What Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) does

MSF’s core work is providing medical aid in crisis situations - armed conflicts, epidemics, famines and natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes. All these situations call for a rapid response with specialised medical and logistical help.

Every year MSF sends out around 3000 doctors, nurses, logisticians, water-and-sanitation experts, administrators and other professionals to work alongside approximately 25 000 locally hired staff. Together they run medical projects in more than 60 countries around the world. MSF opens and closes a number of individual projects each year, responding to acute crises, monitoring situations as they develop and remaining flexible to the changing needs of patients. A number of projects may be running simultaneously in a single country as needed.
 
Beyond the urgency of acute crises, MSF teams also work in situations where the health care system is simply inadequate. MSF provides basic health care and disease prevention in refugee situations, areas of persistent instability or places that are so remote that health care is virtually unheard of. We've pioneered HIV/AIDS treatment in the world's poorest regions and we campaign for fairer access to medicines for the world’s poorest people.

MSF teams deliver both medical aid (including consultations with a doctor, hospital care, nutritional care, vaccinations, surgery, obstetrics and psychological care) and material aid (food, shelter, blankets etc). When necessary, MSF teams also repair or construct medical and sanitation facilities.

International volunteers & local staff

As well as medical roles (doctors, surgeons, nurses, midwives, laboratory technicians and mental health specialists) many other experienced professionals are needed. Logistics managers, water and sanitation experts, financial and HR coordinators all contribute to rapid and effective medical care.
Dedicated, motivated and experienced, they make a commitment to spend between nine months and a year abroad, often in remote locations. Long hours, frustration, difficult working conditions and some level of personal risk could all be in a day's work. Equally, job satisfaction, learning new skills and a profound sense of achievement are just as likely.
Many volunteers leave well-paid jobs to offer their expertise. MSF offers a stipend of approximately £700 a month whilst they are overseas to cover expenses.

In most places where MSF works, for every one international volunteer there are at least ten locally employed staff who are the backbone of every MSF project. Without these staff MSF could not function; many are trained doctors, nurses and logistics managers with essential local knowledge which can be invaluable. In unstable situations they know who is trustworthy, where it is safe to travel and where it is not. It is often the local staff who continue to provide care when MSF leaves or when circumstances force an evacuation of international staff.

One of the long queues of people during the mosquito net distribution in the villages of the province of Kayanza.
Northern Burundi has been grappling with a malaria epidemic since the start of the year.
The MSF teams have been cooperating with Burundi authorities to fight the spread of the disease
by treating patients and distributing mosquito nets to prevent new infections.

Charity Registration No. 1026588
www.msf.org