Editing Médecins Sans Frontières (section)

===1971 establishment===
The {{Lang|fr|Groupe d'intervention médicale et chirurgicale en urgence}} ("Emergency Medical and Surgical Intervention Group") was formed in 1971 by French doctors who had worked in Biafra, to provide aid and to emphasize the importance of survivors' rights. At the same time, [[Raymond Borel]], the editor of the French [[medical journal]] ''TONUS'', had started a group called {{Lang|fr|Secours Médical Français}} ("French Medical Relief") in response to the [[1970 Bhola cyclone]], which killed at least 625,000 in [[East Pakistan]] (now Bangladesh). Borel had intended to recruit doctors to provide aid to survivors of natural disasters. On 22 December 1971, the two groups of colleagues merged to form ''Médecins Sans Frontières'' (Doctors Without Borders).<ref name="hih" />

MSF's first mission was to the Nicaraguan capital, [[Managua]], where a [[1972 Nicaragua earthquake|1972 earthquake]] had destroyed most of the city and killed between 10,000 and 30,000 people.<ref>Bortolotti, above, puts the death toll at 10,000. An estimate of 15,000 to 30,000, warning of an inevitable dysentery epidemic, comes from: {{Cite journal|author=Camilo, V|year=1974|title=The Earthquake in Managua|journal=The Lancet|volume=303|issue=7845|pages=25–26|doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(74)93014-1|pmid=4129001}}</ref> The organisation, today known for its quick response in an emergency, arrived three days after the Red Cross had set up a relief mission. On 18 and 19 September 1974, [[Hurricane Fifi]] caused major flooding in Honduras and killed thousands of people (estimates vary), and MSF set up its first long-term medical relief mission.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medecinssansfrontieres.com/site/site.nsf/pages/70 |title=Chronologies: Années 70 |language=fr |work=MSF-France |access-date=10 January 2006 }}</ref>

Between 1975 and 1979, after [[South Vietnam]] had fallen to [[North Vietnam]], millions of Cambodians immigrated to Thailand to avoid the [[Khmer Rouge]].<ref name="Dromi_2020">{{cite book|last1=Dromi|first1=Shai M.|url=https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo46479924.html|title=Above the Fray: The Red Cross and the Making of the Humanitarian NGO Sector|date=2020|publisher=Univ. of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226680101|location=Chicago|page=126}}</ref> In response, MSF set up its first [[refugee camp]] missions in Thailand.<ref name="hih" /> When Vietnam withdrew from Cambodia in 1989, MSF started long-term relief missions to help survivors of [[Killing Fields|the mass killings]] and reconstruct the country's health care system.<ref>{{cite web |work=msf.org |url=http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?component=article&objectid=751B6EAC-B3D6-11D4-B1FA0060084A6370&method=full_html |title=Cambodia's second chance |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202035654/http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?component=article&objectid=751B6EAC-B3D6-11D4-B1FA0060084A6370&method=full_html |archive-date=2 December 2008 |access-date=10 January 2006 }}</ref> Although its missions to Thailand to help victims of war in Southeast Asia could arguably be seen as its first wartime mission, MSF saw its first mission to a true war zone, including exposure to hostile fire, in 1976. MSF spent nine years (1976–1984) assisting surgeries in the hospitals of various cities in Lebanon, during the [[Lebanese Civil War]], and established a reputation for its neutrality and willingness to work under fire. Throughout the war, MSF helped both [[Lebanese Civil War#Israeli alliance with Christian militias|Christian]] and [[Lebanese Civil War#Shia Muslims|Muslim soldiers]] alike, helping whichever group required the most medical aid at the time. In 1984, as the situation in Lebanon deteriorated further and security for aid groups was minimised, MSF withdrew its volunteers.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

==== Original founders ====
* Jacques Bérès
* Philippe Bernier
* Raymond Borel
* Jean Cabrol
* Marcel Delcourt
* Xavier Emmanuelli
* Pascal Grellety Bosviel
* [[Gérard Illiouz]]
* [[Bernard Kouchner]]
* Gérard Pigeon
* [[Vladan Radoman]]
* Max Récamier
* [[Louis Schittly]]