MSF provides primary health care, performs surgery, rehabilitates hospitals and clinics, runs nutrition and sanitation programs, trains local medical personnel, and provides mental health care. MSF unites direct medical care with a commitment to bearing witness and speaking out against the underlying causes of suffering. Its volunteers 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, and the media. MSF is an international network with sections in 18 countries. Logistical Expertise MSF has built a strong logistical capability to support its medical expertise, enabling its volunteers to work in the most remote or unstable parts of the world.
Teams arrive at a project site with prepackaged medical kits so they can begin working immediately.
Custom-designed by MSF for specific field situations, geographic conditions, and climates, a kit may contain a complete surgical theater, for example, or all the supplies needed to treat hundreds of cholera patients. MSF kits have been replicated by relief organizations worldwide. We are by nature an organization that is unable to tolerate indifference. We hope that by arousing awareness and a desire to understand, we will also stir up indignation and stimulate action. Whether giving testimony at the United Nations or conducting an educational campaign aimed at schoolchildren, the organization works to raise awareness of the plight of the populations it serves.