Doctors Without Borders provides emergency medical care in around 70 countries. Its German section is based in Berlin – but part of its history was written in North Rhine-Westphalia: until 2000, its headquarters were in Bonn. What exists in NRW today, what does not, and how people from Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, the Ruhr area or Aachen can get involved – an overview (as of 6 November 2026).
At a glance
- Headquarters today: Berlin (Schwedenstraße 9). The legal notice and recent annual reports list no address in NRW.
- History in NRW: Until 2000 the headquarters were in Bonn; a branch office remained there afterwards, last mentioned in the 2021 structure report – as was a small office in Cologne for street fundraising.
- Local groups: The organisation lists no volunteer local or regional groups in NRW.
- Events: an exhibition in Cologne in 2023, a live talk in Cologne on 3 November 2026, an info evening in Aachen in 2019. No in-person dates in NRW are currently announced; the next events are online.
- Euregio: Two of the operational centres are close to Aachen – Brussels and Amsterdam. The German section belongs to the Amsterdam centre.
Who is behind Doctors Without Borders
The international organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was founded in France in 1971 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. The German section, Ärzte ohne Grenzen e. V., was founded in 1993 as a non-profit association. Since 1998 it has held the donation seal of the German Central Institute for Social Issues (DZI). According to its 2025 annual report, it received 261.0 million euros in private donations and contributions (97.2 per cent of income) and accepted no public funding at all. 82.2 per cent of its expenditure went to projects.
From Bonn to Berlin: the German section’s NRW history
Until 2000, Doctors Without Borders Germany was based in Bonn. Its donor magazine “akut” (issue 2/2000) gives Lievelingsweg 102 in Bonn as the editorial address; in the same issue the association announced that it would “move its headquarters to Berlin” in the summer of 2000. It cited Berlin’s research institutions and the debate on humanitarian aid taking place there.
NRW did not disappear entirely afterwards: the 2014 structure and governance report names Berlin as the seat “with a branch office in Bonn”. The 2021 edition confirms the Bonn branch and also mentions small offices in Hamburg and Cologne “for regional street fundraising”. The 2024 annual report names only Berlin as the seat, with 141 full-time and 162 part-time staff at the end of the year. Whether the Bonn branch and the Cologne office still exist in 2026 is not clear from public documents – the organisation gives no visitor address in NRW.
Activities in NRW
Exhibitions: From 8 to 18 June 2023, the open-air exhibition “Im Einsatz mit Ärzte ohne Grenzen” (“On assignment with Doctors Without Borders”) was shown on Neumarkt in Cologne – with original exhibits on malnutrition, epidemic control, water supply and surgery; project staff answered questions. The most recent stop announced on the website is Stuttgart, not NRW.
Talks and lectures: On 3 November 2026, the live talk “Stabil bleiben – Menschlichkeit verteidigen” (“Staying steady – defending humanity”) took place at the Filmforum NRW in Cologne, with a global health policy adviser from Doctors Without Borders. In the lecture series “Live vor Ort”, project staff report on their assignments, online or in various cities; no date in NRW is currently announced.
Aachen: On 6 June 2019, the Marienhospital Aachen hosted an info evening on Doctors Without Borders. There is no office in Aachen.
Fundraising: The organisation has in the past advertised jobs for street fundraisers “for our city campaign in Cologne and the surrounding area” and in the wider Cologne/Bonn region. Anyone approached at an information stand in NRW is therefore encountering a known practice; genuine fundraisers carry identification and do not ask for cash.
What does not exist
Doctors Without Borders Germany lists no volunteer local or university groups in NRW. According to its website, ways of getting involved are organised centrally: online mapping at a “Mapathon”, self-organised activities, requests for speakers, a charity-run team and teaching materials for schools. We could not find evidence of a documented partnership with an NRW university or hospital. Nor could we verify recent, named reports by project staff from NRW in the organisation’s material or reputable media; we therefore name no individuals.
Working in a project – also from NRW
The organisation looks for doctors of all specialties, nurses, midwives, psychologists and experts in logistics, water and sanitation, laboratory work and administration. In 2024, 219 positions in aid projects were filled with staff managed from Berlin. According to MSF:
- Language: good English is a prerequisite, because teams include people from more than 130 countries.
- Resilience: the work can be physically and psychologically very demanding – with long working days, little comfort and security risks.
- Preparation: a self-test, the job profiles and an info session are recommended. Questions about experience, tropical medicine, assignment length and pay are answered in the FAQs.
Upcoming dates (online, so accessible from anywhere in NRW):
- 23 November 2026, 7 pm: “Live vor Ort” livestream (in German) – a paediatrician reports from Darfur, Sudan.
- 24 November 2026, 7 pm: info session (in English) for logisticians and water and sanitation specialists.
- 15 December 2026, 7 pm: info session (in English) for nurses and gynaecologists.
The Euregio perspective: Brussels and Amsterdam
Project work worldwide is directed by operational centres, including Geneva, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and Barcelona. The German section is part of the Amsterdam centre (OCA); in 2024, 23 projects in nine countries were also managed from Berlin. For Aachen and the Meuse-Rhine Euregio, Brussels is another nearby centre. It is also home to MSF Supply, the organisation’s supply centre; the logistics warehouse in Neder-over-Heembeek, opened in 2012, covers around 13,000 square metres and supplies projects worldwide. No logistics base in Germany or NRW is known.
Why help is needed right now
The organisation is currently reporting, among other things, measles and whooping cough outbreaks in Darfur, an Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo and aid cuts for displaced people in South Sudan. More here: Doctors Without Borders: current missions in November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Does Doctors Without Borders have an office in NRW?
Only the Berlin headquarters are publicly listed. Earlier reports mention a branch in Bonn (headquarters until 2000) and a small Cologne office for street fundraising; no current status for 2026 has been published.
Are there local groups in Cologne, Düsseldorf or Aachen?
No, the organisation does not run local groups. Involvement is through central programmes and events.
Can I apply from Aachen?
Yes. Applications and preparation are handled by the German section in Berlin, and info sessions are held online.
Are there events in NRW?
Occasionally, most recently on 3 November 2026 in Cologne. The organisation publishes new dates in its events calendar.
Note: Medizin Aktuell is editorially independent and not affiliated with Doctors Without Borders; this article is neither advertising nor an appeal for donations. Information without guarantee – the organisation’s own information is authoritative.
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Sources
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: akut 2/2000 – Bonn address and move to Berlin (PDF, in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Structure and governance 2014 (PDF, in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Structure and governance 2021 (PDF, in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Annual report 2024 (PDF, in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Annual report 2025, summary (PDF, in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Legal notice (in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Get involved (in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Events (in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Live talk “Stabil bleiben – Menschlichkeit verteidigen”, Cologne (in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Live vor Ort livestream, 23 November 2026 (in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Exhibition on emergency aid worldwide (in German)
- Geheimtipp Köln: “Im Einsatz mit Ärzte ohne Grenzen” on Neumarkt, 2023 (in German)
- Marienhospital Aachen: Info evening “Ärzte ohne Grenzen”, 2019 (in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Job advert, Cologne city campaign (PDF, in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Working in a project (in German)
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: Info sessions on working with MSF
- Ärzte ohne Grenzen: FAQs about overseas deployment
- canal.brussels: New MSF logistics base (2012)
- DZI: Ärzte ohne Grenzen e. V. – donation seal (in German)
- Nobel Prize: Peace Prize 1999 – Médecins Sans Frontières
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