This week we’re profiling Doctors Without Borders. Are they in your Givolio?
During a time of warfare in Paris in the spring of 1968, a group of doctors chose to help victims of war and major disasters. This marked a new brand of humanitarianism that would reinvent the concept of emergency aid. In France they were known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and known internationally as Doctors Without Borders.
In 1971, Raymond Borel and Philippe Bernier, journalists from the medical review Tonus, issued an appeal to establish a band of doctors to help people suffering in the midst and wake of major disasters. MSF was officially created on December 22, 1971. At the time, 300 volunteers made up the organization: doctors, nurses, and other staff, including the 13 founding doctors and journalists.
MSF was created on the belief that all people have the right to medical care regardless of gender, race, religion, creed, or political affiliation, and that the needs of these people outweigh respect for national boundaries. MSF observes neutrality and impartiality in the name of universal medical ethics and the right to humanitarian assistance and claims full and unhindered freedom in the exercise of its functions. Members undertake to respect their professional code of ethics and maintain complete independence from all political, economic, or religious powers.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. The judges chose MSF “in recognition of the organization’s pioneering humanitarian work on several continents” and to honor our medical staff, who have worked in more than 80 countries and treated tens of millions of people.