatable condition (even relatively inexpensive to address). Also, it questions current methods for treating malnutrition, including the two-standard US approach for providing food-aid both within and outside our borders. In the end, one is left punched in the gut by the images and video footage, but also realizing that MSF and the photographers were able to deliver a distinct, clear and powerful message.
You can view the first two videos that have been released on the Web below. Watch the footage and then sign the petition demanding that governments provide food aid that meets basic nutritional standards. Also, if you live within New York City, you can view the full exhibit now at the VII Gallery in Dumbo.