Explore MSF’s Social Science Toolkit

Medical action alone isn’t enough to navigate the complex environments where Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) works. The social, cultural, and political dynamics that shape people’s lives—and their access to care—require more than clinical knowledge. 

This is where the social sciences come in. 

Disciplines like anthropology, sociology, and political science offer essential tools to explore how people experience illness, perceive MSF, and make decisions related to their health. Integrating these perspectives helps us work with communities—not just for them. 

The Social Science Toolkit was developed to help MSF staff apply social science approaches in their day-to-day work. Created by Umberto Pellecchia and Edouard Fouqueray - both anthropologists at LuxOR - the Toolkit builds on their experience supporting MSF teams to integrate contextual and sociocultural analysis into operations. 

Whether you're a health promoter, epidemiologist, project coordinator, or just curious about how social sciences apply in humanitarian settings, the Toolkit offers practical support. 

It helps teams: 

• Analyse humanitarian contexts from the perspective of the people we work with
• Integrate local perceptions, experiences, and knowledge into programme design
• Avoid oversimplifications and stereotypes, particularly in post-colonial settings
• Improve the relevance, ethics, and effectiveness of our operations
• Collaborate across disciplines—bridging social science, medicine, and public health 

The Toolkit brings together accessible guidance and curated resources grounded in scientific knowledge. It’s designed to make social science approaches easy to understand and apply - especially in fast-paced or resource-limited contexts. 

Inside, you’ll find: 

• Key concepts and definitions to help you get started
• Step-by-step guidance for conducting rapid qualitative assessments
• Tools tailored to your specific role (via the “Select Your Profile” section)
• Curated articles, reports, and databases to deepen your analysis 

Use It Your Way 

Whether you’re preparing a context analysis, rethinking a health promotion strategy, or designing a new assessment, the Toolkit can help you ask the right questions - and better understand the communities we serve. 

Browse by theme or role using the top menu. The content is designed to be flexible, so you can use it as a reference, a learning tool, or a source of inspiration.