MSF Eastern Africa Impact Newsletter
Issue 001 | October 2024
Welcome to our first edition of Impact. This monthly newsletter will provide highlights from the MSF EA Communications and Fundraising team.
In this issue:
- Media: Spotlight on Sudan, DRC and Malawi
- Social media highlights
- Fundraising and Engagement
- MSF Shop: Get yourself some merchandise!
Please contact any team member if you have any feedback or issues with accessing the links.
Media
#TalkAboutSudan: Sudan Media Briefing in Nairobi
On October 11, 2024, we held a media briefing on Sudan in Pitman House, offering journalists the chance to engage with MSF staff who recently returned from Sudan. The panellists - Claire San Filippo, Emergency Desk Coordinator, and Lisa Searle, Project Coordinator for Omdurman, Khartoum - provided critical insights into Sudan's deteriorating humanitarian situation and malnutrition cases. Journalists from DPA, Xinhua, and EFE Spanish attended the briefing.
Media outlets that highlighted this situation: BBC, CTGN, DPA, Reuters, VOA SABC.
BBC: We secured an exclusive interview with Claire San Filippo, resulting in comprehensive coverage across all their platforms i.e. TV, digital, radio, and social media.
CGTN: Interviewed Claire San Filippo.
Reuters and AFP: Other media houses picked up the story as written by Reuters and AFP, extending the reach of MSF's coverage on this issue. Click to read Reuters coverage.
Malawi: Cervical Cancer
In August 2024, the media team accompanied BBC journalists on an embed to the MSF cervical cancer project in Malawi. The resulting feature documented the journey of cervical cancer patients from Malawi to Nairobi, Kenya for treatment. The story emphasized the health challenges that Malawi faces, having only installed its first radiotherapy machine in March 2024—60 years after independence. This feature also highlighted MSF’s efforts to provide a comprehensive cervical cancer program in collaboration with local health authorities.
Media Outlet: BBC World Service platforms (TV, radio, Digital, website and Spotify).
The impactful line “I found out I had cervical cancer while I was pregnant” resonated strongly with audiences.
DRC: Sexual Violence Report
On 30th September, MSF released a report raising awareness of the extent of sexual violence our teams are seeing in DRC. Our data revealed that in 2023 alone, our teams treated over 25,000 survivors of sexual violence—an average of more than two survivors every hour. The report was featured prominently by key international media outlets.
Media Outlets: BBC World Service (Digital, TV, radio, and website), AP, TRT World
- AP: Covered the story in both English and French, with widespread pick-up by other media houses. (Click to read )
- TRT World: Coverage to further amplify the message (Link will be shared later).
The compelling statistic of "more than 2 victims every hour" was a key factor in driving media attention and public engagement.
Social Media Highlights
Here's a brief overview of some of our top-performing posts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Instagram: BBC News Reel on DRC (Sexual Violence)
Views:4394 | Likes: 157 | Shares: 32 | Saves: 13 | Comments: 7
Click to view the Instagram post
Facebook: Staff Story
We had high audience engagement (i.e. views, likes, shares, comments) on this post from Dennis Kimathi Mbae, a Project Coordinator with over 20 years of experience at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Post impressions:6,156 | Post reach:6,106 | Engagement: 588
Click to view the Facebook post
We invite you to share your experiences working with MSF. Your stories can inspire others and help highlight the challenges, triumphs, and impact of our humanitarian work. If you have a story to tell, please reach out to mildred.wanyonyi@nairobi.msf.org
X / Twitter: Lebanon
Lebanon is experiencing the most significant escalation of conflict since the 2006 Lebanon war, with close to 1,300 people killed over 16 days, between Sept 16 and Oct. MSF has scaled up our emergency response and mobilized teams across the country to provide urgent medical and psychosocial support to people who have been displaced.
Likes: 8 | Reposts: 9 | Impressions: 460
LinkedIn: Anthropology Forum
Our update about the Anthropology forum garnered high engagement and interest on LinkedIn. During the two-day Forum, MSF staff and academics from the region gathered to share perspectives on the role of social science in MSF projects.
Likes: 90, Comments: 4, Impressions: 4309 Clicks: 210
Click to view the post on LinkedIn
Fundraising & Engagement Highlights
Corporate Breakfast
On 17th September, we hosted a successful corporate breakfast in Nairobi, Kenya. Over 30 representatives from leading corporations attended to discuss how partnerships can make a significant impact. We explored potential collaborations with companies like Safaricom, Standard Chartered, Safal, Absa, and AAR. This event opened up new opportunities for MSF to explain our work and explore ways to collaborate and engage further with these organisations.
Launch of Friends of MSF Programme
We also launched a membership fundraising initiative dubbed “Friends of MSF”, during the Corporate Breakfast. This initiative is aimed at encouraging individuals and corporations to support MSF’s work through recurring annual donations.
MSF Eastern Africa Merchandise Shop
Get your MSF-branded merchandise and support our fundraising efforts! We have a range of merchandise available for sale to both staff and friends of MSF. For purchases fill in this form: https://forms.office.com/e/HS9sE1SfVM
Launch of MSF Fundraisers Programme
We launched a ‘Fundraisers programme’ to encourage internal participation in fundraising activities. Please reach out to Christine Kaveke (christine.kaveke@nairobi.msf.org) or Elizabeth Adambo (elizabeth.adambo@nairobi.msf.org)
