MSF Staff Fired Over Alleged Refugee Sex Abuse in Chad
Is MSF a model of accountability or an institution that protected itself at refugees' expense?
Above: The Doctors Without Borders Paris Hospital in Tawila, Sudan, on Feb. 25. Image credit: Giles Clarke/Avaaz via Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
MSF takes misconduct seriously and has state-of-the-art systems in place to protect the vulnerable communities under its care. When abuse was found in Chad, the organization launched a full investigation, dismissed 18 staff members and barred them from future employment. That's accountability in action, not an internal cover-up.
Narrative B
MSF spent over 11 months sitting on findings that showed 59 allegations of abuse, including sexual exploitation of underage girls and aid-for-sex schemes in Chad. The refusal to go public with its findings exposes it as an institution more preoccupied with protecting itself than its refugees, utterly undermining its moral authority.