# Christos Christou

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Christos_Christou
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Christos_Christou.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christos_Christou
> Source revision: 1356655630
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

International President of Médecins Sans Frontières

This article is about the International President of Médecins Sans Frontières. For the Cypriot politician of the same name, see [Christos Christou (politician)](/source/Christos_Christou_(politician)).

A request that this article title be changed to Christos Christou (physician) is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed.

Christos Christou Born Trikala, Greece Alma mater Aristotle University (M.D.) University of Athens (Master's) National and Kapodistrian University (PhD) Known for Outgoing International President of MSF

**Christos Christou** is a Greek physician who is the former international president of [Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)](/source/M%C3%A9decins_Sans_Fronti%C3%A8res).[1][2]

Christou is from Greece where he studied medicine before working as a doctor in the United Kingdom. He joined MSF and worked as a surgeon in Cameroon, Iraq, and South Sudan before becoming elected as the Vice President, then President of MSF Greece and later succeeding [Joanne Liu](/source/Joanne_Liu) as the International President of MSF international.

## Early life

Christou was born in [Trikala](/source/Trikala), Greece.[3]

## Education

Christou has a degree in medicine from [Aristotle University](/source/Aristotle_University_of_Thessaloniki), a [Ph.D](/source/Doctor_of_Philosophy) in surgery from the [National and Kapodistrian University](/source/National_and_Kapodistrian_University_of_Athens), and a Master's degree in International Health and Health Crisis Management from the [University of Athens](/source/University_of_Athens).[4][5]

## Career

As an emergency surgery specialist, Christou worked at [North Middlesex University Hospital](/source/North_Middlesex_University_Hospital) and [King’s College Hospital](/source/King's_College_Hospital) in [London](/source/London), UK.[5]

He joined MSF in 2002 as a volunteer surgeon,[4] working on refugee health issues, and [HIV](/source/HIV%2FAIDS) in [Cameroon](/source/Cameroon), [Iraq](/source/Iraq), [South Sudan](/source/South_Sudan) and [Zambia](/source/Zambia).[5]

He worked as the General Secretary, and then as the vice president before being elected as the president of MSF Greece in 2005.[5]

Christou was elected to be the international president of MSF in June 2019.[4] Later in 2019, he wrote an open letter to [European Union](/source/European_Union) leaders advocating that they cease their policy of stopping the journey of [asylum seekers](/source/Asylum_seeker) in the Greek islands.[6]

In 2020, responding to an open letter from MSF staff about [institutional racism](/source/Institutional_racism), he welcomed the critique, but also questioned how widespread racism was within MSF.[7][8][9] He also criticized governments for failing to put in place efficient healthcare plans at the beginning of the [coronavirus pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic), especially in low income countries.[10]

In 2021, Christou spoke about the importance of addressing [climate change](/source/Climate_change), criticized pharmaceutical companies for not sharing COVID-19 vaccine [intellectual property](/source/Intellectual_property), and spoke of increasing humanitarian needs in Afghanistan.[3]

In 2021, he was critical of Brazilian President [Jair Bolsonaro's](/source/Jair_Bolsonaro) management of the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Brazil).[11][12]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Doctors Without Borders: International president Christos Christou meets with Jean Asselborn in Luxembourg"](https://today.rtl.lu/news/luxembourg/a/1797244.html). *today.rtl.lu*. Retrieved 2021-11-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Elbeshbishi, Sarah. ["Deadly explosion in Beirut: How to help to the victims in Lebanon"](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/05/beirut-explosion-how-help-victims-lebanon/3300822001/). *USA TODAY*. Retrieved 2021-11-21.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_3-1) ["Climate change, a humanitarian crisis"](https://delano.lu/article/climate-change-a-humanitarian-). *delano.lu*. Retrieved 2021-11-20.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:1_4-2) ["Ten Greeks Who Left Their Mark in 2019"](https://greekreporter.com/2019/12/26/ten-greeks-who-left-their-mark-in-2019/). *GreekReporter.com*. 2019-12-26. Retrieved 2021-11-20.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:2_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:2_5-3) Newsroom. ["Greek surgeon elected president of Doctors Without Borders | eKathimerini.com"](https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/244400/greek-surgeon-elected-president-of-doctors-without-borders/). *www.ekathimerini.com*. Retrieved 2021-11-21. {{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: |author= has generic name ([help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#generic_name))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Greek Photographer Anna Pantelia Shows Paradox of Greek Island and Europe's Failure"](https://pappaspost.com/greek-photographer-anna-pantelia-shows-paradox-of-greek-island-and-europes-failure/). *The Pappas Post*. 2019-11-29. Retrieved 2021-11-21.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Doctors Without Borders Responds To Charges Of 'Racism' From Its Staff"](https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/15/864544382/doctors-without-borders-responds-to-charges-of-racism-from-its-staff). *NPR.org*. Retrieved 2021-11-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["MSF accused by staff of upholding white supremacy and colonialism"](http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/medecins-sans-frontieres-accused-white-supremacy-colonialism). *Middle East Eye*. Retrieved 2021-11-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Feelings running high at 'Eurocentric' MSF"](https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2020/06/24/MSF-racism-black-lives-matter-debate). *The New Humanitarian*. 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2021-11-21.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** KIU. [".:: KIU International Desk: MSF President Dr Christou says Impact of COVID-19 "not Shared Equally" | Kampala International University, Uganda"](https://www.kiu.ac.ug/news-page.php?i=kiu-international-desk-msf-president-dr-christou-says-impact-of-covid-19-%E2%80%9Cnot-shared-equally%E2%80%9D). *www.kiu.ac.ug*. Retrieved 2022-01-27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Babies dying from Covid in Brazil as 'humanitarian catastrophe' hits country"](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/brazil-babies-dying-covid-b1832652.html). *The Independent*. 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2021-11-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Penna, Dominic; Carpani, Jessica (2021-04-15). ["Europe passes one million Covid deaths"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-vaccine-south-africa-variant-astrazeneca-eu-cases/). *The Telegraph*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0307-1235](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0307-1235). Retrieved 2021-11-21.

v t e Humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid in conflict zones Humanitarianism Humanitarian principles International humanitarian law History 1850s, Creation of the Red Cross Henry Dunant Battle of Solferino A Memory of Solferino Red Cross Movement Geneva Conventions International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission Post WWII History of the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention 21st-century reform attempts World Humanitarian Summit Grand Bargain Localisation Humanitarian-Development Nexus Inter-Agency Standing Committee Humanitarian Cluster System Humanitarian organizations UN agencies UNHCR OCHA IOM WFP UNICEF WHO Red Cross Movement Seville Agreement ICRC The Federation (IFRC) National Societies Protective Emblems International agencies Action Against Hunger Catholic Relief Services CARE Danish Refugee Council International Medical Corps International Rescue Committee Islamic Relief Doctors of the World Doctors Without Borders Mercy Corps Norwegian Refugee Council Oxfam Guardian Girls Save the Children World Vision Koyamada International Foundation Consortiums NEAR Network CALP Global Refugee-Led Network Local agencies BRAC Hafezzi Charitable Society of Bangladesh Al-Markazul Islami Adeso Network for Refugee Voices Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation Analysis and reporting ALNAP The State of the Humanitarian System The New Humanitarian ReliefWeb Global Humanitarian Overview Notable people Degan Ali Jan Egeland Christos Christou Winnie Byanyima Martin Griffiths Jemilah Mahmood Hugo Slim Peter Maurer James Orbinski Rachel Kiddell-Monroe MacKenzie Scott Melinda French Gates Jamshedji Tata Michael Bloomberg Warren Buffett Bill Gates Donors and funding CERF USAID Japan FCDO (UK) Norway ECHO (EU) Canada Turkey France OECD Gates Foundation Yield Giving Major emergencies Chinese Famine of 1870s Great Indian Famine of 1870s Ethiopian famine 1980s 2004 tsunami 2010 Haiti earthquake 2011 East Africa drought Typhoon Haiyan Central African Republic Civil War Western African Ebola epidemic Iraq War South Sudanese Civil War Rohingya genocide Syrian civil war Yemeni Civil War Standards, power, abuse CHS Alliance Sexual exploitation and abuse Core Humanitarian Standard Sphere (organization) The Sphere Handbook The State of the World's Cash 2020 Aid worker safety Attacks on humanitarian workers Aid Worker Security Database World Humanitarian Day Health Care In Danger Campaign Kunduz hospital airstrike Airstrikes on Yemen Dolo hospital airstrike Related fields Human rights International development Peacekeeping Neocolonialism Related articles 2015 European migrant crisis Detention centres in Libya Crisis mapping Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks United Nations response to the COVID-19 pandemic Aid effectiveness World portal

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Christos Christou](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christos_Christou) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christos_Christou?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.