DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS USA INC
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Doctors Without Borders / Medecins Sans Frontiérès (MSF) provides emergency medical care to millions of people caught in crisis in more than 70 countries around the world. MSF provides assistance when catastrophic events, such as armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition or natural disasters, overwhelm local health systems, and operates comprehensive, and in some cases long-standing, treatment programs for people living with a host of neglected diseases. MSF also assists people who face discrimination or neglect from their local health systems or are otherwise excluded from health care. At times, MSF may speak out publicly to bring a forgotten crisis into view, or to denounce abuses, or challenge the diversion of assistance, or to call out policies that restrict access to medical care or essential medicines.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Emergency Relief and Response
On any given day, MSF medical teams, made up of approximately 34,000 committed individuals representing dozens of nationalities, can be found at about 460 projects in over 70 countries where they provide assistance to people caught in crises. The people who work for MSF are doctors, nurses, midwives, epidemiologists, water-and-sanitation experts and many others who combine their professional expertise with a commitment to the world’s most vulnerable people. They frequently run programs in remote locations and are often the first international aid workers to arrive at the scene of an emergency—ranging from areas devastated by earthquakes or floods to epidemic outbreaks and armed conflicts.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of people treated for malaria
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Emergency Relief and Response
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
People vaccinated against measles in response to an outbreak
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Emergency Relief and Response
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of cesarean births among low-risk women with a prior cesarean birth
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Emergency Relief and Response
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Outpatient Consultations
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Emergency Relief and Response
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Mental health consultations for individuals
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Emergency Relief and Response
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Malnourished children treated in inpatient and outpatient feeding programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Emergency Relief and Response
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our mission is to alleviate suffering, protect life and health, and to restore respect for human beings and their fundamental human rights. We provide medical care in emergencies, assisting the most vulnerable people in crisis due to conflict and, when necessary, exposing obstacles that we encounter in the course of that work. In case of massive and neglected acts of violence, we might speak out publicly, based on our eyewitness accounts, medical data and experience.
In catastrophic situations that temporarily overwhelm individuals, communities and local health structures, we strive to provide quality medical and other relevant care to contribute to the survival and relief of as many people as possible.
We bring down barriers that keep people from getting the treatment they need to stay alive and healthy. We advocate for effective drugs, tests and vaccines that are available, affordable, suited to the people we care for, and adapted to the places where they live.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
MSF offers humanitarian assistance to people based on need, irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation. We work to save lives, alleviate suffering and restore dignity. Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of neutrality and impartiality.
To effectively access and assist people in need, our operational policies must be strictly independent of governmental, religious and economic powers. We conduct our own assessments, manage projects directly and monitor the impact of our assistance. In conflict zones, we refuse funds from governments or other parties to the conflict. We rely on private individuals for the majority of our funding.
Almost one-third of MSF projects in recent years were dedicated to providing assistance to populations caught in violent conflict. MSF also assisted people on the move—fleeing repression, poverty or violence—and responded to other emergencies caused by epidemics and natural disasters.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Rapid and effective emergency response is at the core of our work. MSF develops and maintains pre-packaged kits enabling teams to offer rapid lifesaving assistance - from cholera and surgical kits to inflatable hospitals.
Medical care and Innovation: Medical guidelines for our teams are regularly updated to build on best practices. MSF innovation has influenced landmark advances in health care for people in crisis–from pioneering ready-to-use foods for malnourished children, to new, shorter treatment regimens for drug-resistant tuberculosis.
A solid supply and logistics network provisions MSF teams with exactly the right materials – whether in acute emergencies, when supplies are critical within 24 hours, or in long-running programs relying on a steady supply of equipment and medicines.
Our teams: When crisis hits, MSF staff already in the area mobilize to assist. More staff from the region or further abroad are sent if needed, including medics, logisticians, and water-sanitation spec
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2017 alone, MSF performed over 10,648,300 outpatient consultations, admitted more than 749,700 patients to our facilities, assisted more than 288,900 births, treated over 2,520,600 cases of malaria, admitted more than 81,300 severely malnourished children to inpatient feeding programs, performed more than 110,000 major surgical interventions, treated more than 216,700 patients on first or second-line HIV antiretroviral treatment and held more than 356,000 individual or group mental health consultations.
Our biggest challenges will focus 1) on migration and forced displacement, which are currently at unprecedented levels due to violence, persecution, economic deprivation, global warming, and/or other factors, 2) on responses to outbreaks and epidemics, as demographic shifts, climate change, and conflict result in new patterns of epidemic disease and drug resistance, and 3) on influencing global health policies and agendas, to meet changing patient needs.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS USA INC
Board of directorsas of 08/15/2023
Dr. Africa Stewart
John Wetherington
Isabelle Defourny
President of MSF France
Sheronda Rochelle
Adrienne Hurst
Rasha Khoury
Elen Costigan
Marc Levin
Jack Gomer
Monica Dhand
Qusay Hussein
Christina Moore
Sandra Tacina
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 07/13/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.