The International movement

We are a movement engaging Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff and supporters from all over the world in a shared commitment to medical humanitarian action, supporting people facing crises.

We have six operational centres that directly manage our humanitarian work and decide when, where and what medical care is needed.

MSF sections are offices that support our medical work. They mainly recruit staff, organize fundraising, and raise awareness on the humanitarian crises our teams are witnessing. 

Some MSF sections have opened branch offices to extend this support work further. There are some two dozen sections and more than 15 branch offices around the world.

Additional satellite offices exist to support our work, mainly for logistics, supply and epidemiology.

Nobel Peace Prize 1999 

MSF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. The judges chose MSF “in recognition of the organization’s pioneering humanitarian work on several continents,” and to honour the medical staff who had already worked in more than 70 countries providing care to tens of millions of people. The proceeds from the prize were used to set up a fund to support neglected diseases such as Chagas, sleeping sickness and malaria – pilot projects for the clinical development, production, procurement and distribution of treatments.

“Given the extreme situations in which MSF staff find themselves on a daily basis, [patient and staff] facts and statistics can only ever tell a small part of the story. These figures can never give the real picture of those we treat, or those who make it all possible. Everyone who works for MSF is part of a chain, and everyone contributes uniquely to our final delivery of care to people who need it most.”

– DR. CHRISTOS CHRISTOU, MSF INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT

Our international president leads the MSF international board and the international general assembly, and represents MSF internationally. Dr. Christou was elected president during MSF’s international general assembly in June 2019 and began his tenure in September 2019.

Born in Trikala, a small town in central Greece, Dr. Christos Christou graduated from Aristotle University’s medical school in Thessaloniki, Greece and holds a PhD in surgery from the Kapodestrian University of Athens. He also holds a master’s degree in international health with a focus in health crisis management from the University of Athens and is a member of its faculty.

Focus projects

We seek to continually understand and improve medical humanitarian action and share knowledge and reflection.

MSF Access Campaign

Global advocacy for affordable and effective drugs, tests and vaccines, adapted for the people who need them.

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MSF Science Portal

Journal articles, conference materials and content from the hundreds of research studies and analyses MSF does each year.

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Epicentre

An MSF satellite devoted to epidemiology, research projects and training sessions in support of MSF’s medical humanitarian work.

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DNDi (Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative)

Research and development of new, affordable and patient-friendly treatments for people around the world who lack access to healthcare.

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CRASH

Critical reflection and analysis on MSF practices and public positions, aiming to improve MSF’s medical humanitarian actions.

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Telemedicine

Use of technology to bring critical care to patients in places where medical specialists aren’t always available.

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Transformational Investment Capacity

Selection, funding and tracking of projects to improve MSF’s ability to deliver medical care now and in future.

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The MSF charter

MSF is a private international association. The association is made up mainly of doctors and health sector workers and is also open to all other professions which might help in achieving its aims. All of its members agree to honour the following principles:

MSF provides assistance to populations in distress, to survivors of disasters and to survivors of armed conflict. They do so irrespective of race, religion, creed or political convictions.

MSF observes neutrality and impartiality in the name of universal medical ethics and the right to humanitarian assistance and claims full and unhindered freedom in the exercise of its functions.

Members undertake to respect their professional code of ethics and to maintain complete independence from all political, economic or religious powers.

Members understand the risks and dangers of the work they carry out and make no claim for themselves or their assigns for any form of compensation other than that which the association might be able to afford them.