The Doctors Without Borders

The Médecins Sans Frontières also known as Doctors without Borders is the world’s leading independent medical humanitarian aid organization and has been a pioneer for other nongovernmental organizations to work internationally and “borderless”. It is considered a nongovernmental organization (NGO) which is defined as “a voluntary organization formed and organized by private individuals, operating at the local, national or international level, pursuing common purposes and/or policy positions; debate over whether activities need to be in support of a public good.”(MSF 2016), Médecins Sans Frontières was officially created on December 22, 1971 in the country of France. At the time, the MSF consisted of 300 volunteers including the doctors who founded this humanitarian organization. It was created with the vision that all people have the right to medical care regardless of gender, race, religion, or political affiliation and that the needs of these people are more important than the respect for national boundaries (Redfield 2005:331). Since 1980, Doctors without Borders has opened offices in 28 countries and employs more than 30,000 people across the globe treating over 100 million patients. They have won many prestigious awards for their outstanding labor including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.
According to Sparke, …show more content…
One of the main reasons this organization was founded was have a group of people providing aid without having to depend on a government to do what is ethically correct. “MSF observes strict neutrality and is completely independent. Based on universally recognized principles of medical ethics and the right to humanitarian aid. MSF demands complete freedom in the performance of its task.” (Redfield 2006:7). The MSF values the principle of neutrality to be able to provide care in all parts of the world without having