Data Sharing in a Humanitarian Organization: The Experience of Médecins Sans Frontières

Abstract

Open data and data sharing are essential for maximizing the benefits that can be obtained from institutional and research datasets [1]. In 2012, the medical humanitarian organization Me´decins Sans Frontieres (MSF) decided to adopt a data sharing policy for routinely collected clinical and research data (http://www.msf.org.uk/msf-data-sharing). Here we describe the policy’s principles, practicalities,and development process. We hope this paper will encourage and help other humanitarian and nongovernmental organizations to share their data with public health researchers for the benefit of the populations with which they work.