Skip to main content
Back to main menu

About Us

How we work

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

Learn more
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.

Learn more
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.

Learn more
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.

Learn more

What we do

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

View all topics Activities by country
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.

View all countries
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
View Resource Centre
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
ARHP

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

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
Humanitarian Law

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

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
MSF Science Portal

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

GO TO SITE
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.

GO TO SITE
TIC

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

GO TO SITE
Telemedicine

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

GO TO SITE
Sweden Innovation Unit

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

GO TO SITE
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
Learn more
1993 Results
 
Migrants from Local Center are taking a rest in front of Adour river in Bayonne. Des migrants logés dans le centre de transit de Bayonne se reposent face à la rivière Adour à Bayonne.
France

Migrants trapped in relentless cycle of rejection on French-Spanish border

Migrants and asylum-seekers crossing the border between Spain and France are frequently sent back to Spain by French police, leaving them helpless and vulnerable to people smugglers. Project Update - 6 Feb 2019
 
Patients wait for a consultation at MSF's primary health centre in Jamtoli.
Rohingya refugee crisis

The 5 things we've found after one million consultations in Cox’s Bazar

Between August 2017 and December 2018, MSF staff provided more than 1 million consultations to Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, after fleeing violence in Myanmar. Medical coordinator Jessica Patti reflects on the five things we've found in that time. Project Update - 5 Feb 2019
 
“We were seven women in the courtyard when we understood, by seeing the smoke coming from the burned houses, that massacres were happening. We ran away in the bush with our children to hide behind trees and we staid there 3 days. We walked more than 50km to arrive up to here. The village? I don’t want to hear about it anymore. Our husbands were killed. Our children’s notebook were all burnt.” Haibata / « Nous étions sept femmes dans la cour lorsqu’on a compris que des massacres avaient lieu, à cause de la fumée qui venait des maisons brûlées. Nous nous sommes enfuies en brousse avec nos enfants pour nous cacher derrière des arbres, nous y sommes restées 3 jours. Nous avons marché plus de 50 km pour arriver jusqu’ici. Le village ? Je ne veux plus en entendre parler. Nos maris ont été tués. Les cahiers d’école de nos enfants ont tous été brûlés ». Haibata
Burkina Faso

Escalating violence leaves displaced with significant needs

In the wake of violence which has displaced thousands of people from northern Burkina Faso, water, hygiene and medical needs in camps are significant. MSF is providing help. Project Update - 31 Jan 2019
 
Men in the detention centre cells. On September 2nd, 276 people were brought by the Libyan coast guard to Khoms (120 km east of Tripoli). They were then transferred to detention center where MSF works. Reportedly, they were in two rubber coats, one stopped due to engine failure, while the other boat continued to navigate for several hours before deflating and sinking. Survivors told MSF teams that over a hundred people died in the shipwreck.
Libya

Refugees returned to overcrowded Libyan detention centres

Over recent weeks, vulnerable refugees have been intercepted or rescued in the Mediterranean Sea and brought back to Libya - in violation of international law - and are now locked up in dire conditions in overcrowded detention facilities. Project Update - 23 Jan 2019
 
Mental health consultation in the MSF hospital in Nduta refugge camp, Tanzania.
Mental health

Displaced and distressed: people’s mental health in East Africa

MSF teams in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda are seeing the numbers of patients seeking treatment for mental health issues is increasing – in some cases even doubling – because of violence and displacement. Project Update - 22 Jan 2019
 
January 15, 2018. Some 8000 people who fled Rann after attack last night seek shelter in Bodo, Cameroon. An MSF medical team arrived in Bodo today. There they found more than 8’000 people, (estimate) mostly women and young children. 1’200 people have been able to settle inland and more than 7’000 people are still at the river (border). But people continue to arrive. They have no shelter, no fresh water and fled Rann with no belongings. The local community organized solidarity to provide them with some food. MSF teams are bringing medical supplies and are preparing to support the local health centre there. MSF teams are planning to return tomorrow with emergency food, shelter and a watsan team to support them. This is devastating news for the people in Rann who have already suffered so much.
Nigeria

Thousands fleeing Rann attack seek refuge in Cameroon

A devastating attack on Rann, northeast Nigeria, has sent thousands of people fleeing across the border to Bodo, Cameroon, needing assistance with food, shelter, water and medical treatment. MSF teams have arrived in Bodo to provide help. Project Update - 16 Jan 2019
 
Patient: When the bomb fell on our home, it trapped my legs. I couldn’t do anything; I watched my family die in front of my eyes. My mother, sister, my two children, dying and I did nothing. Since we arrived in Lebanon, most days I just stay in the room with the children. It’s been almost five weeks since my last day out. MSF's Psychologist: I try to help her to let go of this guilt, to see that her family would understand she did everything she could. We’re still working on the difference between forgetting and moving on. Patiente: Quand la bombe s’est écrasée sur notre maison, mes jambes se sont retrouvées coincées sous les gravats. Je ne pouvais rien faire et j’ai vu ma famille mourir devant moi. Ma mère, ma sœur, mes deux enfants… ils sont morts et je n’ai rien fait. Depuis que l’on est arrivé au Liban, je passe la plupart de mes journées enfermée à la maison, avec les enfants. Cela fait presque cinq semaines que je ne suis pas sortie. Psychologue MSF: J’essaie de lui faire oublier ce sentiment de culpabilité, de lui dire que sa famille aurait compris qu’elle ne pouvait rien faire. Nous travaillons encore sur la différence entre le fait d’oublier et celui d’aller de l’avant.
Lebanon

“To see one smile on a broken face is enough to know that this work is worthwhile”

MSF has been working with refugees in Shatila refugee camp, Lebanon, since 2013. Illustrator Ella Barron visited our clinic in late 2018 and took refugees' testimonies and illustrated their stories, while MSF psychologist Miriam Slikhanian shares her experience of working on mental health issues in the camp. Project Update - 15 Jan 2019
 
Yemen, Mawza, 13 December 2018 – Defused landmines. Mawza is located in Taiz governorate, a 45 minutes-drive to the east of Mocha city. This is a very poor and rural area, people are depending on their land to eat and to earn money. The area was taken over from Ansar Allah’s control by forces loyal to President Hadi, supported by the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition, in the beginning of 2018. Fighting damaged the fields and thus, the livelihood of the 13,000 inhabitants of Mawza. While military troops were withdrawing, thousands of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) were planted in the area. Between August and December, MSF teams in Mocha received around 150 people injured by landmines or IED, mainly children playing in the fields. Landmines and IEDs are defused by military forces. Local NGOs are in charge of locating these devices.
Yemen

Trapped by landmines

Landmines and explosive devices urgently need clearing from civilian areas in southwest Yemen – not only places where people live, but also agricultural land. Project Update - 10 Jan 2019
 
Constant influx of newly arrived people have left IDPs living in overcrowded communal shelters (60 to 70 people) or camping in the open under trees. They can stay there for several months before being allocated a personal shelter for their family.
Nigeria

“All I have in this world are the clothes on my back”

People continue to be displaced by violence in northeast Nigeria, where MSF has been providing lifesaving medical care since 2014. Many are dependent on aid to survive, and there is often not enough to go around. Project Update - 8 Jan 2019
 
Amana is a village of around 6,000 people, close to the Cameroonian border. Since the conflict in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon began in November 2017, more than 4,000 refugees have arrived in the village and have been hosted by the local community.
Nigeria

Tens of thousands of Cameroonians seek refuge in southern Nigeria

MSF has launched an emergency response to provide aid to people fleeing the English-speaking regions of Cameroon to seek refuge in southern Nigeria’s Cross River State, and to support the communities hosting them. Project Update - 21 Dec 2018
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.

Learn more