Doctors on the frontline

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has never shied away from integrating aid efforts with criticisms of authorities involved in war related human tragedies. It was thrown out of Ethiopia in 1985 for whistleblowing on the misuse of aid and more recently in Rwanda for savaging the government on the state of the prisons. Last year, it asked its donors to stop sending money for the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami, as it claimed to have collected the necessary funds to manage the situation effectively.

MSF is a maverick among the aid agencies around the world, operating well away from the media glare to deliver medical aid in war torn areas and regions plagued by natural disasters. With an annual budget of $400m (£230m; 330m), MSF operates in more than 70 countries, providing medical care in acute crises and raising international awareness of potential humanitarian disasters.

In a four part series, television cameras follow MSF's medical staff for the first time, in Haiti, Sudan, Honduras, and Somalia, to provide a direct account of their extraordinary service to humanity.

The programme, narrated by Scottish singer Annie Lennox, …