Cause:

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is an independent humanitarian medical aid organization committed to providing medical care wherever needed, regardless of race, religion, politics or sex and raising awareness of the plight of people we help. MSF delivers assistance to populations affected by armed conflict, disease, natural or human-made disasters, or exclusion from health care.

Action:

MSF sends medical and non-medical professionals to work alongside local staff in close to 60 countries around the world. In emergencies and their aftermath, MSF teams provide essential health care, rehabilitate and run hospitals and clinics, perform surgery, battle epidemics, carry out vaccination campaigns, operate feeding centres for malnourished children, and offer maternal care and mental health care. When needed, MSF also offers emergency relief items such as clean drinking water and shelter materials. 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.

Impact:

Each year, MSF teams perform approximately 10 million consultations to meet the medical and humanitarian needs of the vulnerable populations they serve. In 2007, MSF provided comprehensive care to over 250,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, delivered 100,000 babies, and vaccinated millions of people against endemic diseases. MSF also addresses obstacles preventing people in the developing world from obtaining affordable, effective treatments for diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. When an emergency occurs, such as a natural disaster, MSF is one of the first organizations to arrive; it is prepared to launch an emergency intervention at a moment’s notice.