In more than 70 countries, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides medical humanitarian assistance to save lives and ease the suffering of people in crisis situations.

MSF was founded in 1971 in France by a group of doctors and journalists in the wake of war and famine in Biafra, Nigeria. Their aim was to establish an independent organisation that focuses on delivering emergency medicine aid quickly, effectively and impartially. 300 volunteers made up the organisation when it was founded: doctors, nurses and other staff, including the 13 founding doctors and journalists. Since then, MSF has intervened in the world’s worst humanitarian crises and armed conflicts, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. The judges chose MSF “in recognition of the organisation’s pioneering humanitarian work on several continents” and to honour the medical staff that has worked in more than 80 countries and treated tens of millions of people.