Insight Vacations chosen charity: Medecins Sans Frontieres

by Ginny Smith | 13 Sep 2016

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: We are continuing to support MSF, our charity of choice. The amount of 1673.39 USD was collected for Médecins Sans Frontières in August to September 2016, bringing it to a grand total of $3514.97.

We are delighted to be supporting Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, as our chosen charity. Serving as an international, independent, medical humanitarian organization, MSF continually reach out to those who have been impacted by epidemics, natural disasters and armed conflict or excluded from healthcare provision. In the first three months of collecting we have raised $1841.58 USD.

MSF works tirelessly to provide invaluable emergency aid to those who need it most. With their action guided by medical ethics, neutrality and impartiality, MSF ensures that people in crisis get the help they need, irrespective or race, religion or political beliefs. The action they take really is the difference between life and death.

Four decades of civil war have left South Sudan's health services in ruins. Maternal mortality is among the worst in the world, so ante-natal care and safe births in a medical environment are a key feature of many of MSF's projects in South Sudan, as here in the Gogrial project in Warrap State.

Working in extreme, remote environments, the logistics of getting urgently needed medical supplies, equipment and staff to such difficult locations presents ongoing challenges. Depending on the terrain, a range of transport is deployed, including canoes, helicopters, horses, trucks and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

: Logistician in front of helicopter chartered by MSF for the emergency response after typhoon Haiyan swept over the Philippines.

From humble beginnings in 1979, MSF logistics are now jointly organised by teams in the field, MSF headquarters and its warehouses in Brussels, Bordeaux and Dubai. This makes it possible for emergency aid to be dispatched within 24 hours of a disaster occurring. Communication, transport, power supply, water supply, sanitation, and the safe storage and supply of both medical and non-medical items are just some of the areas of responsibility that lie with the logisticians.

Serving as an international, independent, medical humanitarian organization, MSF continually reach out to those who have been impacted by epidemics, natural disasters and armed conflict or excluded from healthcare provision.

Administering antivenom to counteract snake bites, tending to gunshots, carrying out amputations, treating disfigurements that are the result of disease, and building hospitals in the aftermath of natural disasters are a few examples of the kinds of life-changing support provided by MSF.

MSF surgeons operating on an Iraqi patient, who was a victim of violence, at the MSF Reconstruction hospital, Amman, Jordan.

Given our global reach in so many different countries and cultures, we feel strongly aligned with MSF’s ongoing work to maintain the survival of these communities. If you would learn more about the invaluable work that MSF does, please visit: www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

About Ginny Smith

Ginny is a writer, editor and Insight Vacations' Digital Engagement Director with 13+ years of experience working across some of the world's leading travel and entertainment brands.

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