Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as “Doctors without Borders”, in a statement on Monday said it wishes to dissociate from a Sudanese organization that holds the same name.
The internationally renowned MSF said there is another entity in Sudan, who according to Sudanese media reports, has issued a public statement in which it denounced the arrest of a health ministry doctor in the Jebel Marra region in South Darfur State.
“We stand in no relation to the NGO, their public statements, or any further content of the related media articles,” MSF said in a statement. “This is not the first time that MSF’s name – which is under international and legal trademark protection – has been used erroneously to reflect the statements of another different organization, and we have engaged with the concerned Sudanese officials on multiple occasions to rectify and assert our independent position.”
It added: “We, MSF, are an international, independent, medical humanitarian organization founded in 1971 that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from medical care – irrespective of race, religion, creed or political conviction. These values of neutral humanitarian intervention are what are represented in MSF’s identification and trademarks.”
The international health NGO said it is essential that MSF ensures that none of its trademarks are being misused or used without authorization, and to eliminate any risk of confusion between organizations and other groups with the same or similar names.
“MSF calls on the Sudanese authorities to urgently address this important issue to ensure that future misrepresentation of MSF is avoided,” the statement read.
MSF has been present in Sudan since 1978 and momentarily provides humanitarian and medical care in Blue Nile, Khartoum, Gedaref, Kassala, East Darfur, Central Darfur, West Darfur, and South Darfur states.