What guides us
Learn about the principles that drive our work and ensure that we can provide medical care to the people who need it most.
Who we are
Every day, Doctors Without Borders teams deliver emergency medical aid to people in crisis, with humanitarian projects in more than 70 countries.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) offers medical humanitarian assistance to people based solely on need, irrespective of race, religion, gender, or political affiliation. Our teams of doctors, nurses, logisticians, and other frontline workers are often among the first on the scene when peoples’ lives are upended by conflict, disease outbreaks, or natural or human-made disasters.
The decision to respond is based solely on our independent assessment of medical needs. We work to ensure that our teams can reach people in need without restriction and provide aid directly.
Above all, MSF’s goal is to do no harm. We’re committed to providing the highest quality medical care possible—no matter where we’re working—and to acting in our patients’ best interests, respecting their rights to dignity, confidentiality, informed consent, and to make their own decisions.
We believe that the principles of impartiality and neutrality are not synonymous with silence. When the world turns its back on crises, we are duty-bound to raise our voices and speak out on behalf of our patients. Our decision to do so is always guided by our mission to do no harm, preserve respect and dignity, and protect life and health.
Accountability is at the core of MSF’s identity. We strive to be as open and transparent as possible when it comes to the work we do and the money we spend. We continually reflect on both our successes and failures to ensure that the efficacy, quality, and efficiency of the care we provide is always improving.
Our financial independence ensures that the aid we provide is not used to further any government’s political or military goals. Most of our funding comes from small donations, and 97.2 percent of the money we raised globally in 2020 came from individual donors and private institutions. MSF USA does not accept any government funding.
With over 65,000 staff members of 169 nationalities working in more than 70 countries around the world, we recognize that diversity, equity, and inclusion are inextricably linked to the success of our medical humanitarian mission. We are making changes across our organization to better reflect this incredible diversity and build one global workforce by challenging operational structures, creating more opportunities for locally hired staff, reevaluating compensation and benefits policies, and more.
Click here to learn more about our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Representing the MSF movement in the US
MSF’s US office comprises 231 people who support the organization’s medical humanitarian action through staff recruitment, fundraising, communications and awareness-raising, and advocacy.
50 years ago, MSF reinvented emergency aid
Since our founding in 1971 MSF has helped tens of millions of people, and grown from a group of 13 doctors and journalists to an international movement of more than 68,000.
Accountability you can see
When it comes to raising and spending money, we employ the same principles that guide all of our work: transparency and accountability.
How you can help
Not everyone can treat patients in the field. But everyone can do something.
Some humanitarian crises make the headlines—others don’t. Unrestricted support from our donors allows us to mobilize quickly and efficiently to provide lifesaving medical care to the people who need it most, whether those needs are in the spotlight or not. And your donation is 100 percent tax-deductible.
