A group of young children standing in front of a dirt road near an MSF operational centre.

MSF Operational Centre Paris

Medcins sans frontieres, also known as MSF, is an international medical humanitarian organization. The MSF logo represents their dedication to providing aid and medical assistance in regions affected by crisis and unstable

MSF Operational Centre Paris

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent medical humanitarian organisation. The organisation provides medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. Their teams are made up of tens of thousands of health professionals, logistic and administrative staff – bound together by a common charter. Their actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality. 

It is a non-profit, self-governed, member-based organisation. It was founded in 1971 in France by a group of doctors and journalists in the wake of war and famine in Biafra, Nigeria. Their aim was to establish an independent organisation that focuses on delivering emergency medicine aid quickly, effectively and impartially. Three hundred volunteers made up the organisation when it was founded: doctors, nurses and other staff, including the 13 founding doctors and journalists. Today, it is a worldwide movement of nearly 63,000 people. 

The international MSF movement is composed of 25 associations around the world. Each of them is an independent legal entity registered in the country where they operate.The MSF associations are linked to six Operational Centres (OC) who directly manage our humanitarian action in the field and decide when, where, and what medical care is needed. Médecins Sans Frontières Operational Centre of Paris is one of these 6 Operational Centres.  

Cover photo © Roman Nguyen/Unsplash.