Our policy

The Médecins Sans Frontières Foundation was an MSF Association initiative. MSF has always created specialised entities to advance and improve the efficiency of independent, effective humanitarian responses:

• MSF Logistique, the procurement platform for equipment and drugs (1986);
• Epicentre, created in 1987 to conduct epidemiological surveys and clinical research in MSF programmes and countries;
• DNDi (Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative), created in 2003 in partnership with six other organisations, including the Pasteur Institute in Paris that supports research and development into new drugs to help patients with neglected diseases (HIV/AIDS, sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, malaria etc.).

In 1999, an organisation unlike any other in the NGO sector was created within The MSF Foundation: the Centre de Réflexion sur l'Action et les Savoirs Humanitaires (CRASH) which conducts research and examines the challenges, opportunities, constraints and limits – and the consequential controversies – of humanitarian action.

Since 2015, The MSF Foundation has concentrated its action to initiate large scale practice changes. To achieve this goal, its projects focus on three main areas: 

• Technological innovation : based on technological innovations, we develop solutions to field problems, 
• Applied medical research : to validate new medical protocols, we support medical research conducted by other institutional actors. These researches, carried out in the field, are chosen for their transformative potential,
• Humanitarian knowledge : within The MSF Foundation, the CRASH aims to stimulate debate and critical reflection on ground practices and more generally on the humanitarian world.

The Foundation’s Articles of Association

The MSF Foundation governance includes its philanthropists who form one of the three electoral colleges that make up the Board of Trustees.

• The Founder’s College, which represents the MSF association and The MSF Foundation’s creators:
  • Dr Mego Terzian, President of MSF
  • Stéphanie Brochot, Finance Director of MSF
  • Michel Cojean, President of The MSF Foundation and member of the MSF Board

• The College of Donors and Philanthropists, which reflects our desire to work closely with our major donors and project initiators to guide the strategy and measure the impact of their actions.
  • Elizabeth Pauchet, member of The MSF Foundation Board
  • Geoff Skingsley, member of The MSF Foundation Board
  • Louis Godron, member of The MSF Foundation Board

• The College of Experts, which includes skilled specialists to assist with the technical aspects of humanitarian action and The Foundation’s work.
  • Martine Guillerm, Vice-President of The MSF Foundation
  • Anne Jeanblanc, member of The MSF Foundation Board
  • Nicolas Mottis, member of The MSF Foundation Board

The MSF Foundation is committed to ensuring transparency and putting the public’s generously-donated funds to the best possible use. The Foundation publishes an annual financial report for donors and the accounts are checked every year by an external auditor.

• The MSF Foundation’s 2019 Financial Report
• The MSF Foundation’s 2018 Financial Report
• The MSF Foundation’s 2017 External Auditor’s Report