Science Portal Privacy Policy


Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) USA, Inc. d/b/a Doctors Without Borders (“Doctors Without Borders” or “we”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Science Portal privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) describes how we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal data collected from you when you visit our Science Portal website (“Science Portal”). By visiting the Science Portal, you are accepting this Privacy Policy.

We want to make sure you have all the information you need to understand what kind of data we gather, how we handle it, whether and how we share it, and what your options are.

1. What Personal Data Do We Automatically Collect

We automatically collect the following data using cookies and other similar technologies:

(a) Technical Data: including internet protocol (IP) address, login data, browser type and version, operating system and platform, time zone and location; and

(b) Usage Data: including information about how you use the Website.

Please see our “Cookies and Tracking Technologies” section below, for more information.

2. How and Why We Use Your Data

If you share personal information with us, or if others give us your information, we will only use that information for the specific reason it was provided. For example, if you submit research to the Science Portal, we may collect the name and address of the authors and researchers in order to properly identify all those involved in the research on the Science Portal and to contact the other authors to confirm permission to publish.

We may use your information as this is necessary: (i) for our legitimate interest to maintain Science Portal or protect you and us against fraud; or (ii) to comply with our legal obligations.

3. Who Do We Share Personal Data With

Doctors Without Borders employs companies to help us host our user information database. These companies need to have access to personal information, but we require them to keep it confidential. They are only authorized to use this information as necessary to provide their specific services to us.

We hold onto your information as needed to provide you with services, comply with our legal obligations, or resolve disputes and enforce our agreements. If you’d like us to remove your contact information from our systems, or to know what kind of information we have stored about you, please contact us using the information provided in the “Contact Information” section below. (For more information, see the Security section below.)

We may be required to disclose your personal information to the government or to third parties pursuant to law enforcement inquiries, court orders, subpoenas and similar requests, or when we otherwise believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary or appropriate in connection with any activity that violates the law or may expose us to liability.

4. International Transfers of Data

Your personal data collected by us will be stored in the United States.

For European Union residents this means that your personal data may be subject to an international transfer of data in a country that is not subject to an adequacy decision by the European Commission.

When transferring your personal data to the United States we will use appropriate legal mechanisms to ensure sufficient protection of your personal data. Should you wish further information, or a copy of the safeguards referred to, please contact us using the information provided in the “Contact Information” section below.

5. Security

We take the security of any personal information you share with us seriously.

The personal information that you provide is stored in a secure location and accessible only by designated employees trained in the proper handling of personal information. We employ industry standard techniques such as firewalls, encryption, intrusion detection, and site monitoring to protect your personally identifiable information from unauthorized access by users inside and outside the organization.

We take reasonable measures to safeguard your personal information. However, “perfect security” on the Internet does not exist. Third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications. If you have any questions about the security of your personal information, you can contact us using the information provided in the “Contact Information” section below . Doctors Without Borders and any of its related entities, including the Science Portal, shall not be held liable for a third party’s unlawful interception or access to your information.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We want to make sure our website is a valuable resource that enables visitors like you to find the information you are seeking. In order to meet that goal, Doctors Without Borders and its partners use cookies, session replay/capture or similar technologies to analyze trends, administer the Science Portal, track users’ movements around the Science Portal, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole.

If you visit our site, we will ask your browser to accept a “cookie.” A cookie is a small piece of text that stores information on your browser in your computer’s hard drive. The purpose of this is simply to help us understand how people are reaching and utilizing the Science Portal. This cookie is deleted when you end your session by leaving our site or closing your browser.

We use cookies in order to analyze trends, gather broad demographic information, and monitor site traffic patterns that can help us further develop and improve the design and functionality of the Science Portal.

If you prefer, you may set your browser to refuse cookies, or to notify you when you receive a new cookie. You may also opt out of receiving cookies on the Doctors Without Borders website for Google advertising by visiting the Google advertising opt-out page (http://www.google.com/privacy/ads/#toc-edit).

Please keep in mind that if you disable cookies, it may limit your use of certain features or functions on our website.

If you choose to use the “Saved Items” feature in the Science Portal, we store a small amount of information on your local device so you can retrieve the Saved Items for later use when you visit the site again with the same device. This information is not collected or retained by MSF, and it does not contain any personal information.

7. External Links

We work to ensure that Science Portal is a reliable and useful resource that allows visitors to better understand humanitarian crises occurring around the world and the work we do to respond to them. In order to do that, our site contains links to other (external) sites. Unless we explicitly say so, Doctors Without Borders and the Science Portal make no representations whatsoever concerning the content of those sites.

The fact that Doctors Without Borders has provided a link to a site should not be interpreted as an endorsement, authorization, sponsorship, or affiliation with respect to the site, its owners, or its providers. There are risks associated with using any information, software, or products found on the Internet, and Doctors Without Borders encourages you to make sure you understand these risks before retrieving, using, relying upon, or purchasing anything via the Internet.

Please be aware that Doctors Without Borders is not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites—even if they are linked to from our web pages.

8. How Long Do We Keep Your Personal Data

Doctors Without Borders will retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected the personal data for and the purposes of any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or reporting requirements. There may be situations in which we need, or are required to, to retain your personal data for longer, including in the event of a complaint, or the possibility of litigation that would involve you.

In determining the appropriate retention period of your personal data, we consider a number of factors, including the nature, sensitivity, and potential harm from unauthorized disclosure, of your personal data. In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your personal data.

9. Privacy Rights

You have certain rights relating to your personal data, subject to applicable data protection laws. Depending on the applicable laws, these rights may include the right to:

You may exercise these rights by contacting us using the information provided in the “Contact Information” section below.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We occasionally make changes to our Privacy Policy. If we make any material changes in the way we use your personal information, we’ll let you know by posting a prominent announcement on our website. We also encourage you to periodically check this page to see the latest privacy policy information.

11. Dispute Resolution

This Privacy Policy and any disputes arising out of or related hereto, will be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. The state and federal courts located in New York County, New York will have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute relating to this Privacy Policy, and each party consents to the exclusive jurisdiction of those courts.

12. Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about this Privacy Policy, please send an email to MSFSciencePortal@newyork.msf.org, call us at +1 (212) 679-6800, or write to us by mail:

Doctors Without Borders
Attn: Science Portal
40 Rector St. 16th Floor
New York, NY 10006.

This Privacy Policy was last updated in December 1, 2021.


DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS®, MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES® and other marks used on this website are trademarks of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) USA, Inc. or its affiliates and may not be used without permission.