Decision-making bodies
Joint Bodies
The most important of these is the General Assembly (GA) that convenes all the organisation’s full members once a year at its annual meeting. The General Assembly is a forum for discussion by the whole MdM (Doctors of the World – Médecins du Monde) community on social missions, major political issues and the passing of motions. The GA also approves the annual and the financial reports and elects the members of the Board.
Executive Committee: This is a weekly meeting between members of the Bureau (Board sub-committee), operational directors and the programme steering team (volunteers and employees from HQ and the field). The Executive Committee is at the heart of the implementing process of the Board’s decisions and is in charge of validating projects after seeking the opinion of the geopolitical and thematic groups or regional colleges.
The board
The organisation has a 12-member Board. The Board defines the organisation’s strategic orientations and submits them to the GA for approval. It ensures the transparency of the organisation’s workings with regard to all its stakeholders, and notably its users and the public authorities; it ensures the implementation of MdM’s priorities as defined by the General Assembly; it exercises its authority over all the organisation’s activities and delegates responsibility to the Executive Director for the implementation of decisions and the organisation’s management.
Regional offices
The regional offices, present in 14 regions of France, carry out regional missions within a framework defined by the Board.
The regional colleges and their delegates are accountable to the Board for the implementation of MdM's mission statement in their region of the country. Elected for a three-year term, they represent the organisation’s governance at regional level with regard to policy, funding and social missions.
The organisation's consultative structure
MdM’s consultative structure is made up of groups focused either on a programme thematic (thematic group) or a geographical region (geopolitical group). These groups are made up of volunteer board delegates (volunteer managers) and any other members interested in the subject. They ensure the coherence of MdM's mission in the regions for which they are responsible and ensure compliance with the mission statement. They provide a permanent link between the organisation’s “grassroots” (civil society, activists, the field, etc.) and the organisation’s decision-making bodies (the Board and Executive Committee).
They propose strategies and intervention priorities. Their role is crucial in the analysis of contexts and the choice of intervention modalities, as well in the preparation of our advocacy activities and our action priorities to be submitted the Board.
The National Advisory Council is made up of heads of groups and two representatives of each regional office recommended by the Board. It provides a forum for discussion between all the organisation’s different bodies (Board, regional offices, geopolitical and thematic groups, directors and guest participants) and develops proposals.
The organisation's permanent operational structure
This structure is overseen by the Directorate General and composed of the International Operations Directorate (made up of geographical units), France Operations Directorate, Health & Advocacy Directorate, Communication & Development Directorate, Human Resources Directorate and Finance and Information Systems Directorate.
The board
President
Philippe de Botton, endocrinologist and diabetologist
Vice presidents
- Ms Catherine Giboin, public health consultant
- Mr Fyras Mawazani, head of development and civil society support programmes
Other members of the bureau
- General Secretary: Christian Laval, sociologist
- Deputy General Secretary: Dr Florence Rigal, internist, hospital practitioner
- Treasurer: Mr Bernard Juan, entrepreneur
- Deputy Treasurer: Dr Joël Le Corre, general practitioner
The meaningful participation of our beneficiaries contributes to ensuring Médecins du Monde is a truly committed, independent and campaigning NGO.
Other members of the board
Full members
- Sophie Alary, program director, association Aurore
- Dr Patrick Bouffard, health centre cardiologist
- Alexandre Kamartotos, director, association Défense des Enfants International
- Thierry Malvezin, special needs educator
- Dr Françoise Sivignon, radiologist
Alternate members
- Anne Guilberteau, sociologist
- Mehdi Lahmar, director of health biology projects
- Professor Antoine Lazarus, doctor and honorary professor of Public Health and Social Medicine
An endocrinologist and diabetologist, in 1989 Doctor Philippe de Botton began working as a volunteer and campaigner with Médecins du Monde on the first needle-exchange programme to be set up in Paris. The purpose of the programme was to reduce the spread of HIV and hepatitis among injecting drug users. This commitment reflects his determination to ensure the marginalised and stigmatised within society are given full access to healthcare and their fundamental rights.
A human rights activist, Philippe de Botton also pioneered a health promotion and harm reduction programme for young people on the party scene in his home region in the south of France.
Philippe de Botton is a tireless advocate for the rights of the disadvantaged, both in France and in other countries, promoting universal access to healthcare and bearing witness to barriers to medical care. He spent six years in charge of a nutrition and dental care programme in Burkina Faso. He also helped with setting up a healthcare programme in rural areas of central Tunisia between 2013 and 2015.
In addition to his humanitarian work in the field, he has held the post of treasurer at Médecins du Monde France since 2016.
Operational Directorate
Director General: Joël WEILER
Director of French Programmes: Yannick LE BIHAN
Director of International Operations: Marina BENEDIK
Director of Communication and Development: Jean-Baptiste MATRAY
Director of Human Resources: Fanny MARTIN-BORN
Director of Finance and Information Systems: Catherine DESESSARD
Director of Legal Affairs: Loïc BLANCHARD
Director of Health Advocacy: Sandrine SIMON
Become a member
What being a member means
Becoming a member is a way of showing commitment to Doctors of the World. Fully agreeing with the principles, culture and functioning of the organisation, those who become members wish to participate in the life of Doctors of the World and in its decision-making. Full members vote at general and regional assemblies, elect heads of groups and are eligible for election to the Board and regional colleges
How to join
Only those individuals who have contributed to the work of Doctors of the World (working on our programmes in France or internationally, engaged in volunteer activity) may be members of the organisation. Membership status is granted by the Board.
The international network
MdM’s international network is comprised of 16 associations which, based on a shared charter, pursue the objectives of providing care and bearing witness.
The 11 European MdM organisations engage in joint advocacy targeting the European Union and the Council of Europe.
