MSF Top Tens / 10 Ways We Travel to Reach Our Patients (04:05)

MSF Top Tens / 10 Ways We Travel to Reach our Patients (04:05)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JsWjlMJ158

Every day Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders work in some of the world’s most extreme and remote environments. Making sure our supplies, equipment and medical staff are where we need them to be is complex, challenging, and often dangerous.

But whether by land, air or water, we’ll find a way to provide emergency medical care where the need is greatest. Here we present the 10 different ways we travel to reach our patients.

1. Four Wheels. The iconic Toyota Land Cruiser 70 series is the backbone of nearly every MSF mission. Rugged and dependable, MSF operate over eight hundred of these vehicles across the globe. Many have been customised to operate as ambulances while others are used to transport people and supplies.

2. Four Legs. When four wheels just don’t cut it, we turn to four legs to do the job. During our response to the 2016 hurricane in Haiti, we used donkeys to carry essential supplies to remote villages. These agile creatures are able to traverse steep, unsteady paths that would be impossible for vehicles.

3. Motorbike. Some terrain is too tough even for donkeys. In the DCR MSF operate mobile clinics by motorbike. Often referred to Bikers without Borders, these riders provide a life line to tens of thousands of people who would otherwise be deprived of healthcare.

4. Helicopter. The helicopter’s unique ability to take off and land vertically means it often used by MSF to access stranded communities. In 2013 Typhoon Haiyan ripped through the

Philippines destroying everything in its path. Helicopters allowed us to survey the damage and provide medical aid where it was needed.

5. Plane. We use cargo planes to quickly carry large payloads of medical supplies and aid to where they’re needed especially in the aftermath of a natural disaster. All goods are pre-cleared through customs, which means supplies can reach emergency zones anywhere in the world within 24 hours.

6. Boat. Boats and ships of all kinds are crucial to the work that MSF does. Whether that’s rescuing tens of thousands of refugees in the Mediterranean using a massive vessel or for delivering vital supplies in those parts of the world where rivers operate like highways.

7. Truck. Aside from carrying goods, MSF also uses converted trucks as mobile clinics and laboratories. In Uganda and Zimbabwe, MSF’s mobile HIV units are able to diagnose patients within only 15 mins and can initiate treatment if necessary.

8. Bicycle. Sometimes we have to use whatever form of transport is available and one vehicle you can find anywhere in the world is a trusty and reliable pushbike. In the DRC and Angola MSF has actually transported bikes in canoes to cross lakes.

9. UAV. At MSF we’re always looking for ways to innovate and improve the way we work. In Papua New Guinea, we’ve been using UAV’s to travel to isolated villages and collect patient samples which can then be flown back to test for tuberculosis.

10. Two legs. In the absence of any vehicles, we’ll travel by foot to get to get you to the healthcare you need. Our collective staff walk thousands of miles a year to reach patients. Some will even carry someone over their shoulder to the nearest medical facility if need be.

All these modes of transport have their unique advantages. But sometimes it’s about finding the most effective combination. In the end, whether we use four wheels or two legs we’ll find a way to reach people in need, wherever they are.

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