The International President of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) leads the International Board and the International General Assembly, and represents MSF International.
Dr Unni Karunakara was elected International President in June 2010. He has been involved with MSF since 1995, when he set up a tuberculosis (TB) control programme in Ethiopia.
He went on to work as a medical coordinator for MSF programmes in Azerbaijan, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Work with MSF
Dr Karunakara has also worked in MSF’s public health department in Amsterdam, moving on to become medical director of MSF’s Access Campaign.
In 2007, he was part of the medical emergency response team that treated victims of cyclone Sidr in Mathbaria, Bangladesh.
Work outside MSF
Outside of MSF, Dr Karunakara has held various academic and research fellowships at universities in Africa and Europe. His research focused on the demography of forced migration and the delivery of healthcare to neglected populations affected by conflict, disasters and epidemics.
Before becoming MSF’s International President, Dr Karunakara was the Deputy Director of Health of the Earth Institute, Millennium Villages Project, at Columbia University in New York, and Assistant Clinical Professor at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.
Dr Karunakara holds an MB, BS from Mangalore University in India, an MPH from Yale University and a doctorate in public health from Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
| Jan 2007 – Jun 2010 | Christophe Fournier |
|---|---|
| Jan 2004 – Dec 2006 | Rowan Gillies |
| Nov 2000 – Dec 2003 | Morten Rostrup |
| Jun 1998 – Nov 2000 | James Orbinski |
| Sep 1997 – Jun 1998 | Doris Schopper |
| Jun 1996 – Sep 1997 | Philippe Biberson |
| Feb 1995 – Jun 1996 | Doris Schopper |
| Feb 1994 – Feb 1995 | Jacques De Milliano |
| Aug 1992 – Feb 1994 | Rony Brauman |
| Jan 1992 – Aug 1992 | Reginald Moreels |
| Feb 1991 – Jan 1992 | Rony Brauman |
-
Related:
- MSF
