MAP International

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MAP International is a Christian nonprofit based in Brunswick, Georgia. Its mission is to provide medicines and health supplies to people in need around the world.

It began in 1954 when J. Raymond Knighton, then the first Executive Director of the Christian Medical Society, learned that missionary doctors often lacked essential medicines. A shipment of 11 tons of surplus medicines from Schering to Knighton’s Chicago office helped launch an outreach that became MAP International. Knighton led the organization until 1980 and passed away in 2003.

Steve Stirling has been MAP International’s President and CEO since 2014. He grew up in postwar Korea and survived polio as a child. He earned a degree from Cornell and an MBA from Northwestern, and before MAP led various nonprofit and corporate roles.

In 2019, MAP delivered medicines and health supplies to 13.3 million people in 98 countries, with a staff of fewer than 40. The organization has earned recognition as Forbes’ #37 Largest U.S. Charity, is BBB Accredited, and was named a CNBC Top-Ten Charity Changing the World in 2015. A 2008 California Attorney General complaint about valuing donated medicines was settled and later dismissed.

MAP responds to natural disasters and conflicts by deploying country offices, training communities, and promoting long-term health resilience. Notable relief efforts include Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Cyclone Phailin in India, the Oklahoma Tornado, and support for Syrian refugees.

MAP runs programs that turn short-term missions into lasting local health projects. It welcomes volunteers from the United States and offers opportunities for students and medical professionals. The organization distributes more than $250 million in affordable medicines and supplies annually from the Essential Drug List, working in countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Ecuador, Honduras, Bolivia, Indonesia, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana. MAP’s disease work targets Guinea worm, Buruli ulcer, Leprosy, Yaws, Lymphatic filariasis, Chagas disease, soil-transmitted helminths, and Rabies, and it emphasizes water and sanitation through projects like Sawyer water filters and Community Led Total Sanitation.