Albert Schweitzer opened a hospital in 1913 in Lambaréné in what was then French Equatorial Africa that became Gabon, where he ran it until his death in 1965.

[5] In 1974 the "Fondation internationale de l'Hôpital du docteur Albert Schweizer à Lambaréné" (FISL) was established and took over the duties of overseeing the hospital.

[9] The U.S. National Institutes of Health has recognized the hospital's research laboratory as one of five leading facilities in Africa engaged in scientific studies of malaria.

[citation needed] As of 2017, it had 150 beds, an emergency room, a pharmacy, a laboratory and an x-ray unit, about 160 staff, 2 surgeons, 2 interns and 2 pediatricians.

Schweitzer, his wife and several collaborators are buried nearby in a cemetery, among the old buildings which are a museum and have been submitted to the Tentative List to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.