Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Introduction

This document presents research that holds a mirror to the MSF movement, based on views and experiences of our staff and patients in Operational Centre Amsterdam (OCA). It captures issues of power and inequality – the forms they take and impacts they have. Its reflection of MSF is at a particular moment, after several years of attention on racism, discrimination, and injustice – within and beyond the humanitarian sector. It’s hoped the research will be a resource for those who seek to spark critical reflection and change within MSF. This was the intention of its sponsors in the Manson Unit, the medical support unit in MSF UK that commissioned the study.

Members of the advisory group and Manson Unit introduce the research, set the context, and present their view on power and inequality in MSF.

The research looks at aspects such as:

Who has influence and authority, and who doesn’t
Who has opportunities, and who doesn’t
Who is seen to embody MSF values

It also means recognising that power doesn’t always look the same across the different settings in the organisation or in different parts of the world, and that it can be held both through official channels and through unwritten forms of influence. At the same time, it means acknowledging that there are power imbalances built into MSF’s relationship with the communities it serves around the world.

This look at MSF comes after several years of increased attention on racism, discrimination and injustice in the humanitarian sector and beyond. Inequalities in this huge and complex organisation have a negative impact on people’s experience of working for MSF – yet are seen by many as unavoidable for a number of reasons, not least the organisation’s ‘emergency’ mindset.

Examining the deeper workings of MSF can be uncomfortable, but the findings are based on what people who work for MSF have to say. It’s hoped that by acknowledging areas where power imbalances result in injustice, this research will be a starting point for reflection and discussion that will help inform the future of MSF.

Delve deeper

Image Credit:

1. Scott Hamilton/MSF

,https://MSFUK.unbounddocs.com/power-analysis/how-this-report-was-compiled/