Chad 2025 © Léa Gillabert/MSF
Doctors Without Borders at a glance
- Doctors Without Borders operates in 70+ countries worldwide and provided over 17 million consultations in 2025 alone.
- Nearly 90 percent of Doctors Without Borders teams are hired locally, meaning they work in the communities they’re from.
- Doctors Without Borders USA does not accept any government funding.
- 95% of Doctors Without Borders’ funding comes from individual donors.
- 85 cents of every dollar Doctors Without Borders spends goes to medical humanitarian programs.
- Charity Navigator has awarded Doctors Without Borders its highest-possible four-star rating for our unwavering commitment to operational excellence.
- Doctors Without Borders was founded in 1971 in Paris, France.
What makes Doctors Without Borders different?
Every day, Doctors Without Borders teams deliver emergency medical aid to people in crisis, with humanitarian projects in more than 70 countries. With locally hired staff and lasting commitments to the communities we serve, we’re often the first to respond when disaster strikes—and we stay long after the headlines fade.
Doctors Without Borders is independent, impartial, and neutral
Doctors Without Borders USA does not accept any government funding or donations, allowing us to deliver aid strictly based on need, not politics. This simple, but vital, principle enables us to go where many others can’t or won’t. And it’s our independence that allows us to provide aid without agenda, reach communities without restriction, and directly provide high quality medical care. Learn more about what we do across 70 countries.
Doctors Without Borders operates in conflict zones and crisis areas other organizations cannot reach
For more than 50 years, humanitarian emergency response has been at the core of Doctors Without Borders’ work and mission. When disaster strikes, Doctors Without Borders’ global staff of over 65,000 acts quickly to provide lifesaving humanitarian aid.
89 percent of MSF staff are locally hired, meaning they come from the very communities they work in. This means they’re already on the ground when a disaster strikes and can respond within a matter of hours. It also means that our teams are best positioned to respond with care and cultural competence—because we all know our own communities best.
Doctors Without Borders specializes in medical humanitarian aid
Doctors Without Borders provides medical care in some of the world’s most challenging environments.
We work to save lives following natural disasters, outbreaks of disease, and violence, all while maintaining a continuous presence in communities with severed access to health care.
Doctors Without Borders responds to different emergencies around the world
Doctors Without Borders stewards your gift with the utmost transparency and efficiency
When it comes to raising and spending funds, we employ the same principles of transparency and accountability that guide all of our work.
Since 2009, on average over 85 cents of every dollar spent by MSF USA has been allocated to our medical humanitarian programs. Maintaining this standard is important to us, which is why we take pride in meeting the standards of nonprofit watchdog agencies and in our “A” rating from the American Institute of Philanthropy, also known as Charity Watch.
Our commitment to financial accountability means we provide open access to our annual financial and tax statements:
- Download our 2025 financial statement
- Read Doctors Without Borders’ 2025 International Activity Report
- Peruse our most recent Year In Review
Doctors Without Borders holds top marks from major charity watchdogs
Doctors Without Borders uses your donations in the most effective and cost-efficient manner to provide emergency medical care around the world. All while voluntarily adhering to the highest fundraising ethics.
Our work — and commitment to transparency at every turn — has earned Doctors Without Borders widespread recognition:
- Charity Navigator, the nation's premier charity evaluator, has awarded Doctors Without Borders its four-star rating
- Doctors Without Borders is featured in Forbes’ 100 Top Charities of 2025
- Doctors Without Borders was awarded the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize
When you support our lifesaving work, you become a vital part of our movement to deliver emergency medical aid to people in crisis across over 70 countries. Please, make your tax-deductible gift now.
FAQ
As a fiercely independent organization, Doctors Without Borders relies on donor support and spends the majority of donations directly on medical programs.
As a fiercely independent organization, Doctors Without Borders relies on donor support and spends the majority of donations directly on medical programs. With over 50 years of independence and a track record of full financial transparency, we hold top ratings from Charity Navigator, Forbes, and similar evaluators.
Doctors Without Borders is independent, impartial, and neutral. We go where we are needed most, often where others can’t or won’t go.
Doctors Without Borders is independent, impartial, and neutral. We go where we are needed most, often where others can’t or won’t go. Doctors Without Borders employs doctors and nurses in active emergencies—conflicts, disease outbreaks, natural disasters—often within hours of a crisis.
Doctors Without Borders encourages unrestricted gifts, which allow us to direct funds to the most urgent needs globally.
Doctors Without Borders encourages unrestricted gifts, which allow us to direct funds to the most urgent needs globally. Restricted donations to specific crises are also sometimes accepted.
Since 2009, approximately 85 percent of MSF's expenditures have gone directly to medical and humanitarian programs.
Since 2009, approximately 85 percent of MSF's expenditures have gone directly to medical and humanitarian programs. See our Annual Report for more information.
