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About Us

How we work

See what triggers an intervention and how supply and logistics allow our teams to respond quickly.

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How we're run

Discover our governance and what it means to be an association. Find a quick visual guide to our offices around the world.

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Reports and financials

Read through our annual financial and activity reports, and find out about where our funds come from and how they are spent.

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Accountability

Read the policies, reports, and plans on how we address issues like racism and reduce our carbon footprint, ensuring our actions align with the highest ethical standards.

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What we do

Médecins Sans Frontières brings medical humanitarian assistance to victims of conflict, natural disasters, epidemics or healthcare exclusion.

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Featured Cholera Gaza Israel war Mediterranean migration

Where we work

In more than 70 countries, Médecins Sans Frontières provides medical humanitarian assistance to save lives and ease the suffering of people in crisis situations.

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Featured Haiti Palestine Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

MSF Websites

A Global Network
Our offices around the world
Our offices around the world
Other Sites
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MSF Access

MSF Access pushes for access to, and the development of, life-saving and life-prolonging medicines, diagnostic tests and vaccines for people in our programmes and beyond.

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CRASH

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.

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UREPH

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.

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ARHP

Based in Barcelona, ARHP documents and reflects on the operational challenges and dilemmas faced by the MSF field teams.

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MSF Analysis

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.

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MSF Supply

This logistical and supply centre in Brussels provides storage of and delivers medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.

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MSF Logistique

This supply and logistics centre in Bordeaux, France, provides warehousing and delivery of medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.

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Amsterdam Procurement Unit

This logistical centre in Amsterdam purchases, tests, and stores equipment including vehicles, communications material, power supplies, water-processing facilities and nutritional supplements.

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Brazilian Medical Unit

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.

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MSF Medical Guidelines

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.

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Epicentre

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.

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Evaluation Units

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.

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LGBTQI+ Inclusion in Health Settings

MSF works with LGBTQI+ populations in many settings over the last 25-30 years. LGBTQI+ people face healthcare disparities with limited access to care and higher disease rates than the general population.

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LUXOR

The Luxembourg Operational Research (LuxOR) unit coordinates field research projects and operational research training, and provides support for documentation activities and routine data collection.

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MSF Academy for Healthcare

To upskill and provide training to locally-hired MSF staff in several countries, MSF has created the MSF Academy for Healthcare.

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Humanitarian Law

This Guide explains the terms, concepts, and rules of humanitarian law in accessible and reader-friendly alphabetical entries.

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MSF Paediatric Days

The MSF Paediatric Days is an event for paediatric field staff, policy makers and academia to exchange ideas, align efforts, inspire and share frontline research to advance urgent paediatric issues of direct concern for the humanitarian field.

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MSF Foundation

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.

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DNDi

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.

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MSF Science Portal

Our digital portal dedicated to sharing the latest medical evidence from our humanitarian activities around the globe.

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Noma

Noma is a preventable and treatable neglected disease, but 90 per cent of people will die within the first two weeks of infection if they do not receive treatment.

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TIC

The TIC is aiming to change how MSF works to better meet the evolving needs of our patients.

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Telemedicine

MSF's telemedicine hub aims to overcome geographic barriers for equitable, accessible, and quality patient care.

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Sweden Innovation Unit

Launched in 2012, the MSF Sweden Innovation Unit deploys a human-centered approach for promoting a culture of innovation within MSF.

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Geo MSF

The GeoMSF platform is a dynamic one-stop-shop website for all of MSF's GIS related services and products. Access maps and applications through the catalogue, request geographical support, or produce a map on GeoMSF.

GeoMSF
Ebola disease in DRC: find out how we're responding
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1390 Results
 
Debris covers the ground after an airstrike at a detention center in Tajoura, east of Tripoli in Libya, Wednesday, July 3, 2019. An airstrike hit the detention center for migrants early Wednesday, killing several. (AP Photo/Hazem Ahmed)
Libya

“A night in which our worst fears would come to pass”

Sam Turner, MSF Head of Mission in Libya, recounts a night in which our worst fears would come to pass. The forced return of people fleeing Libya must stop. Voices from the Field - 23 Jul 2019
 
Dr Hassan Shams El-Din works as a psychiatrist, one day a week, at MSF’s clinic in Wadi Khaled. He is seen here in a session with Kharma, one of his patients, a Syrian woman who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression following the death of her husband. He has been seeing her regularly for about a year. الدكتور حسان شمس الدين طبيب نفسي يتواجد في عيادة أطباء بلا حدود في وادي خالد يوماً واحداً في الأسبوع. في هذه الصورة، يجلس مع خرمة، مريضة سورية تعاني من اضطراب ما بعد الصدمة والاكتئاب منذ وفاة زوجها. يتابع الطبيب حالتها منذ حوالي عام.
Mental health

Tackling stigma one patient at a time in Lebanon

Although mental health issues are common in the community, they are still faced with stigma in the town of Wadi Khaled, northern Lebanon. The clear lack of mental health professionals in Akkar governorate makes way for an increase in superstitious beliefs. Project Update - 22 Jul 2019
 
Press conference announcing the relaunch of search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean together with SOS Mediterranee. Spokesperson during press conference: - Dr. Joanne Liu, International President of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) - Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui, MSF Humanitarian Affairs Advisor for Libya/SAR - Sophie Beau, Co-Fournder and Vice President of SOS MEDITERRANEE - François Thomas, President of SOS MEDITERRANEE France - Frédéric Penard, Director of Operations SOS MEDITERRANEE
Mediterranean migration

MSF resumes search and rescue operations with Ocean Viking

MSF International President Dr Joanne Liu's speech in Paris on 22 July on MSF's decision to rejoin partner SOS MEDITERANNEE in search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean sea with new boat, the Ocean Viking. Speech - 22 Jul 2019
 
Refugees in Zintan DC at the gate of the main warehouse where 700 of them were detained. A tuberculosis outbreak has likely been raging for several months in the detention centre and some wear masks for fear of contamination. The main warehouse was emptied in June 2019, and the remaining people distributed among the other buildings within the detention centre compound.
Libya

Out of sight, out of mind: refugees in Libya's detention centres

Up to 6,000 refugees and migrants are being held in horrendous conditions in Libya’s detention centres, in an increasingly perilous situation as the country descends into conflict. Photo Story - 12 Jul 2019
 
Bushra Mohammed, one year and 4 months old, was hospitalized in the burns unit at MSF Hospital in Qayyarah twenty days ago. 12% percent of her body had burn wounds. After two skin grafts (a surgical operation in which healthy skin is transplanted to the burn site), Bushra needs to stay in the hospital for several more days. Doctors prefer to monitor her recovery process due to her young age and the severity of her wounds. “We are from Qayyarah, we came to this hospital because it is the nearest hospital and we knew MSF was working here. Before the last war with the Islamic State group (IS), there were other hospitals, the General and Jumhouri hospitals, but they were shelled and destroyed.” “It was 8:00 pm and we were having dinner, all of us, the family. Bushra’s 5-year-old sister went into the bathroom to wash her hands after eating. She turned the faucet of the hot water, and extremely hot water came pouring out. She feared that she could not turn the faucet again to close it, and left it open.” At this moment, Bushra came in; she follows her sister’s every move. She slipped onto the water and fell with her soft skin touching the very hot ceramic floor. “We all jumped when she screamed. She was crying in pain, and my heart was pounding when I went in to look for her. Her father carried her straight to the hospital, but still, her arm suffered a bad burn despite our quick reaction. In the hospital, the staff attended to her burns and applied dressings to cover the wounds properly. Every two days they wash and clean her wounds, and then they informed us that she needs a skin graft. We have been here in this ward for 20 long days. Bushra is playful and curious, being stuck in bed the whole day every day is hard for her. She is even tired of seeing the colour of the green sterile hospital scrubs. As everyone who enters the room to see and visit wears a green sterile gown, she gets upset when she sees this green colour. She used to cry whenever she sees me wearing it, and would stop as soon as I took it off. I am now more aware of what could happen if she is left alone even for a single moment. I will never let her out of my sight ever again.”
Iraq

Supporting people in Qayyarah

Project Update - 12 Jul 2019
 
Abbas, 4 years old, playing inside MSF’s Kids Zone. Abbas & his brother Youssef are both Thalassemia patients receiving treatment at MSF’s paediatric ward at the Elias Hraoui Government Hospital in Zahle. MSF’s Thalasemia services include, medical consultation and follow up, medical treatment and blood transfusion in addition to social and educational follow up for the children and their families. A children’s visit to the hospital to receive treatment for Thalassemia could last for a full day. To make it an enjoyable experience, MSF prepared a Kids’ Zone, a safe space for thalassemia children to play, draw and have fun with their friends, as the mental well-being of the kids are an important factor in their physical health.
Lebanon

Treating Syrian children suffering from thalassemia

Thalassemia is a hereditary blood disorder which affects primarily people from the Mediterranean basin, including Syria. In Lebanon, MSF is treating Syrian refugee children with the disease, who usually lack access to treatment. Project Update - 5 Jul 2019
 
Dhi Sufal district is located at the south of Ibb governorate, in borders with Taiz governorate. In addition to MSF supported hospital, and due to the increase of the cholera cases in the area. MSF started Cholera treatment centre at the same district. MSF cholera treatment centre is receiving patients from Ibb, Taiz, and other IDPs from Hodeidah as well. Since Jan 2019, MSF has received 5466 of patients, between moderate and severe cases and has been working since the opening on 2017.
Yemen

The indirect consequences of war for people in Yemen

More than four years since the start of the war in Yemen, the indirect consequences of the conflict on ordinary Yemenis are high. Among them, people struggle to reach medical care and hospitals in time, which can have serious repercussions on their health. Project Update - 25 Jun 2019
 
Refugees and migrants detained in this detention centre get rice or pasta for lunch and dinner. For breakfast people receive bread with some cheese. Meals often have to be shared by many people. Food is prepared in-house and is served in large metal bowls to be shared by five to 10 people.
Libya

“Healthwise, it was a disaster” in Libya’s Zintan and Gharyan detention centres

MSF staff who were recently granted access to two detention centres in Libya found a catastrophic medical situation among the people detained there. Project Update - 21 Jun 2019
 
Yemen, Saada city, 22 April 2019 - A man walking in front of destroyed buildings near the old city of Saada.
Yemen

Aerial bombardments in Sa'ada

Video report on life in Sa'ada, the most bombed governorate of Yemen. With almost a quarter of all recorded coalition air raids since March 2015, the MSF hospital that was bombed in 2015 and reopened in April 2018 had admitted more than 1,500 patients by the end of the year. Project Update - 20 Jun 2019
 
In March 2018, Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) sent an assessment team to Mosul’s old city in northern Iraq. The old city experienced intense shelling, aerial bombing and attacks with improvised explosive devices (IED) during the conflict. Much of the old city is still inaccessible due to the destruction and presence of IEDs, unexploded ordinance (UXO) and booby traps. The MSF assessment team visited two primary healthcare centres (PHCCs) and donated medical supplies such as painkillers, antibiotics, dressing materials and tablets for sterilizing water. The assessment found the PHCCs were under-resourced and struggled to provide healthcare due to the lack of medication, water and electricity. One of the doctors said: “If we don't have water or electricity, we cannot do anything…most of the cases we cannot treat. We can only treat the simple cases and the complicated cases we refer.” MSF currently runs a maternity and paediatrics hospital in west Mosul, and a post-operative and surgical unit for war-wounded patients in east Mosul. Following the assessment in the old city, MSF distributed 550 hygiene kits to families. The kits included items such as soap, toothbrushes, towels and water containers and will help families stay clean and prevent the spread of diseases.
Iraq

MSF in Iraq Annual Report 2018

Report on MSF's activities in Iraq during 2018. Report - 14 Jun 2019
Four mothers posing in a corridor of the Hospital in Bili. All four of them are staying in the hospital with their child, that's suffering from a severe case of malaria. Since the beginning of the project in 2016, the pediatric ward already treated more than 4.000 cases of complicated/severe form of malaria.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Independent medical humanitarian assistance

We provide medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. Our teams are made up of tens of thousands of health professionals, logistic and administrative staff - most of them hired locally. Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of independence and impartiality. We are a non-profit, self-governed, member-based organisation.

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