| Address: | 333 7th Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10001-5004 |
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| Geographic Area Served: | International | |
| Year Founded: | 1971 | |
| Website: | http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org | |
| Phone Number: | (212) 679-6800 |
Mission Statement: |
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| Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is an independent international medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural or man-made disasters, or exclusion from health care in more than 70 countries.
MSF's decision to intervene in any country or crisis is based solely on an independent assessment of people's needs -- not on political, economic, or religious interests. MSF does not take sides or intervene according to the demands of governments or warring parties. In recognition of its work, MSF was awarded the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize. | ||
Methods: |
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| Each year, MSF doctors, nurses, logisticians, water-and-sanitation experts, administrators, and other medical and non-medical professionals depart on more than 4,700 aid assignments. They work alongside more than 25,800 locally hired staff to provide medical care. In emergencies and their aftermath, MSF provides essential health care, rehabilitates and runs hospitals and clinics, performs surgery, battles epidemics, carries out vaccination campaigns, operates feeding centers for malnourished children, and offers mental health care. When needed, MSF also constructs wells and dispenses clean drinking water, and provides shelter materials like blankets and plastic sheeting. Through longer-term programs, MSF treats patients with infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, sleeping sickness, and HIV/AIDS, and provides medical and psychological care to marginalized groups such as street children. MSF was founded in 1971 as the first nongovernmental organization to both provide emergency medical assistance and bear witness publicly to the plight of the people it assists. A private nonprofit association, MSF is an international network with sections in 19 countries. MSF is often one of the first humanitarian organizations to arrive at the scene of an emergency. Its large-scale logistical capacity ensures that MSF emergency teams hit the ground with the specialized medical kits and equipment they need to start saving lives immediately. Custom-designed by MSF for specific field situations, geographic conditions, and climates, a kit may contain a complete operating room, for example, or all of the supplies needed to treat hundreds of cholera patients. MSF kits and medical protocols have been replicated by relief organizations worldwide. MSF has proven expertise in the field of epidemiology and is often called on to monitor, diagnose, and control outbreaks of diseases, such as cholera, meningitis, and measles. | ||
In Their Own Words: |
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During its first years, MSF created an expansive network of medical volunteers and intervened in severe emergencies around the world. In the late 1970s, the organization grew exponentially, largely because of a dramatic increase in refugee and displaced populations. Since then, MSF has responded to nearly every major humanitarian crisis to date and continues to focus on assisting those whose lives have been disrupted by conflict and other emergencies and who are in urgent need of medical care. Our teams frequently work in areas that are remote and dangerous, responding to neglected emergencies in which few other international organizations, if any, are providing assistance.
We unite direct medical care with a commitment to bearing witness and speaking out against the underlying causes of suffering. Our aid workers and staff protest violations of humanitarian law on behalf of populations who have no voice, and bring the concerns of their patients to public forums, such as the United Nations, governments (in both home and project countries), and the media. In a wide range of circumstances, MSF aid workers have spoken out about forgotten conflicts and underreported atrocities they have witnessed. We also advocate for affordable and effective medicines to treat neglected diseases that are killing millions of people each year. | ||
Financials: |
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| Total Income: | $123,663,135 | |
| Total Expenses: | $117,346,357 | |
| Amount Spent on Programs: | $101,659,899 | |
| Percentage Spent on Programs: | 86.63% | |
| Reporting Year: | 2006 |
