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Médecins Sans Frontières is the world’s leading independent organisation for medical-humanitarian aid. Annually, more than 3,000 volunteer doctors, nurses and support staff work in trouble spots around the world helping those living on the edge of human tolerance. Médecins Sans Frontières teams are currently in over 60 countries, working with more than 25,000 locally recruited national staff in conditions that are always challenging, sometimes dangerous. Wherever our teams are working their goal is the same: to provide essential medical-humanitarian aid to those who need it most, regardless of race, religion, gender or political affiliation. We provide relief after natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes. We help victims of conflict. We run emergency feeding programs during nutritional crises. We tackle neglected diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and Kala Azar; and we organise mass vaccination programs to prevent epidemics spreading. We are also involved in health projects that train local medical staff and put in place safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. Médecins Sans Frontières was formed in 1971 by a group of French doctors who had previously worked with famine victims caught in the Biafra conflict (the civil war of Nigeria 1967-1970). The doctors were frustrated by the bureaucracy they encountered and by the degree of government interference in humanitarian aid. They aimed to establish a lean, independent organisation that would focus on emergency medicine, speak out about the causes of human suffering and cut through red tape to deliver aid fast and effectively. And so Médecins Sans Frontières was born and, with it, a new vision for humanitarian response to crises and a new voice to speak out on behalf of the people in need of our assistance. Médecins Sans Frontières is an international movement with a network of sections in 18 countries. Our teams on the ground are made up of people with backgrounds that include everything from: medicine, nursing, logistics, engineering and administration – all skills essential in restoring health care to communities torn apart by natural disasters, epidemics, famine or conflict. In 1999 Médecins Sans Frontières was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. INDEPENDENT MEDICAL-HUMANITARIAN AID Because we wish to remain as independent as when we first began, we limit the amount of funding we accept from governments. More than 80% of our budget internationally comes from private donations, and in Australia 100% of our budget comes from private sources. This funding structure is not just a symbolic expression of our independence; it also means that MSF teams on the ground can be free to define operational priorities. Our interventions are based on needs alone, not on political, economic, religious or social agendas. MSF does not take sides or intervene according to the demands of governments or warring parties. Thanks to our independence and impartiality, we are able to provide health care to people who otherwise would not receive it. Another feature of MSF is our willingness to speak out and express publicly positions on the plight of the people we help, and to describe our experiences in the field. This has become one of our trademarks, to the point that the separation of “témoignage” from our operations has now disappeared. Témoignage is a French term that means, “to bear witness”, and today this is a core function of MSF’s medical-humanitarian operations. ABOUT THE TERM “VOLUNTEER” The quality of our programs is directly related to our capacity to identify, recruit, train and subsequently retain both medical and non-medical professionals with the skills and experience required to go on assignment in one of the nearly 70 countries worldwide in which we work and where populations are in crisis. MSF Australia seeks and recruits individuals in Australia and New Zealand who are medical and non-medical professionals of the highest calibre and who go beyond the minimum essential requirements. They must also embody the principles of independent medical-humanitarian action and adhere to the fundamental MSF value of voluntarism. It is in that spirit of voluntarism that as a rule in MSF publications our staff deployed in the field are referred to as volunteers. Although other terms are sometimes employed, the practice of using the term “volunteers” is maintained on this website. MSF volunteers frequently work in the most remote or dangerous parts of the world. When crises unfold, they make themselves and their skills available on short notice, usually dedicating six to twelve months to each assignment. Their expenses are covered and they receive a modest monthly salary. Among the additional benefits offered are comprehensive insurance, transportation and accommodation for the mission and reimbursement of mission-specific vaccinations. MSF teams in the field are composed of international volunteers and skilled national staff. You can find more information in our volunteer section
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