An international, independent medical humanitarian organisation
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) translates to Doctors without Borders. 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 - bound together by our charter. Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality. We are a non-profit, self-governed, member-based organisation.
MSF was founded in 1971 in Paris by a group of journalists and doctors. Today, we are a worldwide movement of nearly 68,000 people.
![Bangassou - General context 2016 Bangassou - General context 2016](https://img.msf.org/AssetLink/71880tp4l471hc4funp4a78jhm4fa00w.jpg)
The MSF Charter
All of its members agree to honour the following principles:
Médecins Sans Frontières provides assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict. They do so irrespective of race, religion, creed or political convictions.
Médecins Sans Frontières 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 maintain complete independence from all political, economic or religious powers.
As volunteers, members understand the risks and dangers of the missions 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.
Complementary to the Charter, two core documents define our ways of working and guiding principles by exploring the concepts of proximity to patients, quality medical care, and témoignage - or bearing witness.
![Doctors on Rails - MSF Medicalised train in Ukraine Doctors on Rails - MSF Medicalised train in Ukraine](https://img.msf.org/AssetLink/mb61l4fij52ag161haf0332if44t24np.jpg)
Patients first
Our actions are guided by medical ethics
MSF’s actions are first and foremost medical. The notion of quality care for the individual patient is central to our humanitarian objective. We seek to provide high-quality care and to act always in the best interest of patients; to respect their confidentiality, their right to make their own decisions and above all, to do them no harm. When medical assistance alone is not enough, we may provide shelter, water and sanitation, food or other services.
Working principles
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![Bourbon Argos Rescue 2015 Bourbon Argos Rescue 2015](https://img.msf.org/AssetLink/i8a313a330f1605n3q75osk0h014xxy7.jpg)
We offer assistance to people based on need. It doesn’t matter which country they are from, which religion they belong to, or what their political affiliations are. We give priority to those in the most serious and immediate danger.
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![Snapshots from Northern Syria Snapshots from Northern Syria](https://img.msf.org/AssetLink/oo5s31m36c6b247aj425at1e54m2nsbm.jpg)
Our decision to offer assistance is based on our evaluation of medical needs, independent of political, economic or religious interests. Our independence is rooted in our funding; 98 per cent comes from individual private donors giving small amounts and private institutions. We strive to freely evaluate needs, access populations without restriction, and to directly deliver the aid we provide.
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We do not take sides in armed conflicts nor support the agendas of warring parties. Sometimes we are not present on all sides to the conflict; this may be because access is denied to us, or due to insecurity, or because the main needs of the population are already covered.
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!["Even war has rules” - Press Briefing "Even war has rules” - Press Briefing](https://img.msf.org/AssetLink/jrc057h7315nkx816fa614303800fl1c.jpg)
Neutrality is not synonymous with silence. Our proximity to people in distress implies a duty to raise awareness on their plight to ultimately help improve their situation. We may seek to bring attention to extreme need and suffering, when access to lifesaving medical care is hindered, when our teams witness extreme acts of violence, when crises are neglected, or when the provision of aid is abused.
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![Drones: A helpful humanitarian tool Drones: A helpful humanitarian tool](https://img.msf.org/AssetLink/7bpn1b826w18if4lfm7n40n2dypc63m8.jpg)
We take responsibility of accounting for our actions to our patients and donors, and being transparent on the choices we make. Evaluations, critical reviews and debate on our field practices, our public positioning and on wider humanitarian issues, are necessary to improve what we do.
We are a global movement, with staff from over 160 countries
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![Old Fangak Stories Old Fangak Stories](https://img.msf.org/Docs/MSF/Media/CMS3/3/0/a/5/MSF223933.jpg)
Our strength lies in our teams, from health staff, to logisticians and administrative staff. In 2022 we employed over 40,000 staff locally and thousands more left on field assignments abroad.
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![Insein clinic, for treatment for HIV, TB, and Hepatitis C in Yangon. By Alessandro Penso, Feb 2018. Insein clinic, for treatment for HIV, TB, and Hepatitis C in Yangon. By Alessandro Penso, Feb 2018.](https://img.msf.org/AssetLink/fvu47hioj3u0rns4t0070786rp8yqa7r.jpg)
MSF rejects the idea that resource-limited countries deserve third-rate medical services. We strive to provide high-quality care to patients and we advocate for affordable, high-quality medicines.
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We count on the generous support of more than 7.3 million individual donors worldwide. Ninety-eight per cent of our funds comes from private donations, allowing us to act fast to save lives.
Our history
![ANIMATION: Once upon a time the MSF movement (ENG) ANIMATION: Once upon a time the MSF movement (ENG)](https://img.msf.org/Docs/MSF/Media/TR1/7/0/c/9/MSF182369.jpg)
The MSF movement
Why we started
From a group of doctors to an international movement: how has the MSF movement developed over the years? Learn about the creation of MSF and the major chapters of our history through the animated film, Once Upon a Time the MSF Movement.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was founded in 1971 in France by a group of doctors and journalists in the wake of war and famine in Biafra, Nigeria. Their aim was to establish an independent organisation that focuses on delivering emergency medicine aid quickly, effectively and impartially.
Three hundred volunteers made up the organisation when it was founded: doctors, nurses and other staff, including the 13 founding doctors and journalists.
MSF was created in the belief that all people should have access to healthcare regardless of gender, race, religion, creed or political affiliation, and that people’s medical needs outweigh respect for national boundaries. MSF’s principles of action are described in our charter, which established a framework for our activities.
- Dr Jacques Beres
- Philippe Bernier
- Raymond Borel
- Dr Jean Cabrol
- Dr Marcel Delcourt
- Dr Xavier Emmanuelli
- Dr Pascal Greletty-Bosviel
- Gérard Illiouz
- Dr Bernard Kouchner
- Dr Gérard Pigeon
- Vladan Radoman
- Dr Max Recamier
- Dr Jean-Michel Wild