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.
Many people are unable to access healthcare simply because of who they are. They may be afraid to seek help, or are excluded because they are forced to live outside of mainstream societal bounds.
People who are excluded include undocumented migrants, street children, sex workers, prisoners, drug addicts or the mentally ill. Sometimes, entire communities are systematically neglected by relevant authorities. These might be people who live in slums, or communities hit by criminal violence and gang warfare. Our teams provide medical, psychological and social support to people cut off from health services. Our work also involves drawing attention to the obstacles patients face in accessing healthcare.
Photo Story
Zimbabwe mental health project
8 Feb 2018
Photo Story
Featured
Colombia
People suffer high levels of violence despite peace process
16 Aug 2017
Mozambique
Reaching out to sex workers in the Beira corridor
Project Update2 Jun 2016
Mexico
Guerrero under siege
Voices from the Field28 May 2018
Ukraine
The challenges of treating prisoners with Drug-Resistant TB
Voices from the Field18 Feb 2014
El Salvador
MSF facilitates access to healthcare in communities of San Salvador and Soyapango
Project Update3 Jul 2018
Mental health
Visible and invisible wounds – MSF treats survivors of torture
Voices from the Field26 Jun 2018
Greece
EU border policies fuel mental health crisis for asylum seekers
Report10 Oct 2017
Colombia
People suffer high levels of violence despite peace process
Report16 Aug 2017
Libya
MSF continues to provide medical care to migrants and refugees detained in Tripoli
Project Update19 May 2017
Photo Story
Cycles of abuse and gender based violence revealed in Papua New Guinea
1 Mar 2016
Photo Story
Research & Analysis
Italy
Migrants and refugees on the margins of society
Report8 Feb 2018
Greece
EU border policies fuel mental health crisis for asylum seekers
Report10 Oct 2017
Colombia
People suffer high levels of violence despite peace process
Report16 Aug 2017
Photo Story
Cycles of abuse and gender based violence revealed in Papua New Guinea
1 Mar 2016
Photo Story
Journal article
Humanitarian work in prisons: the experience of Médecins Sans Frontières
22 Apr 2014
Journal article
Social violence and exclusion
Urban Survivors
Voices from the Field2 Nov 2011
Related topics
Crisis Settings
War and conflict
Around one-third of our humanitarian and medical assistance is for populations caught in armed conflict.
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
Sexual violence
Sexual violence affects millions of people, brutally shattering the lives of women, men and children. It is a medical emergency, but there is often a dire lack of healthcare services for victims.
