Médecins Sans Frontières
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced [medsɛ̃ sɑ̃ fʁɔ̃tjɛʁ] ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases.[1] The organisation provides care for diabetes, drug-resistant infections, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, tropical and neglected diseases, tuberculosis, vaccines and COVID-19. In 2019, the charity was active in 70 countries with over 35,000 personnel; mostly local doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, logistical experts, water and sanitation engineers, and administrators.[1] Private donors provide about 90% of the organisation's funding, while corporate donations provide the rest, giving MSF an annual budget of approximately US$1.63 billion.[2]
Not to be confused with Médecins du Monde.Founded
22 December 1971
Paris
- Global:
Centres:
- Amsterdam (OCA)
- Barcelona-Athens (OCBA)
- Brussels (OCB)
- Paris (OCP)
- Geneva (OCG)
- West and Central Africa (WaCA)
Worldwide
International General Assembly
€1.9 billion
45,375
MSF was founded in 1971, in the aftermath of the Biafran famine of the Nigerian Civil War, by a small group of French doctors and journalists who sought to expand accessibility to medical care across national boundaries and irrespective of race, religion, creed or political affiliation.[3] MSF's principles and operational guidelines are highlighted in its Charter,[4] the Chantilly Principles, and the later La Mancha Agreement.[5] Governance is addressed in Section 2 of the Rules portion of this final document. MSF has an associative structure where operational decisions are made, independently, by the six operational centres (Amsterdam, Barcelona-Athens, Brussels, Geneva, Paris and West and Central Africa – with Headquarter office in Abidjan, Ivory Coast). Common policies on core issues are coordinated by the International Council, in which each of the 24 sections (national offices) is represented. The International Council meets in Geneva, Switzerland, where the International Office, which coordinates international activities common to the operational centres, is based.
MSF has general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It received the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of its members' continued efforts to provide medical care in acute crises, as well as raising international awareness of potential humanitarian disasters.[6] James Orbinski, who was the president of the organisation at the time, accepted the prize on behalf of MSF. Prior to this, MSF also received the 1996 Seoul Peace Prize.[7] Christos Christou succeeded Joanne Liu as international president in June 2019.[8]
In-house organisations[edit]
Epicentre[edit]
In 1986, MSF created Epicentre, an in-house research organisation, to support its activities. Epicentre conducts training, publishes scientific papers and develops new techniques for MSF. It performs epidemiological research, conducts clinical vaccine trials during outbreaks MSF is responding to, experiments on vaccine stability, and analysis of vaccine deployment strategy.[138]
Namesakes[edit]
A number of other unrelated non-governmental organisations have adopted names ending in "Sans Frontières" or "Without Borders", inspired by Médecins Sans Frontières, for example: Engineers Without Borders, Avocats Sans Frontières ('Lawyers Without Borders'), Reporters sans frontières ('Reporters Without Borders'), Payasos Sin Fronteras ('Clowns Without Borders'), Bibliothèques Sans Frontières ('Libraries Without Borders'), and Homeopaths Without Borders.
The French game show Jeux Sans Frontières ('Games Without Borders') is older than MSF, being first broadcast in Europe in 1965.
