Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French name Medecins Sans Frontieres, is an international humanitarian medical organization that delivers emergency care in conflict zones, epidemics and disasters. It was founded in Paris on December 22, 1971 by a group of French physicians and journalists, including Bernard Kouchner, who had worked with the Red Cross during the Nigerian Civil War and the siege of Biafra and concluded that a new organization was needed, one that would speak publicly about what it witnessed rather than remain neutral and silent. The organization grew from the merger of two French relief groups, and its first field mission followed the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake. This atlas records what the historical record supports and is not medical advice.