ISTAT Jetrader - Autumn 2020 - 20

Mission Aviation Fellowship
Tackles COVID-19 in South Sudan,
Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea

T

he ability to manage
any health care crisis
often varies greatly by
wealth and location. With
many rural communities
in developing nations lacking
medical facilities and expertise, the
humanitarian flights offered by the
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF)
are vital. Today, the group's 135 light
aircraft (including Cessna 208s, 206s,
128s and GippsAero GA8 Airvans)
deliver doctors, medicine and other
life-transforming cargo to populations
isolated by mountains, rivers and
primitive roads.
As COVID-19 engulfed the globe,
many countries where MAF operates
implemented strict lockdowns and

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* T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F I S TAT

travel restrictions. The flying lifeline
provided by MAF's volunteer pilots
was cut as aircraft were grounded.
However, thanks to the implementation
of safety procedures and contributions
from the ISTAT Foundation, MAF
flights to tackle coronavirus are once
again taking off. Governments have
been reassured by MAF's record of
assisting in previous outbreaks of
Ebola. Permission for humanitarian
flights have been granted as local staff
disinfect aircraft after every flight,
check passengers' temperatures and
enforce the wearing of face masks on
board. These safety measures have
been enhanced by the fitting of a
purposely designed transparent plastic
shield behind the cockpit.

In South Sudan, prolonged ethnic
conflict has shattered the infrastructure
needed to provide health care.
Partnering with Samaritan's Purse, MAF
completed 200 hours of flying to Mayend. This flying helped to enhance the
availability of an essential resource for
tackling coronavirus, but often lacking
in South Sudan: clean water. The
flights transported wood to build hand
pumps as well as cement and gravel for
digging boreholes. "Through MAF, we
could deliver 23 tons of supplies," said
Bikram Rai, Samaritan's Purse senior
operations relief manager.
In Bangladesh, it is the abundance
of water that presents challenges.
The human distancing needed to limit
COVID-19 is especially difficult in this
ISTAT Jetrader - Autumn 2020

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