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.

Big picture

Time period	Development summary
2010s	As og 2015, MSF is active in nineteen countries and is involved in assistance activities in over sixty nations. It is represented by the International Office in Geneva, and has operational centers in Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Geneva that coordinate interventions. MSF is independent from governments and political parties.

Full timeline

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)." "MSF was officially created on December 22, 1971"	France
1972		"The earthquake in Nicaragua marks our first mission in a natural disaster." "MSF’s first mission was to the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, where an earthquake in 1972 had destroyed most of the city and killed between 10,000 and 30,000 people."	Nicaragua
1974		"HURRICANE IN HONDURAS Our first mission of long-term medical assistance." "In 1974, MSF set up a relief mission to help the people of Honduras after Hurricane Fifi caused major flooding and killed thousands of people."	Honduras
1975		MSF establishes its first large-scale medical program during a refugee crisis in Cambodia, providing medical care for the waves of Cambodians seeking sanctuary from the Khmer Rouge regime.	Cambodia
1976		MSF conducts its first wartime mission in Lebanon and becomes a professional medical emergency organization.	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		MSF moves beyond its modus operandi of sending isolated doctors to crisis zones in favour of creating a more structured organization that can provide quality medical services in crises. The initiative is led by Dr Claude Malhuret and Dr Francis Charhon.
1980		MSF launches its first nutritional program in the midst of drought and civil war in Karamoja, Uganda.	Uganda
1980		MSF medical teams clandestinely cross the Pakistani–Afghan border and travel by mule for several weeks to reach injured civilians living in remote areas during the Soviet–Afghan War.	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
1980	Branch	MSF-Belgium is founded.	Belgium
1981		MSF hospitals in Afghanistan are bombarded.	Afghanistan
1981	Branch	MSF-Switzerland is established.	Switzerland
1984		MSF starts programs to treat malnutrition in Ethiopia.	Ethiopia
1984		MSF-Holland is established.	Netherlands
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 assists with medical care in Honduras to refugees from El Salvador and Nicaragua.	Honduras
1986		"MSF organizes mobile clinics and hospital programmes to treat injured and traumatised citizens in Sri Lanka.	Sri Lanka
1986	Branch	MSF-Spain	Spain
1986		Yemen intervention in Aden where fighting rages between rival factions of the ruling party."	Yemen
1988		MSF is requested to start an intervention to address urgent health needs in the area of the Western Upper Nile.	Sudan
1989		MSF withdraws from Sudan after an MSF plane is shot down by a missile, killing 4 people, two of them MSF volunteers.	Sudan
1989		"MSF provide medical care in the Soviet Union."
1990		"An MSF logistician is murdered in Afghanistan. Activities suspended."
1990		MSF begins working in Liberia in response to the civil war.	Liberia
1990	Branch	MSF-Greece	Greece
1990	Branch	MSF-USA	United States
1990		MSF begins its first psychosocial program in Gaza, which focuses on developing people’s self-help skills and on addressing both the social and psychological effects of violence.	Palestine
1991		"The MSF relief convoy evacuating the wounded from Vukovar hospital comes under attack. Three of our workers are wounded."
1991		MSF initiates an HIV/AIDS prevention program in Uganda.	Uganda
1991	Branch	MSF-Canada	Canada
1991		MSF starts operations in Brazil. All projects would be closed in 2011.	Brazil
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	Branch	MSF-Japan is established.	Japan
1993	Branch	MSF-UK is established.	United Kingdom
1993		MSF starts operations in Burundi during the civil war in the country.	Burundi
1993	Branch	MSF-Italy	Italy
1993–1994		"WAR IN BOSNIA Medical programmes in the region extend to the UN's supposed "protection zones" of Gorazde and Srebrenica."
1994		MSF issues a new tuberculosis guideline that refers explicitly to WHO's declaration on the eradication of TB as a public health priority.
1994	Branch	MSF-Australia	Australia
1994	Branch	MSF Hong Kong is established.	Hong Kong
1995		"WAR IN CHECHNYA MSF bring aid to civilians inside the republic and in refugee camps in neighbouring countries."
1995		MSF becomes the first European NGO to begin working in North Korea.	North Korea
1996		MSF launches a massive vaccination and treatment program during a severe epidemic of meningococcal meningitis in Nigeria. About 4.5 million people are assisted.	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
1997	Literature	MSF publishes the book Refugee Health, which establishes ten top priorities for managing refugee emergencies.
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 Peace Prize "in recognition of the organization's pioneering humanitarian work on several continents".	Sweden
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."
2006	Branch	The MSF-Czech Republic office is established in Prague.	Czechia
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		MSF teams assist patients during an Ebola outbreak in Uganda.	Uganda
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		MSF opens a surgical hospitals in Gaza and starts offering post-operative and psychological care. The two hospital tents include operating theaters and a 12-bed post-surgery recovery and post-operative care unit.	Palestine
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		MSF responds to massive floods in Pakistan, assisting more than 80,000 patients and distributing nearly 2 million liters of clean water, along with almost 65,000 relief kits.	Pakistan
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."
2013		"MSF HELPS PEOPLE FLEEING MALI With tensions simmering in Mali, the French military intervene to suppress an Islamist uprising in January. MSF continues its emergency medical work across Mali and assists people who have fled the conflict to neighbouring countries."
2013	Withdrawal	MSF closes all its programs in Somalia after 22 years working in the country. The decision comes after a long series of threats, kidnappings, extremely violent attacks, and murders, with 16 members of MSF staff having been killed since 1991.	Somalia
2013		"LAUNCH OF THE TB MANIFESTO In March, people living with drug-resistant tuberculosis, with the help of MSF staff, call for new drugs to treat multidrug-resistant TB. They call for the drugs to make treatment much shorter, more effective and less toxic. More than 55,000 people sign the manifesto."
2013		"REPORT OF TOXIC NERVE AGENTS IN SYRIA In August, MSF reports that more than 3,000 patients showing symptoms of exposure to toxic nerve agents are received at medical centres near the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack near Damascus."
2013		"CHAOS IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC In October, MSF remains one of the few international medical organisations in Central African Republic responding to the increasing violence which has plunged the country into chaos."
2013		"TYPHOON HAIYAN DEVASTATES THE PHILIPPINES MSF begins responding to Typhoon Haiyan shortly after it makes landfall on 8 November. MSF provides care for emergency and everyday health problems in hospitals and mobile clinics, delivers clean water and helps to repair sewerage systems and health centres in some of the worst affected areas."
2013		"CIVIL WAR IN SOUTH SUDAN MSF ramps up operations after wide-scale conflict engulfs South Sudan in December. In April 2014, MSF severely criticises United Nations peacekeeping operations over what it calls a ‘shameful indifference’ to the squalid living conditions of 21,000 displaced people in Juba."
2014		"MSF HALTS OPERATIONS IN MYANMAR In March, MSF is ordered by the Government of Myanmar to halt its work after some officials accuse MSF of favouring the Muslim Rohingya ethnic group over Rakhine Buddhists. MSF is forced to close operations in Rakhine, depriving nearly 750,000 people – mostly Rohingya – of medical care."
2014		"RESPONSE BEGINS TO UNPRECEDENTED EBOLA EPIDEMIC In March, MSF begins responding in Guinea to what it describes as ‘an unprecedented Ebola epidemic’ due to the geographical spread of the virus.The World Health Organisation states that MSF is exaggerating."
2014		"EBOLA “OUT OF CONTROL” In June, MSF declares the second wave of the outbreak as "totally out of control" and calls for a massive influx of resources and reinforcements to be sent to West Africa. MSF goes on to open 15 Ebola management and transit centres, caring for more than 5,000 patients. Fourteen MSF staff and hundreds of other health workers lose their lives to Ebola."
2014		"CRISIS IN GAZA AND THE WEST BANK Between July and August, MSF ramps up its work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in response to Operation Protective Edge, the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. On 21 July, MSF calls on Israel to stop the bombing due to the number of civilian casualties."
2014		"LAUNCH OF THE MISSING MAPS PROJECT November sees the launch of the Missing Maps project – a collaboration between MSF, the British and American Red Cross, and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team – which aims to map the most vulnerable places in the developing world so that individuals and organisations can use maps and data to better respond to crises."
2014		"MSF RESTARTS WORK IN MYANMAR In December, MSF restarts basic medical activities in parts of Rakhine, Myanmar, after a nine month absence. In the first month after restarting, MSF carries out 3,480 outpatient consultations."
2014		"MSF ADDRESSES UN SECURITY COUNCIL In September, Jackson Naimah – an MSF physicians’ assistant from Liberia – gives an unprecedented speech to the UN Security Council saying that MSF has reached its limits and cannot continue to respond alone to the Ebola epidemic. He appeals for international help. Later that month, MSF announces it will host three treatment trials for the virus in its centres in West Africa."
2015		"CONFLICT IN UKRAINE In mid-January, fighting in eastern Ukraine escalates to a level not seen since the peak of the conflict in the summer of 2014. MSF provides basic healthcare and medicines to people on both sides of the frontline, as well as psychological support."
2015		MSF launches a search and rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea to save migrants trying to reach Europe by boat.
2015		"KUNDUZ ATTACK In the small hours of Saturday, 3 October 2015, our emergency trauma hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, is repeatedly bombed by Coalition forces. Forty-two people are killed: 24 patients and 14 MSF staff, along with four patient caretakers."
2016		"BORNO CRISIS, NIGERIA Between April and July, thousands of children starve to death in Borno state, Nigeria, many beyond the reach of aid agencies. MSF speaks out about the situation and calls on the authorities and international community to urgently tackle the problem of widespread hunger, which is exacerbated by displacement and the fight against Boko Haram rebels in the region."
2016		"CONFLICT IN SYRIA AND YEMEN The catastrophic conflicts in Syria and Yemen continue. Throughout 2016, attacks on civilans, hospitals, medical facilities and healthcare workers became sadly commonplace. In May, world leaders at the UN unanimously condemned these acts, but they continued unabated."
2016		"EU-TURKEY DEAL In a historic move in June, MSF refuses EU funding as protest against shambolic policy towards refugees and migrants."
2017		"EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS AID BUSINESS OF SUFFERING MSF International President, Joanne Liu, sends an open letter to European government leaders regarding the detention of migrants and refugees in Libya: "It must be named for what it is: a thriving enterprise of kidnapping, torture and extortion. And European governments have chosen to contain people in this situation." "
2017		"ROHINYGA REFUGEE CRISIS From 25 August, more than 655,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Bangladesh, following targeted violence against them in neighbouring Rakhine state, Myanmar. Most are living in dire conditions in the refugee camps. In response, MSF expands its operations in the area, covering water, sanitation and medical activities for refugees. In December, MSF surveys estimate at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed during a month of attacks in Myanmar."
2017		"THE RETURN TO SOMALIA After our withdrawal from the country in 2013, MSF opens a nutrition programme in Somalia's Puntland region. Although security has not improved, our commitment to the people of Somalia, who face extreme suffering, leads us to dial up activities again. "
2018		"DIPLOMATIC STAND-OFF AT SEA In June, 630 vulnerable refugees and migrants rescued by MSF and SOS MEDITERANEE on the Mediterranean Sea are denied entry to the nearest safe ports in Malta and Italy. MSF denounces Italy’s decision and other European governments’ choices of political point-scoring over saving lives at sea."

Meta information on the timeline

How the timeline was built

The initial version of the timeline was written by FIXME.

Funding information for this timeline is available.

Feedback and comments

Feedback for the timeline can be provided at the following places:

• FIXME