Join Us To Support Healthcare Heroes On The Frontline Of COVID-19
Source: Brazil ©️ Andre Francois/MSF
In light of the global crisis surrounding COVID-19, we’ve been exploring the best ways we can support our community and the healthcare heroes fighting on the front line of COVID-19. Following our $200k pledge to support freelance MUAs, we are so pleased to announce that our next initiative supports an organization that has been close to our hearts for many years: Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
MSF is an international medical humanitarian organization that provides emergency aid and medical care to millions of people every year in more than 70 countries around the world. Today, they are standing with the healthcare professionals that are risking their lives to deliver vital care to those suffering from COVID-19.
How to Support Doctors Without Borders
Every donation*, whether it’s $1 or $10 all adds up to make a big difference that will help the organization tackle COVID-19 even more vigorously.
*Please note, 100% of donations made through the Doctors Without Borders global website will go to COVID-19 relief funds. Donations made from the UAE through Yallagive.com will be subject to 4% administrative fees, and 10% will be allocated to the UAE International Humanitarian City’s projects approved by the department, according to UAE law.
How We Want to Give Back
We want to give back to Doctors Without Borders in a big way. So, we invite you to join us in supporting the healthcare workforce by donating to Doctors Without Borders. We will be matching the donations made by our community through this post as we reach key milestones, with our total donation totaling $150,000 USD in matched funds to the Doctors Without Borders COVID-19 Relief Fund.
No matter how big or small your donation is you can make a difference and help those in need to help their teams buy surgical gowns, N95 protective face masks, COVID-19 diagnostics tests and other personal protective equipment.
We believe the fight against COVID-19 is something we can all play a part in. So, whether that’s staying home and self-isolating, supporting local businesses that may be struggling right now, putting a smile on the face of your loved ones, or making a donation of any size to charities directly dealing with COVID-19 like Doctors Without Borders, every little helps.
What Doctors Without Borders are Doing to Fight COVID-19
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Focused on supporting those most often neglected during public health crises, MSF medical teams are working in over 70 countries and responding to the pandemic on multiple fronts – caring for patients, offering health education and mental health support, distributing personal protective equipment and providing vital training in infection control measures. MSF is protecting those most vulnerable and at-risk such as the elderly, refugees and migrants, and homeless people.
From India to Iraq, Spain to Syria, Burkina Faso to Brazil, their medical teams are racing to respond to the coronavirus pandemic in more than 70 countries where they have existing programs, while also opening projects in new countries as they become outbreak hotspots.
MSF’s response to COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, focuses on three main priorities: Supporting health authorities to provide care for patients with COVID-19, protecting people who are vulnerable and at-risk, and keeping essential medical services running.
A key priority is to keep its regular medical programs running for the tens of thousands of patients and extremely vulnerable communities the organization helps support. This pandemic threatens the lives of people around the world and presents even greater risks in countries with weak or fragile health systems.
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A closer look into some of the ways MSF have been supporting in these countries include:
In the US, MSF is partnering with local organizations to improve infection prevention control measures for vulnerable populations such as homeless people and migrant workers. MSF has donated over 80 handwashing stations to key places in New York, distributed 1,000 cellphones to those who lack essential technology to contact emergency and support services, and set up a shower trailer for those who have lost access to such facilities.
MSF teams are providing mobile medical clinics – including testing and virtual consultations with doctors – for migrant farmworkers in Florida. MSF is assessing local needs and capacity to offer support to organizations and health care providers serving vulnerable communities in Puerto Rico and Native American populations in the American Southwest.
In Italy, MSF teams in Italy supported three hospitals in northern Italy to strengthen infection prevention measures and provide additional doctors. Outside the hospitals, MSF has conducted outreach activities to reach vulnerable people, helping to support family doctors and health care workers, and using telemedicine to assist people living under home isolation.
In Hong Kong, MSF sent one metric ton of personal protective equipment and is running a project to provide health information and mental health support to vulnerable communities.
In China, MSF sent 3.5 metric tons of protective equipment to Wuhan Jinyintan hospital, which was at the forefront of treating patients with COVID-19.
In Syria, teams are providing training and technical assistance in MSF-supported facilities, including help with the identification and set-up of isolation areas and the management of patient flow.
In South Africa, teams from all four of MSF’s medical projects are now supporting the COVID-19 response in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape provinces. Staff are assisting with contact tracing and the development and dissemination of health promotion materials and working to ensure HIV and tuberculosis patients get medication refills delivered to their homes.
Why Doctors Without Borders Is Our Chosen Charity
Source: Greece ©️ Peter Casaer/MSF
As a company founded by a family that was immigrants, we know how important the work that MSF truly is for those who cannot access or aren’t able to afford healthcare. Doctors Without Borders work on a global level to provide support to those who need it most and provides care to people based on need, irrespective of race, religion, gender, or political affiliation – MSF truly is a one-of-a-kind organization.
Executive Director of Doctors Without Borders USA, Avril Benoît, explained how MSF is tackling COVID-19, “First and foremost, MSF’s goal is to look out for those who are often neglected from public health interventions. In many countries we are working with refugee communities, homeless people, and unaccompanied minors, to make sure they have the information they need to protect themselves.”
As well as the work they are now doing to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Avril told us, “Our teams provide emergency aid and medical care to millions of people every year in more than 70 countries around the world. We respond to armed conflict, epidemics, natural and human-made disasters, and exclusion from health care.” Avril continued that “In emergencies and their aftermath, MSF provides essential health care, runs hospitals and clinics, performs surgery, battles epidemics, carries out vaccination campaigns, operates feeding centers for malnourished children, and offers mental health care.”
Some examples of their incredible efforts include their responses to disease outbreaks such as measles, malaria, Ebola, and now COVID-19. They have worked tirelessly to tackle diseases requiring long-term treatment, such as HIV and tuberculosis. In fact, when a devastating earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, the MSF teams treated the first casualty within minutes.
It is hard to summarize the incredible efforts and unwavering dedication of the Doctors Without Borders team that have been supporting people in need across the world for decades, and we are proud to be able to support them and their efforts to tackle COVID-19.
This campaign is registered in the UAE under permit #3045 by the Islamic Affairs & Charitable Activities Department (IACAD).
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