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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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8005 Results
 
“I’d already experienced torture before leaving my country and crossing the sea. I’m using my past experience to help me deal with the pandemic” Frederic*, who lives in a shared container in a Greek refugee camp, spoke to MSF about how he is coping with lockdown and the threat of COVID-19. “At the start of this coronavirus saga, I thought it’d be all over within a week or two. But after finding out more about the disease and how it was spreading, I realised it was much more serious than I’d thought. The death toll soared overnight. I hadn’t seen it coming and it caused me a lot of stress. When the number of deaths reached 600-700 in Italy and Spain each day, it took a psychological toll on me. I remember having to talk with my psychologist because I was really scared. I heard stories of people who were in good health one day and by the next day they were dead. Doctors and health workers, too, were falling victim to the disease, which seemed to destroy everything in its path. Then the Greek government announced the lockdown. I had to stay in and stop work – my boss asked all of us to stop working. I realised then that the disease would have a real impact on me. I spent a lot of time just thinking about the disease – when it would end, whether I and people close to me would die in the pandemic. I was thinking about it more and more. A lot of bad thoughts started popping up in my head and I had a lot of flashbacks. I’d suffered enough already and now it seemed the suffering would start again. I wondered how I’d escape it this time. I’d already experienced torture before leaving my country and crossing the sea. I’d already experienced a time when I was really sick and worried about my future. I went through this and then, thanks to God, after a long period of medical treatment, I recovered. When I recovered, I said to myself that I would use my past experience to help me deal with the pandemic. I realised that the difficulties I had been through in the past were bigger than this pandemic. This is how I convinced myself that the lockdown was no reason to stop me getting through this. The only time that fear fills me is when I’m confined in my container. In the camp we live five or six to a container. I know that I can’t stop people coming in to see my room-mate and I have no choice but to gesture to people to keep away. But that's all I do. We have no alternative – this is the only space we have to live. At the same time, we’re aware that there are other people in even greater need – people who have even less space – so we have to make the most of the limited space we have. I feel lucky that at least I’m in a camp, with a place to live. We also have a stadium where we can exercise. So I’m in a better position than people confined in apartments with no space to exercise. I’m in a recovery process as my knee was injured back in my country. My medical consultation is currently interrupted due to this situation, but my doctor calls me often to check how I’m doing. I know that the whole planet is experiencing the same thing, but what’s different for us, as refugees, is that our living conditions, combined with the lockdown and the threat of the virus, impose a double stress. It's difficult not having people you can talk to. When you don't have people around you that you trust, it's not easy to relax. My psychologist, Zoe, is one of the few people I can really talk to. Since the lockdown started, I’ve talked with her most weeks. I’d like to thank all the MSF staff for the help they give us because it’s not easy, really. You can't imagine the difference it makes to have this support.” *Names have been changed
Greece

Using torture survival skills to cope during a pandemic

Voices from the Field - 5 May 2020
 
MSF staff and volunteers carry out a COVID-19 hygiene awareness campaign and soap distribution to households in Logan Town, near the capital city, Monrovia. In an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the community, MSF staff are using megaphones and handing out pamphlets, advising people to wash their hands regularly, respect social distancing and avoid touching their faces. Location: Logan Town, Monrovia, Liberia
Liberia

MSF supports efforts to treat COVID-19 in Liberia

Iline Celeen is the MSF Emergency Project Coordinator in Liberia, working on the COVID-19 response in the country and outlines what we’re doing in this interview. Interview - 4 May 2020
 
Health promotion activities at asylum seekers camp in Matamoros
United States of America

MSF demands US end deportations to stop COVID-19 spread to fragile health systems

MSF has demanded the US cease all deportations, a process that is moving people from the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic to lower transmission countries and which will exacerbate a public health crisis in the region. Press Release - 4 May 2020
 
MSF staff member squeezes out the last drop of vaccine for a young child.
Vaccination

Overcoming barriers so vaccines can save lives

Vaccines can save lives but we need to overcome barriers - such as logistics and high prices - to get them to people first. Project Update - 29 Apr 2020
 
Switzerland, COVID-19 patients in Intensive care unit of HUG. MSF nurse Kathrine Zimmermann supports the intensive care unit of the Geneva University Hospitals for people with COVID-19. April 14, 2020. ©Nora Teylouni / MSF.
Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic

Overwhelming, lonely, stressful – life in a COVID-19 unit in Geneva

Nurse Kathrine Zimmerman, whose day job is at MSF's Geneva headquarters, recently spent six weeks in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at Geneva's main hospital and shares her experience. Voices from the Field - 27 Apr 2020
 
A mobile team from MSF is giving a briefing to the staff of the retirement home "Résidence Christalain", in Jette, Brussels.
Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic

Why protecting and supporting staff in care homes during COVID-19 is so vital

Stephanie Goublomme is coordinating MSF’s COVID-19 response in care homes in Brussels, Belgium. She explains what her teams have seen and why it's so important to support care home staff. Voices from the Field - 24 Apr 2020
 
El equipo de MSF visita la Residencia Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes de El Royo (Soria). // MSF in the elderly care home (Residencia Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes) in El Royo, Soria province.
Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic

Out of view, but not out of mind: MSF's response to COVID-19 in care homes

COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll in care homes for elderly people, who need a special level of care. MSF are training care home staff to help cope with the increased needs. Project Update - 24 Apr 2020
 
Staff members wait for the first visitors on opening day of MSF's shower trailer in Manhattan. MSF is offering free warm showers to the homeless and other people who currently lack access to hygiene facilities during the pandemic.
Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic

Vulnerable communities in the US in urgent need of protection from COVID-19

MSF has started responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, addressing the needs of vulnerable people and communities in hard-hit New York. Project Update - 24 Apr 2020
 
MSF works in Nablus since 2004, providing psychotherapeutic and psychiatric assistance, group therapy, group mental health awareness sessions and psychosocial support activities in two clinics in Nablus and Qalqylia and in a new consultation room opened in Tubas in December 2019. In 2002, the Israeli Government launched the construction of a barrier in and around the West Bank with the stated purpose of preventing violent attacks by Palestinians in Israel. Land for construction of Barrier sections inside the West Bank has been requisitioned from Palestinian landowners. Approximately 65.3 per cent (465km) of the projected 712-kilometre-long structure has been completed, of which 85 per cent runs inside the West Bank.
Palestine

Like a virus, violence spreads in the West Bank amid COVID-19

While lockdowns are new for many parts of the world, for Palestinians, it's been their daily reality for years. But amid the COVID-19 pandemic, violence and mental health issues are on the rise. Project Update - 23 Apr 2020
 
A staff member prepares to enter the high-risk zone at the Ebola Treatment Center in Beni. MSF took over the well-equipped structure from ALIMA to ensure continuous capacity.
DRC Ebola outbreaks

New Ebola cases confirmed in DRC days before expected end of outbreak

Just two days before the Ebola outbreak in DRC was expected to be declared over, new cases of the disease have emerged in Beni, in a setback for the region. Project Update - 23 Apr 2020
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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