About the MSF Association

Health workers embrace while putting on their personal protective equipment before heading into the red zone at a newly built, MSF-supported Ebola treatment centre in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo. 2018. Caption
Health workers embrace while putting on their personal protective equipment before heading into the red zone at a newly built, MSF-supported Ebola treatment centre in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo. 2018.

Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is a vibrant movement made up of people from all corners of the world.

Each of them shares a common purpose: to save the lives and alleviate the suffering of people in danger by delivering medical care where it is needed most.

Our success over nearly 50 years is a testament to these people, who have dedicated their time and expertise to MSF’s work overseas and at home.

To continue this success our staff – past and present – can shape the movement’s future by becoming a member of an MSF association.

Today, MSF is made up of 25 associations – organisations owned by members. The associations make sure that MSF remains true to its purpose, principles and values and help shape the future of the MSF movement.

Join the MSF UK/IE Association >

How do MSF associations work?

Becoming a member means taking collective responsibility for MSF. And because the people making the decisions have worked with MSF, the organisation stays focused on medical care and our core principles: independence, impartiality and neutrality.

The MSF UK Association

In the UK, Association members elect the UK Board of Trustees, who govern on their behalf.

The Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for what MSF UK does. It appoints our Executive Director, takes responsibility for the actions of MSF UK and works to guarantee that the MSF principles are respected.

The Board delegates the implementation of the strategy to the MSF UK management team, who run the office day-to-day. Every six weeks the Board meets to ensure MSF UK is well run and achieving its objectives.

Every year, usually in May or June, the Association gathers at the Annual General Meeting, the heart of MSF UK's internal democracy.

If you are a UK MSFer, you can access the UK Association website.

To contact any of the Board members below, please send an email to MSF UK's Board Coordinator

Tariq Ali - elected 2021

Tariq joined the Board from Oxford where he has worked as a consultant children’s anaesthetist for over 20 years. He enjoys leadership and has been Head of Department in anaesthetics and children’s intensive care, both in Oxford and abroad.

Tariq originally worked for MSF during the Rwandan conflict in 1994 and has continued to work in a variety of locations in Africa and South America. He loves to cook, play sports and look after patients.

Eve Bruce – co-opted 2021

Eve is a retired Irish American plastic surgeon living in County Kerry, Ireland for the last 13 years. Her medical training was in the United States, and she is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and Board certified in both general and plastic surgery. She has worked for MSF since 2015 taking her to places such as Gaza, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Jordan.

Eve is a member of the MSF East Africa Board and also chairs the MSF Ireland Board. She was co-opted to the UK Board in order to provide an Associative link with the Irish Branch Office.

Rachael Craven - re-elected 2023

Rachael is a consultant anaesthetist at University Hospitals Bristol with 25 years of experience working within the NHS. She has a particular interest in education and staff development and has held previous senior management roles in medical education and clinical governance.

Rachael has worked for MSF for 15 years with experience in a range of contexts, but more recently in emergency response to earthquakes and conflicts. She is active in education for medics working internationally and has been a regular faculty member on the ICRC War Surgery Course and the Royal College of Anaesthetists Global Anaesthesia Course, as well as developing educational materials.

Joe Ghandhi - co-opted 2023

Joe is qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and has extensive not-for-profit and Board experience, having worked as a finance lead with WaterAid, MSF UK, Somerset House Trust and Transparency International.  

Prior to joining the MSF UK Board, he was on the Board of MSF India for three years.

He is also the Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee of Malaria Consortium. 

Sophie Hodder - co-opted 2021

Sophie joins the Board from Kenya where she specializes in the management of health systems. Sophie has worked across Africa and in Nepal having been out of the UK for 18 years, most recently holding the post as Country Director for MSI Reproductive Choices. Her time with MSF was spent in Haiti and Democratic Republic of Congo where she realised a real passion for the work and principles of MSF.

Sophie specialises in senior management; HR, finance, operations, and governance particularly but with a real passion for offering quality healthcare services to vulnerable groups, especially women and children.

Emery Igiraneza – co-opted 2022

Emery joined the MSF UK Board in May 2022. Prior to joining MSF, Emery had worked with national and international organisations as well as the public and private sectors in the UK and other countries.

His experience ranges from working as a researcher for the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO) to managing projects in international organisations. In the UK his work focused on Community Inclusion, Refugee Integration and Equality and diversity in public and charity sector. He currently works with International Rescue Committee UK as the head of programmes.

Emery holds a Master’s in International Relations and Globalisation with a specialisation in relations between countries and international organisations, as well as an MBA with a specialisation in leadership.

Nicola McLean (Board Chair) - re-elected 2021

Nikky is an NHS Paediatric Dietitian with a Master’s in Public Health. She has over 20 years of leadership and management experience, principally within the NHS, and this has included representation at board level.

She spent four years from 1993 working in projects in both Liberia and Sudan as both Nutritionist and Medical Coordinator followed by six years as a volunteer and then coordinator of the PS Network (now Volunteer Link).

Nikky was elected to the Board in 2018, becoming Chair of the Board in 2021.

Innocent Muleya - elected 2022

Innocent Muleya is a Sessional GP with a special interest in women's health working under the Cwm Taf Morgannwg university health board and Cardiff and Vale university health board. He was born in Zimbabwe, where he started his career as a biomedical scientist before training to be a medical doctor.  

Innocent is a Chevening scholar with an MSc in Tropical Medicine and International Health from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). He has worked in the NHS and private sector as a junior doctor before his current specialism in primary care as a General Practitioner in Cardiff, where he lives.

Innocent gained leadership experience running a district hospital in the western part of Zambia before he joined MSF. Working with MSF, he has completed two field assignments, as a medical doctor between 2014 and 2015. His first assignment was in Bo, Sierra Leone, responding to the Ebola outbreak. Innocent then provided care to MSF HIV and TB patients in Lesotho.

Christopher Peskett - re-elected 2023

Chris is a registered general nurse. He had worked for both the NHS and German health service before moving to humanitarian work, including involvement in Brazil’s national leprosy programme.

He subsequently worked with MSF from 2002 to 2020, with the exception of one year spent with the Swiss Red Cross. Within MSF he has had a variety of roles, mainly as Nursing Activity Manager but also as Medical Team Leader and Project Coordinator. He has worked in programmes of primary health care (particularly in Sudan and South Sudan), outbreak responses, HIV and TB, as well as with migrant and refugee populations. He also spent one and a half years as a Face-to-Face Fundraiser for MSF, in addition to speaking on behalf of the organisation around the country.

Chris is a board member of the Norwich-based NGO New Routes, assisting refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.  

Vita Sanderson - re-elected 2022

Vita is a structural engineer and consultant for the global engineering firm Arup where she advises on the design and implementation of large construction projects for development banks and NGOs, and has worked in countries including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Malawi.

Vita worked as a Logistician and Technical Project Coordinator for MSF throughout 2017 and 2018, the majority of which was spent managing the Agok Hospital Project in South Sudan.

Iesha Singh - elected 2023

Iesha joins the Board as a senior humanitarian consultant. She has worked across many major emergencies in Africa, Asia and the Middle East across most sectors with various NGOs, donor agencies and the UN. Iesha has worked in different capacities from leadership, management and coordination, through policy and advocacy, to operational research and evaluations. 

She is particularly interested in issues of protection, remote programming and change management. 

Iesha worked for MSF OCA between 2004-2008, with shorter stints for OCG, OCBA and OCB. 

Tim Symington (Treasurer) - co-opted 2023

Tim is a security consultant, specialising in the prevention of fraud and financial crime, and a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at Kings College London. He is a trustee of a local hospice as well as the UK domestic abuse charity SafeLives.  

Tim spent the majority of his career in the UK Civil Service where he held senior leadership roles in the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Transport and the National Crime Agency. After leaving government service he worked for Lloyds Bank, leading their intelligence work for the prevention of fraud and financial crime.

Robert Verrecchia - re-elected 2022

Rob is a physician based in London. He currently works as a public health consultant at the UK Health Security Agency, where he also co-chairs the pan-regional Migrant Health Leads Network.

He has worked with MSF in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic and previously worked in the public health systems of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, and the UK

Prior to joining the MSF UK board, he was co-chair of the MSF UK Take Action Group for Migrants and Refugees.

The MSF movement

Elected representatives from the UK meet together with colleagues from the other MSF associations contributing their voices to the global discussions shaping MSF’s work.

During the annual International General Assembly the MSF President is appointed and an International Board chosen. They are responsible for bringing coherence to our vibrant and diverse movement.

Who can become an association member?

MSF overseas staff, office staff and office volunteers may apply to join after they have worked with MSF for six months.

Their contribution to MSF may have been with any section and in any project country. They do not have to live in the UK, nor be a UK citizen.

How to join?

The first step is to complete this online application form. We will review your application then be in touch with the next steps.

Join the MSF UK/IE Association >

The power of the associations

The MSF associations turn our organisation into a powerful movement, led by the people who work for us, which is responsive to the realities of delivering medical aid in the world’s most challenging places.