SYDNEY, 3 February 2026 – Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Australia and MSF New Zealand welcomes Tom Roth as its new executive director. Roth brings more than two decades of humanitarian leadership to the role – including 17 years working with MSF globally.
“It's a privilege to be able to work with MSF again. It is a critical time in the humanitarian sector, and I look forward to ensuring MSF remains focused on responding to the multiple humanitarian crises in the world today and the enormous need we are confronted with on a daily basis.”
“If I look over my almost 20 years with MSF, I think recognition of MSF in Australia and New Zealand has grown tremendously. If we can harness that to highlight the neglected crises that rarely get mentioned that would be significant,” says Roth.
“The challenges we’re seeing in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan have highlighted to me the importance of humanitarian work and safeguarding humanitarian space – protecting the ability for people to have access to healthcare, security and fundamental human rights.
“That’s central to MSF’s role – providing care as a neutral, independent and impartial organisation, especially now, at a time when humanitarian space is shrinking dramatically.”
Roth says bearing witness and speaking out to raise awareness and create debate about these crises is imperative to the role.
“This is deeply personal for me as I have worked in environments that have been extremely difficult for our local teams to work in. There is a valuable role for us in bearing witness and sharing these experiences with our supporters and the broader community in Australia and New Zealand.
“Whether it’s through closed door advocacy or public engagement, MSF will continue to do this in a respectful and responsible way – with our patients and the communities we work with at the centre of our work, always.”
About MSF
MSF is an independent international medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and human-made disasters, and exclusion from healthcare in more than 75 countries. MSF’s decision to intervene in any country or crisis is based solely on an independent assessment of people’s needs. MSF offers assistance to people based on need and irrespective of race, religion, gender, or political affiliation.
MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. Every year more than 120 Australians and New Zealanders go on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières working as doctors, midwives, psychologists, laboratory technicians, human resource/finance coordinators, pharmacists, mental health specialists and logisticians. For more information visit msf.org.au