Motivations

Rony Brauman has dedicated his life to the service of human suffering. For twelve years, he was the soul of “Médecins Sans Frontières”, the humanitarian organization founded in Paris in 1971 and active in 75 countries with a staff of over 68,000 people that brings help to victims of wars, racism and repression on all over the world. Brauman, French doctor born in Jerusalem, has courageously denounced the persecution suffered by the Palestinians and his public interventions allow us to better shed light on the current tragedy suffered by the populations of Gaza and the West Bank. For these reasons he is a great humanist conscience of our time, who the Nonino Prize jury is proud to honor.

Médecins sans Frontières

Médecins Sans Frontières, [Doctors Without Borders] is a non-governmental humanitarian organization focused on providing medical relief and assistance to people in danger regardless of their ethnic, religious or political belief, in all places in the world where the right to treatment is not guaranteed. Its actions are guided by medical ethics, by the principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality. The organization, founded in Paris in 1971 by a group of doctors and journalists, is active in 75 countries with a staff of over 68,000 people including employees and volunteers. Private donors provide 97% of the organization’s funding, with corporate donations providing the remainder. MSF offers medical care in crisis contexts. In particular, the activities range from responding to emergencies, such as earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes, to armed conflicts, such as in Afghanistan or Iraq, where hospitals are built, existing ones supported or medical points set up near the front lines. MSF also runs HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis programs, and treats neglected tropical diseases. In 1993 the Italian section was opened – Missione Italia.
For its work MSF was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1999.

Biography

Rony Brauman (born 19 June 1950 in Jerusalem) is a French doctor specialized in tropical diseases. Having obtained his high school diploma in 1967, he studied medicine, which had always been his passion. In 1975 he became a ship’s doctor on a cable ship, later, in 1975-76, he left for Benin to work at Medicus Mundi as head doctor of a small Catholic hospital in the forest. Upon his return to France in 1978, he became one of the first members of Doctors Without Borders. In 1980, he intervened in Chad during the war, later he went to Uganda, at that time hit by war and famine.
President of Doctors Without Borders France from 1982 to 1994, Brauman oversaw the movement’s financial and operational expansion, including the creation of new operational centers around the world. In 1994 he obtained the position of associate professor at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris (1994-1997) and participated in the work of CRASH, the Center for reflection on humanitarian action and knowledge.

In 1999, with the Israeli director Eyal Sivan he co-directed a documentary (1999) and wrote a book about the trial to Adolf Eichmann (1961) based on Hannah Arendt’s book of 1963 Eichmann in Jerusalem. The book Adolf Eichmann and the documentary, collected in a case, were published in Italy in 2003 by Einaudi. Brauman is now a scientific advisor at the School of International Affairs of Political Science, Research Director of the MSF Foundation and Director of Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI) at the University of Manchester. He has published several books and articles including Humanitarian Wars? Lies and Brainwashing (2018), La Médecine Humanitaire (2010), Penser dans l’urgence (2006) and Health Utopias (2000).