• Second major donation to not-for-profit charity Specialists Without Borders
Melbourne, Australia, 23 March 2016: Independent Australian biopharmaceutical company Specialised Therapeutics Australia (STA) has committed $100,000 to an Australian-based international aid organisation to provide vital medical training to doctors and health professionals in developing countries.
The donation to Specialists Without Borders (SWB) will be paid in two instalments and will enable a highly experienced team of Australian medical staff including surgeons, nurses, medical students and other allied health professionals to co-ordinate intensive medical training programs in Zimbabwe and Malawi later this year.
This is STA’s second philanthropic donation to SWB and follows an inaugural $50,000 corporate sponsorship in 2013. These training programs have been underway for the past 8 years and to date, have helped educate hundreds of health professionals across three countries – Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
STA co-founder Ms Bozena Zembrzuski said Australian medical staff would self-fund personal airfare and accommodation costs but additional capital was required to facilitate cutting edge training programs across a range of disciplines, including neurosurgery, orthopaedics, anaesthetics, general surgery and intensive care medicine.
“We are delighted to be able to make this contribution to SWB, which is doing fantastic work in developing countries,” she said.
“It is our mission to provide essential training support that will ultimately enable these communities to provide their people with better medical care.
“This can only be achieved when health professionals in these parts of the world are equipped and upskilled so they can in turn, provide the best care to their patients. The opportunity to learn new techniques will enable them to deliver the kind of high class care we often take for granted.”
SWB will facilitate intensive training workshops over 14 days. Each seminar is undertaken in full partnership with local communities, hospitals, health departments, medical schools and universities. Projects include, where possible, the upgrading of facilities and the provision of educational materials and textbooks to enhance medical learning and practice.
SWB Chairman, Dr Paul Anderson, said the organisation’s primary mission is to further develop the medical expertise and capability of colleagues in developing countries.
“A decision was made for practical and cultural reasons that SWB would be a non-operative medical aid organisation,” he said.
“We aim to take and teach the latest methods, across a range of medical and surgical specialities, depending on individual countries needs and requests.
“The principle is through educating committed clinicians, medical students and nurses, they will in turn, feed the techniques back into their communities.
“The success of SWB’s innovative teaching programs has been evaluated independently, and is seen to be making a real difference at a grass roots level in terms of delivering health care.”
SWB was established in 2008 by Dr Paul Anderson and Trevor Walker, who recognised a huge need for specialist-led medical education and health facility development in resource-poor settings.
The company is led by a dynamic National Executive Committee and overseen by an experienced Board of Directors.
Media Inquiries:
Emma Power
STA Communications Manager
Phone: +61 419 149 525
Georgia Ramsay
Specialists Without Borders
Phone: +61 414 519 766
Ends.
About Specialised Therapeutics Australia
Specialised Therapeutics Australia is an international biopharmaceutical company providing pioneering healthcare solutions to patients throughout Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, STA and its affiliate company Specialised Therapeutics Asia Pte Ltd collaborates with leading global pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies to bring novel, innovative and life changing healthcare solutions to patients affected by a range of diseases. STA is committed to making new and novel therapies available to patients around the world, with a broad therapeutic portfolio spanning oncology, hematology, urology and ophthalmology. Additional information can be found at www.specialisedtherapeutics.com.au
About Specialists Without Borders
Specialists Without Borders (SWB) is an Australia-based non-profit organisation contributing towards sustainable medical education in developing countries. Through SWB, groups of international medical specialists volunteer their time to lead training seminars for medical personnel in low-resource settings. Each seminar is undertaken in full partnership with local communities, hospitals, health departments, medical schools and universities. Projects include, where possible, the upgrading of facilities and the provision of educational materials and textbooks to enhance medical learning and practice. For further information or to donate to SWB, please visit http://www.specialistswithoutborders.org
