'Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres)', often in the news, is
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) a non-governmental international organization
Doctors Without Borders (French name Medecins Sans Frontieres, MSF) is a private, independent medical aid body working across many countries, that is, a non-governmental international organisation. It was founded in France in 1971 and is not part of the WHO, the European Union or the UN system.
- ✓ (b) The UN's own civil-society database (UN DESA) lists Medecins sans frontieres (International) as a non-governmental organization with international scope. MSF calls itself an independent medical humanitarian organisation, and the Nobel Committee's 1999 speech notes that it insists on half its revenue coming from private donors, to protect its independence.
- ✗ (a) The WHO is a specialised agency of the United Nations; MSF is a separate, independent body and not one of its divisions.
- ✗ (c) MSF is not an agency of the European Union or of any group of governments.
Remember · Doctors Without Borders (MSF): an independent, international, non-governmental medical humanitarian organisation founded in France in 1971; Nobel Peace Prize 1999.
Sources
- UN DESA, Civil Society (ESANGO) profile: Medecins sans frontieres (International) ↗ “Organization type: Non-governmental organization Languages: French English Activities Areas of expertise & Fields of activity: Geographic scope: International”
- Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF): Who we are ↗ · reference work “An international, independent medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) translates to ‘doctors without borders’.”
- Nobel Peace Prize 1999: Presentation Speech (Norwegian Nobel Committee) ↗ “Médecins Sans Frontières are among the organisations which attach the greatest importance to independence, insisting among other things that half their revenues must come from private donors.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·