“We were forced to buy a saw in the market to continue amputations. We don’t have any more morphine to manage pain for our patients. It is like working in a war situation.” Dr. Rosa Crestani, MSF medical coordinator for Choscal Hospital, Port-au-Prince
Médecins Sans Frontières (also known as Doctors Without Borders) is the world’s leading independent international medical relief organization. MSF is now recruiting medical professionals for their stand-by roster of international volunteers for future deployment.
Médecins Sans Frontières was established in 1971 by a small group of French doctors who had worked in Biafra. When they returned home, they were determined to find a way to provide rapid and effective medical help for those caught in armed conflicts, disease epidemics, famine, and natural disasters – all with complete independence from political, economic and religious influences.
Before you apply to work in the field as a paid intern, a volunteer or a full-time employee of MSF, complete this MSF Self-Assessment Checklist to determine if international disaster response work is right for you.
Read this article from the Public Library of Science Medicine about MSF’s work in Haiti.
Finally, please consider making a generous donation today to help this amazing Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization in its vital work.
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NEWS UPDATE: February 9, 2010: MSF Now Plans For Management of Communicable Diseases in Haiti.
NEWS UPDATE: February 27, 2010 – Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) medical teams have already arrived in Chile following the catastrophic earthquake that struck the country this past weekend. Find out more.
NEWS UPDATE: August 13, 2010 – Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) is bringing in 200,000 litres of clean water every day to Pakistan‘s Swat Valley following massive flooding this month that has disrupted power to water treatment plants, meaning no access to safe, clean drinking water and increased dangers of waterborne disease to flood victims. “We have identified a water spring and in agreement with the local community, we are able to extract, filter, chlorinate and distribute the water,” said Azzura Dinca who is in charge of water and sanitation for MSF in Swat. Find out more.
NEWS UPDATE: May 10, 2011 – Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) continues its work in northern Japan following the devastating earthquake and tsunami two months ago. As the local medical infrastructure stabilizes, MSF is shifting the focus of its intervention towards providing psychological assistance to particularly vulnerable survivors of the disaster, including elderly evacuees, single parents, and those with physical disabilities and chronic diseases. Find out more.
Heart Sisters 
Thanks for sharing this one!
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I’m so glad to have found this page on Doctors Without Borders. My pal mentioned it to me before, yet never got around to checking it out until now. I really enjoyed reading through all your other posts and will absolutely be back to get more.
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This is exactly why I no longer support the Red Cross. Those scandals following 9/11 and Katrina resulted in senior R.C. execs being fired for inappropriate use of donated funds. I want my donations to support front line experts in the field – not some overpaid Red Cross bureaucrat who gets a $2 million severance package after being fired.
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I too have been increasingly concerned about recent R.C. news. The American Red Cross in particular has garnered embarrassing headlines like this story in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/07/nyregion/a-nation-challenged-the-charities-in-congress-harsh-words-for-red-cross.html
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I recently decided to donate to help Haiti’s disaster. I pray that everyone send money to those left homeless by Haiti’s disaster, too.
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Thanks for this, Tarang.
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Besides donating my own money to Haiti, I will continue to pray for them. Lifting everything up to Heaven for them.
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Thanks, Armandina!
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My sister has volunteered for Doctors Without Borders for two years and three different deployments.
The stories she brings home are truly moving and horrific, yet she feels the work is so important that she continues to plan her time off each year to be able to do this work. I can tell you from firsthand experience with our own family that this is a lean, well-managed organization filled with incredibly dedicated doctors, nurses, and other trained volunteers.
I urge all your readers to give generously.
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Thanks, Shellie – it’s good to get an insider’s perspective about the inner workings of any aid agency. Continued good luck to your sister.
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Excellent reminder here. Many thanks for this. There are many ways to help.
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You’re right, Riva. Those of us who are unable to volunteer can help a lot by making a donation. Those of us who are unable to make a donation can help by telling everybody we know about the work of MSF.
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Wow, I had no idea about MSF until I read this today.
This organization is incredible. I encourage your readers to check out their MSF website.
I think their independence is a particularly important factor (no political or religious agenda) plus they’ve actually been in Haiti working for almost 20 years so they already know the country, the culture, the people; many other agencies parachute in at times like these, well meaning but not necessarily the most effective at getting supplies and help directly to those most in need.
Since Katrina and 9/11 and subsequent confusion about ‘what happened to all that money that poured in?’ it can be hard to decide which agencies to support. Thanks for letting us know about this most worthwhile one.
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I agree, Chris – MSF’s independence from political or religious influence is very appealing, as well as the fact that they have a very specific and dedicated focus on medical aid that doesn’t just stop when the initial media fuss ends, but continues with medium- and long-range strategic plans for ongoing health care.
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