A group of people in protective gear standing in a tent.

Epicentre

Created in 1986, Epicentre is an epidemiology, medical research, innovation and training group embedded in Médecins sans frontières (MSF). This experience and presence within MSF enables Epicentre to design and carry out projects in complex, and often unstable, situations specific to humanitarian aid to meet the healthcare needs of these populations and support MSF’s public statements.. Its missions include describing and analyzing the health situations of the populations assisted by medical teams in order to better orient programs, as well as evaluating and comparing care practices to propose solutions adapted to populations living in unstable conditions or with insufficient access to care. Epicentre’s grounding in both research and operational activities provides key information for MSF’s program priorities

Key figures

  • Number of projects: 100+, 2/3 of which are based in Africa
  • Number of employees: 373 full-time employees (2021)
  • Budget: 17.4 million EUR (2021) 
A woman is working in a lab, carefully handling numerous test tubes at the epicentre.
© Patrick Meinhardt/Epicentre/MSF.

Partnership

Epicentre formally joined the Climate Action Accelerator in December 2021. The organisation commits to collaborating with the initiative in constructing its environmental roadmap detailing its carbon footprint measurement and the implementation of its decarbonisation pathway.

Environmental approach

Following its partnership with the Climate Action Accelerator, Epicentre commits to reducing its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030. This commitment aims to strengthen the sustainability of its training, epidemiological intervention and medical research activities for populations living in unstable conditions or with insufficient access to healthcare.

Epicentre pledges the following concrete measures:

  • Adopting a quantified decarbonization target of 50% of its direct and indirect emissions by 2030, integrating the elements of the scientific consensus and in line with the objectives of the Paris climate agreement
  • Sharing with the Climate Action Accelerator community the experience and tools that contribute to the objectives pursued, thus contributing to a common good available to all on sustainable solutions and approaches to the ecological crisis
  • Being transparent in making public its emission reduction measures and its progress.

 

Our commitment aims to strengthen the sustainability of its training, epidemiological intervention and medical research activities for populations living in unstable conditions or with insufficient access to healthcare, who are often the most affected by the climate crisis and are already suffering its consequences. Epicentre Annual Report 2021

Cover photo © Carl Theunis/Epicentre/MSF.