Tetsu Nakamura (physician)

Tetsu Nakamura (中村 哲, Nakamura Tetsu, born September 15, 1946 in Fukuoka City) is a Japanese medical doctor. He was awarded the 2003 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding.[1] He has devoted his work among refugees in the Afghanistan/Pakistan borderlands.

Work in Afghanistan

Beginning in 1991, Nakamura opened 3 clinics to provide medical service in the mountainous eastern region of the country.[2]

Starting from 2000, a drought hit the region. A consequence of this drought was the multiplications of diseases due to malnutrition and lack of water. Nakamura stated about this situation: "One irrigation canal will do more good than 100 doctors!".[2] Starting from 2003, Nakamura started building an irrigation canal in Khiwa district of Nangarhar Province, the Marwarid Canal. The canal gets water from Kuner River, and has a length of 25.5 km.[3]

As of 2016, Nakamura has built or restored 8 additional canals, irrigating 16.000 hectares and supporting the livelihood of 600.000 people in the Gamberi Desert region.[2]

Nakamura declared, "Weapons and tanks don't solve problems. The revival of farming is the cornerstone of Afghanistan's recovery".[2]

References

  1. ↑ The 2003 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding (Retrieved on November 28, 2007)
  2. 1 2 3 4 Water, Not Weapons - Special Programs - TV Programs - NHK WORLD - English, retrieved 2017-02-11
  3. ↑ "OSRO". osro502.org. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
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