Because we recognize the potential conflict of interest between receiving certain types of corporate donations and fulfilling our humanitarian mandate, we have decided that we should not solicit or accept funds from corporations that derive their income from the production and/or sale of tobacco, alcohol, arms, pharmaceuticals, and/or mineral, oil, gas or other extractive industries. We have now extended this policy to our matching gift program to ensure our strict neutrality, impartiality, and consistency. The following examples illustrate some potential conflicts:
• MSF medical teams have been unable to adequately treat their patients because the medicines they need are too expensive, no longer effective, or simply do not exist. We find this situation unacceptable, and we are advocating for changes in drug production and pricing.
• The operations of extraction industries are sometimes involved or directly cause displacement of local populations. MSF volunteers often provide aid to these same populations which have been displaced.
• As a medical organization, we feel it is important to remain independent from alcohol and tobacco industries, whose products could adversely affect the health of our patients
In the interest of protecting the independence of our operations, which directly affects the well-being of our patients, we feel it necessary to take this step to avoid any potential conflict of interest.
For more information, please feel free to review our Corporate Gift Acceptance Policy