MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 12 September 2015]
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news-stories/press/press-releases

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The 2015 Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award:
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) for Sustained and Effective Frontline Responses to the Recent Ebola Outbreak in Africa
The 2015 Lasker~Bloomberg Public Service Award honors Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), established in 1971, for bold leadership in responding to the recent Ebola outbreak in Africa, and for sustained and effective frontline responses to health emergencies.

Since the beginning of the most recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa in March 2014, more than 11,000 people lost their lives, including hundreds of health workers. MSF leaders realized quickly the devastating magnitude of the outbreak and sprang into action. The organization sent experts, built hospitals, imported necessary supplies, and set up systems to receive and treat patients. For many months, MSF was alone in its work. When other international organizations later began stepping up, MSF provided guidelines and trained many of their personnel.

Throughout the Ebola crisis, MSF led a call for governments and international organizations to provide trained medical personnel and set up a system for disaster response. In May, the World Health Organization and its constituent countries announced that it would create a $100M fund that will support an international rapid response system for future outbreaks.

Since its inception, MSF has tackled the world’s most overwhelming disasters that affect our planet’s most marginalized people, and its activities during the last 18 months have demonstrated its exceptional perseverance and effectiveness.