July 25, 2002
Traveling exhibit on access to medications coming to town next week
The international medical organization Doctors Without Borders, often known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), will have a traveling exhibit in Seattle Aug. 1 to 4. Two events open to the public are planned in conjunction with the exhibit. The UW School of Medicine is working with the organization to publicize the Seattle visit.
The exhibit, housed in a large truck trailer, is focused on access to medications in developing countries — or lack of access to medications, which is the reality in many nations served by the group.
Five treatable infectious diseases are highlighted in the exhibit: malaria, sleeping sickness, kala azar (leishmanaisis), tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. People who tour the exhibit will have a chance to learn about who is infected, the nature of the disease, what treatments exist and the current status of work on effective and affordable treatments. Field volunteers who work with the group will be on hand to talk with visitors.
The traveling exhibit is part of the Access to Essential Medicines Campaign, launched by MSF in 1999. The exhibit will visit 22 cities in the United States this year; other West Coast stops have been in Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Portland.
The trailer will be set up along the downtown Seattle waterfront, between the Seattle Aquarium and Anthony’s Restaurant. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. At each stop, the trailer is surrounded by many mesh flytraps like the ones used in projects to catch the tsetse fly, which infects people in sub-Saharan Africa with sleeping sickness.
On Thursday, Aug. 1, the film “Your Money or Your Life” will be screened at the Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park, beginning at 6:30 p.m. A discussion will follow.
An information session for health-care professionals about volunteering to work with the organization is planned at 1 p.m., Friday, Aug. 2, in the Research and Training Building at Harborview. For more on the organization, see the Web site http://doctorswithoutborders.org
