health does not begin or end at a country’s border.medibushelps.org: help that gets there!

Today is World Refugee Day. 

First established on 20th June 2001 in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the 1951 convention relating to the status of Refugees, the day is designed to celebrate and honour refugees from around the world.

In the words of UN Secretary-General António Guterres: 

Whoever they are.

Wherever they come from.

Whenever they are forced to flee.

Everyone has the right to seek safety.

In total, just as a reminder: according to UNHCR we have currently 100 million people on the move.

Recently more than 13 million people have fled their homes since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations (UN) says. Almost five million have left for neighbouring countries, while eight million people are thought to be displaced inside Ukraine itself. 

However, hundreds of thousands have returned to their home country - especially to cities like Kyiv.

In updated figures, the UN says that, as of 9th June more than 4.9 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded across Europe. More than 3.2 million have applied for temporary residence mainly in destinations, who crossed into Poland (1.2M settled in Poland alone), Hungary and Slovakia. These nations have open borders with other EU countries. According to the UN there are now more than 780 000 Ukrainians in Germany.

Unfortunately this seems to be just the beginning as the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) predicts up to 1 Billion refugees by 2050 that will face displacements, not fleeing their homes because of war or conflicts, but mainly because of climate change and ecological threats.

We have to prepare for this as a global community.

It is crucial that we learn from each and every crisis to be better prepared for the next human crisis on a global scale.

And the big difference for me personally - and I really want to put a spotlight on it - it’s the human resilience. Humanity. It’s simply humans helping humans at the end of the day….not only for now, in this crisis, but in every crisis!

Just remember what’s happening at the polish border, I have seen this with hundreds of my Cisco colleagues of Poland in several overflooding internal chat rooms: arranging transportation, families taking other families on board, giving them shelter, food, medical treatment, a safe place, a home, a mentor, a perspective in life...finally giving them HOPE !!!

People who are there to help other people, 24 hours each day. People who put themselves in the spotlight of humanitarian aid, people who have never worked in the humanitarian sector before. Who never gave shelter to mothers and children nor to elderly, who left everything behind. People who do everything for them, while picking up a lot of burden and trauma for themselves…for me these are the real HEROES.

This gives me hope that we can not only stand this crisis, but every crisis.

We don’t know how the war rages on. When, how, and where it’s gonna spread to.

But health does not begin or end at a country’s border. That’s why a mobile health solution is key as it HEALS ON WHEELS when and where it‘s needed: we're using a 12.7-metre service bus that has been converted into a fully equipped mobile medical practice. The layout of the bus corresponds to a regular general practice with consulting room, treatment room, waiting area and laboratory. The Medibus is digitally networked so that consultants and translators in 50 languages can be connected for video conferences to bridge the language gap.

I’m so proud that my company – Cisco Systems - together with Deutsche Bahn - started this non-profit initiative activating the entire Medibus fleet of DB Regio with the beginning of April. Everybody was there to help. With amazing speed we moved fast track to get this up and running on the road.

As of today medibushelps.org was able to conduct appr. 3000 medical consultations with three mobile clinics in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg, touring appr. 800km while serving more than fifty different refugee settlements such as Hotels, Main Stations, Halls, Sports Arenas etc. - Orphans, Children, Women, Elderly. Of course, everyone from each country is welcome. No one is left behind. The service is free of charge.

The passion and energy of the support from local governments on site, medical experts, logistic experts and all administration to operate a mobile doctor’s office 5-7 days a week is overwhelming. NGOs such as Doctors of the World, U-Aid (Medical Students from Charité Hospital, Berlin) in cooperation with local doctors (on their free day) volunteer for staffing the vehicles. Here it is again - human resilience.

Our findings: there is no analogy. Each region is different and "driving" its own tailored concept due to its mobile capabilities. The demand is running in waves. No one knows what’s next. There are no realistic predictions.

The entire fleet operation is designed being as flexible as possible, so we can cover each situation. Moving forward we’re evaluating to add more vehicles serving new locations based on local demands. If you want to engage, please connect via www.medibushelps.org

Let‘s encourage human resilience. 

Let‘s stand together to prepare.

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What is medibushelps.org?

?       medibushelps.org is a private-sector initiative of the IT provider Cisco Systems with the support of DB Regio AG to improve basic medical care for refugees.

?       To do this, the Medibus, an in-house development, which is actually a mobile, fully equipped, digitally networked medical practice, is used. The Medibus fleet ensures fast medical first aid and provides vaccination care for young and old.

?       Refugee children receive all the most important vaccinations here so that they can attend day-care centres and schools as soon as possible.

Where is the Medibus used?

?      The Medibus is used where it is most needed.

?      It is currently used to welcome refugees from Ukraine immediately after their arrival. Of course, all other refugees are also welcome.

?      The Medibus fleet is now deployed in and around major cities, integrated with local administration and medical services.

?      Operations started on 26th April in Berlin immediately followed by Cologne and Hamburg. The campaign is provisionally planned until 31st July 2022.

?      Operations in the border areas with Ukraine are being evaluated.

How is the Medibus equipped?

?       It is a 12.7-metre service bus that has been converted into a fully equipped mobile medical practice.

?       The layout of the bus corresponds to a regular general practice with consulting room, treatment room, waiting area and laboratory.

?       The Medibus is digitally networked so that consultants and translators in 50 languages can be connected for video conferences.

?       Two cooling units are also available in the laboratory area, which can even cool samples or vaccines to double-digit minus temperatures.

?       The power supply is ensured by 16 solar cells on the roof of the bus, so that the electrical devices are operated emission-free.

Background

?       At the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, a partner initiative was formed in Hamburg, which developed a medical container to treat refugees, the Refugee First Response Center.

?       The experiences from the use of the eleven medical containers with more than 10,000 treatments (in Germany, Samos-Greece, Beqaa Valley-Lebanon and Ukraine) were incorporated into the Medibus project.

?       According to the UN, 4.9 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the war there.

?       Women and children make up 90% of those seeking refuge abroad.

?       This is where DB Regio's Medibus fleet, with all the experience and further developments of the last seven years since 2015, now comes into play.

?       Originally, the Medibus was developed to provide medical care in rural areas.

?       The rolling medical practice was constantly on vaccination duty throughout Germany during the Covid pandemic and was also the first medical contact point during the floods in the Ahr valley.

?       The Cisco commitment is 100% in line with the Cisco global objective "How to positively impact 1 billion people by 2025"

?       All services in the Medibus are provided free of charge. 

?       There is no return on investment. 

?       The initiative is supported by other partners: Deutsch Bahn, DB Regio, BRANDS ALIVE GmbH, FARN GbR, SAVD Videodolmetschen GmbH, VDL BUS & COACH BV.