It’s been 50 years since Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) was started by an intrepid group of French doctors and journalists. Three hundred volunteers made up MSF when it started in 1971; half a century later in 2021, there are nearly 65,000 of the teams.
A lot has changed in 50 years. What has changed are the contexts. MSF teams see people living in poverty; they see communities excluded in places where the teams would never have imagined that MSF would have to work one day.
“What hasn’t changed since those first days is that we stand in solidarity with our patients. That medical action comes first, which aim to alleviate the suffering of those people who are most excluded from accessing medical care,” Dr Christos Christou, International President, Médecins Sans Frontières.
“MSF’s compass still (and always will) guides us towards the needs of patients and how can we meet them. These are challenges we didn’t have 20 or 30 years ago. This is the reality of today.” Dr Christos continues in his special comment about MSF’s 50 years.