Timeline of Médecins Sans Frontières

This is a timeline of Médecins Sans Frontières, an international humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical assistance to populations in danger in nearly 70 countries.

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Time period	Development summary	More details	Country

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Year	Event type	Details	Country
1971		"Founded: 1971 in Paris, France" "Médecins Sans Frontières is founded by a group of French doctors and journalists in the wake of the war and accompanying famine in Biafra, Nigeria, and the floods in eastern Pakistan (now Bangladesh)."	France
1972		"The earthquake in Nicaragua marks our first mission in a natural disaster."	Nicaragua
1974		"HURRICANE IN HONDURAS Our first mission of long-term medical assistance."	Honduras
1975		"CAMBODIANS FLEE KHMER ROUGE. MSF establishes its first large-scale medical programme during a refugee crisis, providingmedical care for waves of Cambodians seeking sanctuary from Pol Pot’s rule."	Cambodia
1976		"WAR IN LEBANONOur teams conduct surgery in the organisation's first major intervention in a war zone."	Lebanon
1978		"REFUGEE ASSISTANCEMSF launchs of various refugee programmes in Thailand, in the Ogaden region (Djibouti, war between Ethiopia and Somalia) and Eritrean refugees in Sudan."
1979		"Co-founder Dr Bernard Kouchner leaves in protest and later founds Médecins du Monde/Doctors of the World."
1979		"Led by Dr Claude Malhuret and Dr Francis Charhon, MSF moves beyond its modus operandi of sending isolated doctors to crisis zones in favour of creating a more structured organisation that can provide quality medical services in crises."
1980		"FIRST NUTRITIONAL PROGRAMMEIn the Karamoja province of Uganda, MSF's first nutritional programme is launched in the midst of drought and civil war."	Uganda
1980		"WAR IN AFGHANISTANAfter the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in the final days of 1979, triggering a war that would last a decade, MSF medical teams clandestinely cross the Pakistani–Afghan border and travel by mule for several weeks to reach injured civilians living in remote areas."	Afghanistan
1980		"FIRST INTERNATIONAL APPEAL“Walk for survival of Cambodia”, MSF's first international appeal, is launched in protest against the Vietnamese authorities stopping our teams from bringing aid to Cambodia."	Cambodia
1981		"Bombardments of MSF hospitals in Afghanistan"	Afghanistan
1984		"MSF starts programmes to treat malnutrition in hunger-stricken regions of Ethiopia."	Ethiopia
1985		"MSF is expelled by the government from Ethiopia after denouncing the hijacking of humanitarian aid and the forced transfers of populations by the latter."
1985		"MSF provide medical care in Honduras to refugees from El Salvador and Nicaragua."	Honduras
1986		"MSF organises mobile clinics and hospital programmes to treat injured and traumatised citizens in Sri Lanka.	Sri Lanka
1986		Yemen intervention in Aden where fighting rages between rival factions of the ruling party."	Yemen
1989		"Withdrawal from Sudan after an MSF plane is shot down by a missile, killing 4 people, two of them MSF volunteers."	Sudan
1989		"Iraq attacks Kurds. We were the first medical organisation that bore witness to the use of chemical weapons on the Kurdish town of Halabja."
1989		"MSF provide medical care in the Soviet Union."
1990		"An MSF logistician is murdered in Afghanistan. Activities suspended."
1990		CIVIL WAR IN LIBERIA"Our teams provide emergency care at the height of the fighting."
1991		"The MSF relief convoy evacuating the wounded from Vukovar hospital comes under attack. Three of our workers are wounded."
1991		"EMERGENCY IN SOMALIA MSF represents the only foreign presence in war-stricken Mogadishu, and aids refugees in other countries."	Somalia
1991		"EMERGENCY IN KURDISTAN Largest emergency relief operation to date. MSF provide care in Turkey, Iran and Jordan to Kurds displaced by the Gulf War"	Kurdistan
1992		"EMERGENCY IN THE HORN OF AFRICA One hundred MSF volunteers work in the region affected by war, drought and displacement of populations."
1992		"BOSNIA MSF denounces ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity."	Bosnia
1993		"CIVIL WAR IN BURUNDI A failed coup d’état in October resulted in 750,000 refugees fleeing to neighbouring Rwanda, Tanzania and Zaire. MSF deploy 85 volunteers in the region but delays in the international relief effort cause widespread famine in the refugee camps."
1993–1994		"WAR IN BOSNIA Medical programmes in the region extend to the UN's supposed "protection zones" of Gorazde and Srebrenica."
1994		"GENOCIDE IN RWANDA MSF remain in Kigali throughout the genocide of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. We make an unprecedented decision to call for military intervention. One million Rwandan refugees arrive in the small town of Goma, Zaire. Within days, we collaborate on the biggest cholera programme to date."	Rwanda
1995		"WAR IN CHECHNYA MSF bring aid to civilians inside the republic and in refugee camps in neighbouring countries."
1995		"SREBRENICA MASSACRE Our team witness the fall of the UN "protected zone", and denounce the subsequent massacre of up to 10,000 civilians by Serbian troops."
1996		"MENINGITIS IN NIGERIA MSF launch a massive vaccination and treatment programme helping 4.5 million people."	Nigeria
1997		"STREET CHILDREN NEGLECTED IN MADAGASCAR, BRAZIL AND THE PHILIPPINES MSF medical and social programmes for vulnerable and marginalised youth are expanded.	Madagascar
1997		"RWANDAN REFUGEES SEEK AID MSF assist refugees forced out of camps in Zaire as they return home, but are blocked from assisting those fleeing further into Zaire, who fall victim to widespread massacres."	Rwanda
1997		"RWANDAN REFUGEE CRISIS CONTINUES MSF fight for access to Rwandan refugees, many of whom are massacred or die of starvation and disease."	Rwanda
1998		"FAMINE IN NORTH KOREA Unable to ensure that medical aid was reaching the most vulnerable, we end our programmes after three years, but continue to assist refugees fleeing to China."	North Korea
1998		"HURRICANE MITCH MSF assist victims in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador."	El Salvador
1998		"CIVIL WAR IN REPUBLIC OF CONGO MSF integrate treatment for survivors of rape and sexual assault into our emergency response."
1998		"FAMINE IN SOUTHERN SUDAN MSF respond to widespread famine caused by civil war and drought."	Southern Sudan
1999		"MSF is awarded the Nobel Prize and honoured for its "pioneering humanitarian work on several continents"
1999		"SECOND WAR IN CHECHNYA MSF call for access to Grozny and denounce the massive use of violence by Russian forces against civilians."
1999		"CRISIS IN KOSOVO During NATO bombing of Serbia, we provide humanitarian assistance to refugees in FYR of Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro."	Kosovo
1999		"LAUNCH OF CAMPAIGN FOR ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL MEDICINES With millions dying each year from treatable infectious diseases, MSF start an international effort to push for increased access to medicines for the world's poor."
2000		"ASYLUM SEEKERS FLEE TO EUROPE MSF expand programmes assisting asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium."
2000		"CIVIL WAR IN SIERRA LEONE MSF treat victims of the country’s brutal civil war."
2001		"HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC MSF start providing antiretroviral therapy to people living with AIDS in the following seven countries: Thailand, Cambodia, Cameroon, Guatemala, Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa."
2002		"AID WORKERS TARGETED MSF worker Arjan Erkel is abducted in the North Caucacus, a victim of increasing dangers faced by aid workers in conflict zones worldwide."
2002		"FAMINE IN ANGOLA MSF run the largest operation in our history, with 200 international volunteers and more than 2,000 local staff working throughout the country.
2002		"MALARIA KILLING MILLIONS IN AFRICA Faced with skyrocketing resistance to common antimalarials like chloroquine MSF increase its use of artemisin-based combination therapy, and push for wider availability of this effective treatment."
2002		"US-LED COALITION INVADE AFGHANISTAN With many International staff evacuated, our programmes continue to operate led by Afghan staff."
2003		"US INVADE IRAQ MSF teams remain in Baghdad and challenge the US government on its failure to provide adequate medical care to civilians."
2003		"HEAVY FIGHTING IN THE LIBERIAN CAPITAL MSF remain in Monrovia to treat victims during fierce fighting between government and rebel groups."
2003		"DNDI CREATED MSF is a founding partner in the new organisation The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative dedicated to developing medicines for neglected Diseases."
2003		"CIVILIANS SUFFER IN DRC MSF run dozens of medical programmes for people caught in the region’s chronic conflict."
2004		"AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL MSF pull out completely following the killing of five of its workers and the continuing threat to its teams by the Taliban."
2004		"MEETING THE EMERGENCY IN WESTERN DARFUR MSF open feeding centres, clinics and vaccination campaigns in western Sudan (Darfur) and Chad, where hundreds of thousands of people fleeing violence face starvation."
2004		"ASIAN TSUNAMI MSF reacts immediately to the Asian tsunami disaster. Within 48 hours teams were working on the ground and 32 tonnes of medical, water and sanitation supplies had been dispatched. Thanks to the huge international response to the tsunami, the worst of the emergency was over by May. MSF felt able to ask its donors, 99 percent of whom agree, to allow it to reallocate some of the funds received to other MSF emergency medical programmes around the world."
2005		"NUTRITIONAL CRISIS IN NIGER MSF begin an emergency operation to treat tens of thousands of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in various parts of Niger, opening seven in-patient centres and 27 ambulatory centres."
2006		"SURGICAL CARE FOR VICTIMS OF WAR IN IRAQ Unable to work safely in Iraq, MSF sets up a reconstructive surgical program in Amman, Jordan to treat severely war-wounded patients referred by medical colleagues in Iraq."
2006		"SRI LANKA RETURNS TO WAR As tens of thousands of people flee renewed fighting in the north of the country, MSF reopens surgical programmes in north and central Sri Lanka after facing a series of setbacks from the authorities."
2006		"MASSIVE CHOLERA OUTBREAK IN ANGOLA MSF treats 26,000 people and sends more than 400 tonnes of supplies to respond to a cholera outbreak that spreads from the capital to more than half the country."
2006		"MEASLES VACCINATION CAMPAIGN IN DRC MSF launch a massive measles vaccination campaign in DRC. In only a few weeks, MSF teams vaccinate 359,318 children under the age of five."
2007		"CRISIS UNFOLDS IN CHAD More than 150,000 displaced people attempt to survive in makeshift camps in eastern Chad as fighting escalates between government and rebel groups. MSF scales up its medical programmes and calls for a massive international humanitarian response."
2007		"EBOLA IN UGANDA MSF teams confront an Ebola outbreak in Uganda. After carrying out a rapid assessment, MSF set up isolation units in the Kikyo health centre and the Bundibugyo hospital."
2007		"CONFLICT GRIPS SOMALIA Hundreds of thousands of civilians flee the capital, Mogadishu, as the worst fighting in 15 years erupts throughout the city. Amid great insecurity, MSF sets up a surgical programme in Mogadishu, provides assistance to some of those displaced, and maintains medical programmes in the rest of the country."
2007		"A NEW TREATMENT FOR MALARIA The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative and the pharmaceutical company sanofi-aventis launch ASAQ, an inexpensive and easy-to-use combination pill. ASAQ is not patented, allowing for others to produce it at lower cost."
2008		"MSF staff already working in the country provide assistance to thousands of people displaced by the cyclone while the government stalls on allowing additional staff to enter the country."
2008		"VIOLENCE ESCALATES AGAINST CIVILIANS IN DRC MSF runs mobile clinics, surgical programmes, nutritional programmes, and provides treatment and counselling for victims of sexual violence as thousands of Congolese in North Kivu flee increased and repeated attacks on their villages by armed groups."
2008		"FIGHTING CHOLERA IN ZIMBABWE After a cholera outbreak started in August, MSF treats more than 65,000 people suffering from the disease over the next 10 months while also supporting government-run facilities with supplies, staff incentive payments, and treatment programmes."
2008		"NUTRITIONAL CRISIS IN ETHIOPIA MSF treats more than 72,000 malnourished children as a massive nutritional crisis sweeps the south of the country as a result of drought, poor harvests, and soaring food prices."
2008		"POLITICAL UNREST IN KENYA DISPLACES THOUSANDS MSF treats wounded civilians in the shanty towns of the capital, Nairobi, and assists displaced Kenyans in makeshift camps who flee to the west of the country after disputed presidential elections lead to widespread violence."
2009		"A DIFFICULT YEAR IN SUDAN MSF launches emergency interventions in the south in response to escalating violence and outbreaks. In Darfur, the government expels two sections and four staff members are kidnapped. Some projects are therefore closed, but MSF nonetheless provides nearly 129,000 consultations and support numerous local health centers."
2009		"MSF RE-OPENS PROGRAMMES IN AFGHANISTAN Following a five year absence (see 2004),MSF returns to the country and begins supporting hospitals in Kabul and in Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand Province"
2009		"CONFLICT IN GAZA MSF supports hospitals in Gaza following an Israeli offensive launched to counter militants firing crude rockets into Israel. After a ceasefire is announced, MSF opens a surgical hospital and also offers post-operative and psychological care."
2010		"CHOLERA STRIKES HAITI In October, after cholera hits Haiti, MSF mobilises hundreds of staff members to respond, eventually opening more than 50 cholera treatment centres across the country, launching widespread public education campaigns, and tending to more than 100,000 patients - more than 60 percent of all cases in the country - in the months that followed."
2010		"FLOODING SUBMERGES PAKISTAN MSF responds to massive floods in Pakistan by expanding existing programmes and establishing new ones in areas the organisation hadn’t worked previously. By December, teams had tended to more than 80,000 patients and distributed nearly 2 million litres of clean water, along with almost 65,000 relief kits." ||
2010		"MSF and the VII photo agency launch the "Starved For Attention" multimedia campaign on global malnutrition. The ongoing exhibition, which has already been staged in the US, Europe, and Africa, highlights the often overlooked global scourge of malnutrition, its lethal impact on children in particular, and some innovative practices employed by MSF and others to combat it."
2010		"EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI After a massive earthquake hits Haiti on January 12th, MSF launches one of its largest ever interventions, expanding its projects in the country from three to a high of 26. MSF treats more than 173,757 patients, and performs more than 11,748 surgeries in the five months that follow the disaster."
2011		"PROVIDING URGENT MEDICAL CARE IN LIBYA MSF finally manages to deliver medicines and medical supplies to Sirte, Libya, at the heart of the fighting. For ten days,we attempt to deliver aid to Sirte where, according to doctors in the town, the healthcare situation had continued to deteriorate."
2011		"MSF WORKS WITH PSYCHOLOGISTS IN AFTERMATH OF JAPANESE QUAKE MSF supports a team of six psychologists who treat survivors of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit northeast Japan on March 11th."
2011		"WITHDRAWAL FROM THAILAND AFTER 35 YEARS After months of negotiations and discussions with Thai authorities, it proves impossible to get permission to provide healthcare to undocumented migrants and vulnerable populations in Thailand that MSF believes are most in need of medical assistance."
2011		"MSF CONDEMNS ATTACK ON AID WORKERS IN SOMALIA Two MSF colleagues, Phillipe Havet and Andrias Karel Keiluhuo, were killed by a gunman while implementing emergency assistance projects in Mogadishu."
2012		"MSF VACCINATES 117,000 PEOPLE AGAINST CHOLERA IN GUINEA MSF vaccinates 117,000 people against cholera in the region of Boffa, 150km north of Conakry, the Guinean capital. This is the first time that people in Africa were protected during a cholera outbreak by a two-dose oral vaccine."
2012		"REFUGEE INFLUX CAUSES CRISIS IN SOUTH SUDAN MSF warns of dire medical consequences as tens of thousands of new refugees cross from Sudan into South Sudan, finding refugee camps full and unable to provide the basic life-sustaining essentials. The situation in Upper Nile and Unity States rapidly develops into a full-blown crisis as water supplies begin to run out and relief is wholly insufficient."
2012		"MSF RESPONDS TO SYRIAN CONFLICT In July, MSF begins to run medical programmes inside Syria, although without authorisation from the Syrian government. MSF initially sets up three field hospitals in the north of the country. One of the hospitals, located in a cave, would later be bombed after the MSF team leaves for more secure surroundings."

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