MSF Canada included in Top 10 International Impact Charities for 2020
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Canada gratefully acknowledges our inclusion in Charity Intelligence’s list of Top 10 International Impact Charities, which recognizes MSF’s emergency humanitarian medical work in more than 70 countries around the world, providing direct and lifesaving medical care to people affected by conflicts, crises, disasters and disease epidemics.
Last year, MSF field teams carried out more than 10 million medical consultations, treated 2.6 million people for malaria and assisted with 329,900 births in places where no other safe options for maternal care were available. These represent just some of MSF’s high-impact international medical activities, which also include primary and secondary healthcare, vaccination programs, treatment for survivors of sexual violence and mental health services.
MSF’s humanitarian medical work also takes place in Canada. In 2020, that included our first-ever field operations in this country, providing pandemic-response support to help meet the needs of vulnerable people affected by COVID-19 last spring. More fundamentally, we continue to advocate in Canada for improved access to essential medicines both here and around the world, and for changes to a global pharmaceutical system that prioritizes private profits over public health.
Lives Over Profits
Our Lives Over Profits campaign calls on Canada’s government to ensure that the millions it contributes to medical research and development each year — including more than $1-billion towards COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and other health technologies in 2020 — come with conditions requiring that innovations paid for with public funds be accessible and affordable to those who need them most. More than 91,000 Canadians signed our petition on this issue this year, and their signatures were delivered to Canada’s Health Minister, the Hon. Patty Hajdu, on October 29.
MSF’s actions in Canada are driven by our commitment to our patients and their communities around the world, who frequently lack access to lifesaving medicines that are priced beyond their reach — even when those medicines are developed with public funds. We believe that no one should be deprived of essential medical care as a result of who they are, where they live or how much money they have.
We are grateful to all Canadians who have demonstrated their shared commitment to this principle through their continued support for MSF’s humanitarian medical work. Thank you for making our lifesaving impact possible, here in Canada and around the world.
