In remote Nosy Varika, reaching medical assistance can require long journeys by boat and road. For some families, the cost of seeking treatment elsewhere makes it almost impossible.
Story by Gino Antsatiana Randrianasolo
For the sixth consecutive year, MAF flew HoverAid’s ‘medical safari’ team to Nosy Varika in 50 minutes, saving the volunteer doctors and dentists days of difficult travel and giving them more time to care for patients.
For Liva, access to this medical care came after a long period of suffering.
A year ago, whilst working as a maid in northern Madagascar, she got pregnant. Unfortunately, the baby died in her womb and she required surgery. As a mother caring for her children on her own, she faced an already difficult situation. Her health later deteriorated, and she eventually returned to her parents’ care in Nosy Varika.
Her abdomen became severely swollen, an infected wound developed, and she became unable to walk or stand. For months, she remained lying down, developing sores on her back.
Her family lived in Ambodirina, several hours from the hospital by foot. As her condition worsened, she was evacuated from the village by rapid boat and then transferred by ambulance to the hospital.
But Liva and her family could not afford the surgery she needed immediately.
So, she waited at the hospital for the medical safari team that was due to arrive in one week, hoping they would be able to operate on her.
Her 55-year-old father, Michel, stayed beside her.
“I can’t sleep as I constantly worry about her,” he said, sharing how deeply he feared losing his daughter, while knowing that he could not afford to give her the care she needed.
I constantly worry about her
Nosy Varika is home to around 19 communities and is difficult to reach by road. In this part of eastern Madagascar, where the Pangalanes Canal meets the mouth of the Sakaleona River, boats are an essential means of transport. Reaching another town can take many hours.
For the medical safari team, the difference is clear.
“For us, air transport is especially practical in remote areas because it saves time,” said Olivia Sylvie Patricia, volunteer doctor. “Travelling by road and canoe can be risky, and you lose a lot of time.”
Some patients travelled for around three hours by boat simply to receive medicine before beginning the journey home again.
Travelling by road and canoe can be risky, and you lose a lot of time
Medical safari team members are dedicated volunteers who are committed to helping this community.
“I have received for free, so I want to give back to communities for free,” said Herinjaka Lucien Emmanuel, the team’s operating-theatre coordinator.
The surgical team operated on Liva for around two hours. They did what they could to treat the problems they found, but Liva passed away the following day.
Her story is heartbreaking, but it also reflects a wider reality: when healthcare is far away and treatment is unaffordable, families have hardly any options.
“In remote communities, we often meet patients only when their condition has become critical. It shows how important early access to care can be,” said Rakotomalala Narisoa Lalaina, a surgeon on the team.
But healthcare access is not only about treating people when they become seriously ill. In a place where clean water can also be difficult to access, prevention matters too.
We often meet patients only when their condition has become critical
A year before this safari, MAF helped bring dozens of water filters from Water Matters to Nosy Varika. Pastors from different churches came to receive filters for their congregations and the small communities around them.
One year later, those filters are still working.
Pastor Meveratsara continues to use his filter at home and shares it with his church and people in the surrounding community. For him, the importance of clean water is deeply personal. He has seen its impact on his own family.
“I can say that clean water is important because my four-year-old son has suffered from amoebiasis since he was very young, so I know how serious it can be,” he said.
The pastor is trying to raise enough money to take his son to a larger hospital or seek further medical care in the capital, but the cost remains beyond what the family can currently afford.
My four-year-old son has suffered from amoebiasis since he was very young, so I know how serious it can be
The water filter, meanwhile, continues to serve the family and the wider community around their church, helping prevent some of the very health problems that make access to medical care so important in Nosy Varika.
The medical safari cannot remove every barrier. But with the team returning year after year, and MAF making the journey shorter by air, some of those who are in need can receive care.