Our Story | Médecins Sans Frontières(MSF)/Doctors Without Borders

Overview

Health gaps, bridged by us

MSF South Asia delivers impartial medical care across fragile and underserved communities. We combine rapid emergency response, sustained clinical programmes, and mental health support, working alongside local teams to reach populations often excluded from timely, quality healthcare.

Mission

Providing urgent medical aid to the vulnerable, guided by ethics, neutrality, and human need.

Values

The compass behind our work

Impartiality

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.

Independence

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; 97 per cent comes from individual private donors giving small amounts. We strive to freely evaluate needs, access populations without restriction, and to directly deliver the aid we provide.

Neutrality

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.

Bearing witness

Neutrality is not synonymous with silence. Our proximity to people in distress implies a duty to raise awareness of 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.

Transparent and accountable

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.

History

A legacy of action

MSF was born in 1971 in France, when a group of doctors and journalists witnessed the suffering caused by war and famine in Biafra, Nigeria. They shared a simple but urgent vision: to deliver medical aid swiftly, effectively, and with complete impartiality.

With just 300 volunteers, doctors, nurses, and journalists, the founders built an organisation rooted in neutrality, independence, and a commitment to being there where people needed help most.

From these early beginnings, MSF has grown into a global movement, delivering lifesaving care to millions across conflict zones, disaster-struck regions, and communities often forgotten by the world.

Founders

Voices that defined a movement

Founded by French doctors and journalists, MSF emerged from a conviction that medical care must cross borders to serve urgent human needs.

Dr. Jacques Beres

Dr. Xavier Emmanuelli

Dr. Gérard Pigeon

Philippe Bernier

Dr. Pascal Greletty-Bosviel

Vladan Radoman

Raymond Borel

Gérard Illiouz

Dr. Max Recamier

Dr. Jean Cabrol

Dr. Bernard Kouchner

Dr. Jean-Michel Wild

Dr. Marcel Delcourt

Our Journey

A timeline of humane action

1971

A Charter for the new MSF

MSF is officially created on 22 December 1971. At the time, 300 volunteers make up the organisation: doctors, nurses and other staff, including the 13 founding doctors and journalists.

1972

MSF's first mission

MSF’s first mission in 1972, is in Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, and follows an earthquake which destroyed most of the city and killed between 10,000 and 30,000 people.

1974

Honduras

In 1974, MSF sets up a relief mission to help the people of Honduras after Hurricane Fifi causes major flooding and kills thousands of people.

1975

Turning point

In 1975, MSF establishes its first large-scale medical programme during a refugee crisis, providing medical care for the waves of Cambodians seeking sanctuary from Pol Pot’s oppressive rule..

1976

Learning to work in a war context

From 1976 and until 1984, MSF is present in Beirut and other cities in Lebanon to treat all war-wounded. Each day, the team treats patients injured by shrapnel or bullets. Broken limbs and burns are also looked after.