Médicins sans Frontères is an international charitable organisation which brings doctors, and members of the health and logistics professions (professionals in different fields) together to give their aid to the victims of natural disasters, mass accidents, war situations and to populations which live in precarious situations.

It has its origins in an experienced group of doctors, mainly of French nationality, during the Biafran war, at the end of the Sixties.

In 1981, it was the first organisation to come to the aid of the victims of the Afghanistan war. Its world-wide fame dates from this time: the speed of MSF´s intervention means that it is often on the scene before the press. Since then it has expanded its activity to every continent, with an especially important presence in Africa and Central America.

It currently has sections in France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Greece and Spain. Each section is independent and carries on its own projects. In 1991 an International Council and a co-ordinating structure were established, with headquarters in Brussels. The presidency of the Council is rotated with six-monthly terms. Fifty percent of their resources come from private donations and the other half from public donors, among which the European Community is outstanding.

The professionalism and effectiveness of MSF´s work is reflected in the prestige which it enjoys with both private donors and the large institutional donors. The European Community systematically calls upon MSF to carry out its humanitarian aid all over the world.

In disaster situations such as, for example, the earthquakes in Mexico, El Salvador, Armenia or Iran, the seaquake in Bangladesh, the floods in Bolivia, Peru and The Sudan, the cholera epidemic in Somalia, volcanic eruption in Armero, hurricane in Nicaragua ... MSF sets running what they call the European Emergency Intervention Unit, in which all the countries come to an agreement in order to be able to work together.

MSF organises dispensaries and hospitals, carries out vaccination and contagious disease prevention campaigns, such as water and waste treatment and the training of local personnel. They take charge of rehabilitating local hospitals and training native sanitary personnel, so that, once they have gone, the system will keep running. This action is carried out with the co-operation of the local Ministry of Health, but if some conflict or war prevents this, and a given population lacks any kind of health care, they act, even clandestinely, by virtue of the right to humanitarian aid.