In more than 70 countries, Médecins Sans Frontières provides medical humanitarian assistance to save lives and ease the suffering of people in crisis situations.
We set up the MSF Access Campaign in 1999 to push for access to, and the development of, life-saving and life-prolonging medicines, diagnostic tests and vaccines for people in our programmes and beyond.
Based in Paris, CRASH conducts and directs studies and analysis of MSF actions. They participate in internal training sessions and assessment missions in the field.
Based in Geneva, UREPH (or Research Unit) aims to improve the way MSF projects are implemented in the field and to participate in critical thinking on humanitarian and medical action.
Based in Brussels, MSF Analysis intends to stimulate reflection and debate on humanitarian topics organised around the themes of migration, refugees, aid access, health policy and the environment in which aid operates.
This logistical and supply centre in Brussels provides storage of and delivers medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.
This supply and logistics centre in Bordeaux, France, provides warehousing and delivery of medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.
This logistical centre in Amsterdam purchases, tests, and stores equipment including vehicles, communications material, power supplies, water-processing facilities and nutritional supplements.
SAMU provides strategic, clinical and implementation support to various MSF projects with medical activities related to HIV and TB. This medical unit is based in Cape Town, South Africa.
BRAMU specialises in neglected tropical diseases, such as dengue and Chagas, and other infectious diseases. This medical unit is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Our medical guidelines are based on scientific data collected from MSF’s experiences, the World Health Organization (WHO), other renowned international medical institutions, and medical and scientific journals.
Evaluation Units have been established in Vienna, Stockholm, and Paris, assessing the potential and limitations of medical humanitarian action, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of our medical humanitarian work.
The Luxembourg Operational Research (LuxOR) unit coordinates field research projects and operational research training, and provides support for documentation activities and routine data collection.
Read through case studies where we openly examine and analyse all our actions and decision-making processes during humanitarian emergencies that have led us to speak out.
Providing epidemiological expertise to underpin our operations, conducting research and training to support our goal of providing medical aid in areas where people are affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or excluded from health care.
A collaborative, patients’ needs-driven, non-profit drug research and development organisation that is developing new treatments for neglected diseases, founded in 2003 by seven organisations from around the world.
The MSF Foundation aims to create a fertile arena for logistics and medical knowledge-sharing to meet the needs of MSF and the humanitarian sector as a whole.
Every year, thousands of people fleeing war, persecution and poverty at home attempt the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean. Countless lives are lost on the way.
Closing safe and legal options for people to each Europe pushes them further into people smugglers' networks. In Libya, the detention of migrants and refugees is a thriving enterprise of kidnapping and extortion.
MSF works in Search and Rescue, and provides assistance to people in Libyan detention centres and those arriving in Europe.
Sinister attacks by Italian authorities on lifesaving search and rescue in the Mediterranean
Statement20 Nov 2018
Mediterranean migration
Italian government pressures Panama to stop Aquarius rescues on world's deadliest maritime route
Press Release23 Sep 2018
Greece
Moria is in a state of emergency
Open Letter17 Sep 2018
Greece
Self-harm and attempted suicides increasing for child refugees in Lesbos
Press Release17 Sep 2018
Mediterranean migration
Refugee Libya shipwreck survivors condemned to drown at sea or face arbitrary detention
Project Update10 Sep 2018
Libya
Evacuation of refugees and migrants out of Libya is urgently needed
Press Release7 Sep 2018
Libya
Conflict in Tripoli puts lives in danger, demonstrating that Libya is not a place of safety
Press Release31 Aug 2018
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Push-backs, violence and inadequate conditions at the Balkan route’s new frontier
Project Update17 Aug 2018
Mediterranean migration
Aquarius calls on European governments to assign place of safety after rescues on Mediterranean
Press Release15 Aug 2018
Research and analysis
Libya
MSF continues to provide medical care to migrants and refugees detained in Tripoli
Project Update19 May 2017
Refugees, IDPs and people on the move
One year after the EU-Turkey deal: migrants and asylum seekers are paying the price with their health
Report14 Mar 2017
Mediterranean migration
European governments are obstructing lifesaving rescues and returning people to unsafe Libya
Statement21 Mar 2018
Mediterranean migration
10 things you need to know about the Mediterranean crisis
Project Update2 Dec 2016
Mediterranean migration
Medical care for refugees and migrants along Central Mediterranean route
Voices from the Field29 Jan 2018
Tunisia
Fishermen receive training in saving lives at sea
Project Update1 Sep 2015
Mediterranean migration
MSF assists in rescue of 3,000 people in a single day
Press Release30 Aug 2016
Mediterranean migration
22 people die at sea, 209 more are rescued
Statement19 Jul 2016
Mediterranean migration
99 survivors rescued from sinking dinghy but many presumed drowned
Press Release28 Jan 2018
Related topics
Middle East & North Africa
Libya
Libya remains fragmented by conflict and fighting continues in several parts of the country. The breakdown of law and order, the economic collapse and the existence of three governments has had a severe impact on the healthcare system.
30,200
outpatient consultations
23,400
relief kits distributed
Crisis Settings
War and conflict
Around one-third of our humanitarian and medical assistance is for populations caught in armed conflict.
Europe & Central Asia
Italy
Italy continues to be the main landing point for migrants and refugees coming to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. The Italian authorities have not developed an adequate reception system to respond to their specific humanitarian needs.
2,500
individual mental health consultations
200
group mental health sessions
Europe & Central Asia
France
Migrants and refugees trying to reach the United Kingdom found themselves stranded in northern France, unable to proceed beyond Calais.
10
NO. STAFF IN 2017
1987
YEAR MSF FIRST WORKED IN THE COUNTRY
Crisis Settings
Refugees, IDPs and people on the move
There are many reasons for flight, including war, persecution, conflict, natural disaster, destitution and repression. With health and well-being jeopardised, the lives of the most vulnerable can be at risk.
Medical Activities
Mental health
Where we work, we may see people with a mental illness or confronting distressing situations, such as violence, loss or displacement. Mental health support can be crucial to help people cope.
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In 2017, more than 300,000 people risked their lives attempting the deadly Mediterranean Sea crossing - 3,116 died
