The Research Unit of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Switzerland was created in 2006 and aims to improve the way MSF projects are implemented in the field and to participate in critical thinking on humanitarian and medical action, notably by producing publications and organizing conferences and debates.
Latest publications
Article
Les coûts humains et moraux de la migration
Melissa McRae
12.08.2025Migration can affect people’s health and presents ethical dilemmas for healthcare professionals. The imperative to provide optimal patient care sometimes conflicts with the constraints of local…
Book
Historical Antecedents to Understanding Contemporary Attacks on Healthcare
Duncan McLean
21.10.2024The protection of medical services in armed conflict is generally framed under the principle of medical neutrality. That respect for this principle has had a chequered past would be an…
Book
A Practical Reflection on Global Health Leveraging Health as a Means to Another End
Melissa McRae
21.10.2024Our understanding of health has been expanding for decades but was boosted by COVID-19. The list of variables influencing health feels infinite, and what constitutes an actual health intervention by …
Ongoing projects
JOURNAL OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS
Duncan McLean is an editor at the JHA, an open access journal contributing to current thinking around humanitarian governance, policy and practice, and challenging contributors and readers to think critically about humanitarian issues.
Latest issueMORAL EXPERIENCES
This ongoing project acknowledges the importance of moral questions in the conduct of humanitarian action and provides staff with a space to share stories and strategies to prevent or alleviate moral distress.
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