Doctors Without Borders, USA

Doctors Without Borders, USA (DWB-USA) was founded in 1990 in New York City to raise funds, create awareness, recruit field staff, and advocate with the United Nations and US government on humanitarian concerns. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization that provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters.

Médecins Sans Frontières provides assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict. They do so irrespective of race, religion, creed or political convictions. Médecins Sans Frontières observes neutrality and impartiality in the name of universal medical ethics and the right to humanitarian assistance and claims full and unhindered freedom in the exercise of its functions. Members undertake to respect their professional code of ethics and maintain complete independence from all political, economic or religious powers.

Goal One: MSF rejects the idea that resource-limited countries deserve third-rate medical services. We strive to provide high-quality care to patients and we advocate for affordable, high-quality medicines.

Goal Two: Uphold diversity, equity and inclusion as core principles inextricably linked to our success so that we may carry out our social mission and serve our patients.

Goal Three: Maintain our financial independence, enabling us to freely evaluate medical needs, reach communities in need without restriction, and directly provide high quality medical care

Each year MSF provides all employees with a training budget. Each staff member receives the same amount regardless of position, tenure, or seniority. The staff member is encouraged to utilize that budget for courses that would provide skills and knowledge for their current role or they can utilize the envelope to gain knowledge on a topic or skill they would like for a role they are aspiring for. Staff is encouraged to utilize their training envelope and there are reminders from Human resources and leadership throughout the year to ensure staff submit their training requests. Our Human resources team also has a Learning and Development manager. One of this staff members roles is to provide guidance for any/all staff who are unsure of their training options.

According to the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, as many as 100 million people were forcibly displaced around the world in 2022. In spite of hostile policies restricting access, MSF continues to provide vital medical care to displaced people, at their points of arrival or during the treacherous journeys they undertake. In 2022, 47% of MSF programs were dedicated to assisting displaced people or a mix of displaced and non-displaced people: MSF scaled up activities to respond to an increase in migration flows through Mexico in 2022, assisting both people heading northwards and asylum seekers expelled from the US. MSF mobilized an emergency team to assist thousands of people who were stranded at the southern border of Mexico without access to shelter, medical services, or adequate water and sanitation facilities. In Reynosa and Matamoros, MSF teams adapted activities according to changing needs as thousands of people were stranded in informal camps. MSF continued search and rescue activities to assist people attempting the perilous central Mediterranean Sea crossing, despite increasing operational and political challenges, rescuing 3,850 people in 2022. After each rescue, we provided medical and psychological assistance to survivors.