About Us

Medical Teams International is a Christian global health organization, demonstrating the love of Christ to people affected by disaster, conflict and poverty. We deliver medical and dental care, humanitarian aid, and holistic development programs to all people in need, regardless of religion, nationality, sex, or race. We respond to disasters around the world—and here at home—by sending teams of volunteer medical professionals and medical supplies to care for the sick and injured. We also mobilize long-term health promotion initiatives, collaborating with established partners within each community to ensure that our programs have a sustainable impact. 

Formerly Northwest Medical Teams, Medical Teams International was founded in 1979 when Oregon businessman Ron Post was moved to action by a news report detailing the plight of starving refugees on the Thai-Cambodian border. Ron organized 27 medical volunteers within two weeks to bring desperately-needed supplies and medical care to the refugees.

In the past 32 years, Medical Teams International has sent out more than 2,400 volunteer teams.

Last year alone, we helped more than 2.7 million people in 70 countries.

Medical Teams International is uniquely positioned to leverage every dollar of funding for maximum impact through the efforts of volunteers. Last year, we mobilized 2,172 volunteers to ship and administer $133 million in donated medical supplies.

A $30 donation leverages $3,361 worth of medicines and medical supplies.

Medical Teams International delivers personal hygiene and medical items to 70 social service agencies in the northwest. The list of our social service agencies is on our Pacific Northwest Partners page.

For the past four years, Charity Navigator, America’s largest and most-recognized charity evaluator, has awarded Medical Teams International four stars, its highest ranking. We are recognized for sending more than 97% of donated resources we receive to help people in need. 

In 2011, Charity Navigator recognized Medical Teams International as a 10 Top Notch Charity.

Medical Teams International is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Our federal tax id number is 93-0878944.

See Annual Report 2012 for details or download our 2012 Annual Report [PDF].

What makes us different?

What makes Medical Teams International different from other similar local and international humanitarian aid organizations? Primarily, our work is supported by volunteers and leveraged by in-country partners to deliver more care and more humanitarian aid per donation dollar. Our Fast facts, below, present the numbers and scope of our work. 

Medical Teams International is a non-denominational, faith based, non-governmental agency. As such, we incorporate transformational development in our programs, encouraging and monitoring the physical and spiritual development of the people we care for. We only work where we are invited to do so and work closely with local health authorities to help assure positive outcomes, even after we return home.

We were founded over 30 years ago, which has allowed us to develop efficient processes, strong partnerships and enthusiastic support from a growing team of volunteers and donors. Our volunteer opportunities are frequently short-term engagements, rather than those offered by others that span six months or more. This gives highly skilled professionals the ability to integrate volunteering into their busy careers. To be part of our team, you may volunteer, donate in several different ways.

Fast facts for fiscal year 2012

Countries we serve

We currently have programs in 27 countries.

Afghanistan Burundi Cambodia Cameroon El Salvador Ethiopia Gabon Guatemala Guinea Haiti Honduras Indonesia Kenya Liberia Malawi

Mali Mexico Moldova Mozambique Nicaragua Niger South Sudan Sudan, West Darfur Uganda United States Uzbekistan

We have sent humanitarian aid to the following 66 countries.

Afghanistan Albania Armenia Belize Bosnia Brazil Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon China Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador

Gabon Ghana Greece Guatemala Guyana Israel/West Bank/Gaza Haiti Honduras India Jamaica Kenya Kosovo Lebanon Liberia Libya Malawi Mali

Mexico Moldova Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Nicaragua Niger North Korea Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Romania Senegal Sierra Leone

Somalia South Korea South Sudan Syria Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Trinidad and Tobago Uganda Ukraine United States Uzbekistan Vietnam Zambia Zimbabwe

Employment and Volunteering

If you are interested in joining us to help people in need around the world, please see our job openings on the Careers page and our volunteer opportunities on our Volunteer page.

Connect with us

Learn more about us by seeing our videos on YouTube. Stay in touch with us by following us on Twitter and joining our growing community of friends on Facebook.