Avril Benoît is the executive director of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières in the United States (MSF-USA) (as of June 2019). Previously, Ms. Benoît served as Director of Communications and Fundraising with

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. M ...

(MSF) / Doctors Without Borders at its operational centre based in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. She is a Canadian former broadcaster best known for her radio programmes and documentaries on the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

. From 2006 to 2012, after two decades in journalism, she joined MSF in Canada as director of communications. She has worked as a humanitarian country director and project coordinator with Médecins Sans Frontières, in

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Benoît's documentaries from

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

aired on

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of Ca ...

's flagship show, '' The Current''. Her hour-long television documentary ''Slum Cities: a Shifting World'' aired on ''CBC News: Correspondent'' on

CBC Newsworld CBC News Network (formerly CBC Newsworld) is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. As Canada's first all-news channel, it is th ...

. In 2004-2005 she was a Southam Journalism Fellow at

Massey College Massey College is a graduate residential college at the University of Toronto that was established, built and partially endowed in 1962 by the Massey Foundation and officially opened in 1963, though women were not admitted until 1974. It was mode ...

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. Her graduate research focussed on

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

global governance Global governance refers to institutions that coordinate the behavior of transnational actors, facilitate cooperation, resolve disputes, and alleviate collective action problems. Global governance broadly entails making, monitoring, and enfor ...

and official

development assistance Development aid is a type of foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. Closely-related concepts include: developm ...

. From 1999 to 2004, Benoît hosted and produced '' Here and Now'', CBC Radio One's newsmagazine weekday afternoons on

CBLA-FM CBLA-FM (99.1 MHz) is a non-commercial Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the station is the flagship station of the CBC Radio One network, broadcasting a mix of news and talk ...

in Toronto."Benoit to host afternoon radio show". ''

Saskatoon StarPhoenix ''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out six editions each week and publishes one weekly, ''Bridges''. It is also part of the canada.com ...

'', August 6, 1999. She co-hosted, with Michael Enright, CBC Radio One's former flagship show '' This Morning'' from 1997 to 1999."CBC's This Morning rides rough waters". ''

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix ''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out six editions each week and publishes one weekly, ''Bridges''. It is also part of the canada.com ...

'', July 20, 1998. Before that she hosted an open-line show on

CJAD CJAD (800 AM) is a commercial radio station operating in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The station has an English language news/talk radio format and identifies itself on-air as ''CJAD 800''. Owned and operated by Bell Media, it has a daytime power ...

in Montreal and was a political commentator. Benoît anchored numerous breaking news programmes and election night specials. Benoît's journalistic career included stints as a reporter, writer and host with CBC-TV; a reporter with CBC Radio in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

; and a news anchor with the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

Network in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Her print background includes covering the 1990 presidential elections in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

for ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', and editing '' The Record'' daily newspaper in

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

. Benoît is a bilingual native of Ottawa, Ontario and

Mont-Tremblant Mont-Tremblant () is a city in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada, approximately northwest of Montreal and northeast of Ottawa, Ontario. The current municipality with city status was formed in 2000. Mont-Tremblant is most famous for its ...

, Quebec. She is the niece of former Ottawa Mayor Pierre Benoit.

References

External links

* Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders Canad

* Avril Benoît's article about refugees in South Suda

* Avril Benoît's article in Policy Option

* Avril Benoît's TV documentary entitled ''Slum Cities: A Shifting World'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benoit, Avril Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Laurentides People from Ottawa People from Toronto People from Montreal Canadian talk radio hosts CBC Radio hosts Franco-Ontarian people Canadian women radio journalists Canadian women radio hosts