This year, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was chosen by Polymanga to be the charity partner of Polymanga. The international humanitarian medical organization intervenes in emergency situations and was present in 111 projects in 31 countries in 2022. Independence, impartiality, and neutrality are at the heart of its action to assist communities affected by epidemics, natural disasters, and armed conflicts.
If MSF's action is primarily medical, the organization also denounces situations of human rights violations of which it is a witness and highlights forgotten crises in order to improve the living conditions of populations. This is also the reason why it participates in events such as Polymanga to raise awareness among the public about these issues.
At the 2024 edition, MSF exclusively offers an escape game that immerses the public in the logistical challenges of humanitarian workers during an Ebola epidemic. This is a deadly infectious disease that was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. So far, the Ebola virus has only appeared on the African continent south of the Sahara. The mortality rate during Ebola epidemics ranges from 25% to 90%. It is one of the deadliest diseases in the world, for which there was no treatment or vaccine until recently. Between 2014 and 2016, several countries in West Africa were affected by the largest Ebola epidemic in history, with nearly 30,000 people infected and over 11,000 deaths. Since 1995, MSF has provided assistance to contain Ebola epidemics and has intervened in almost all reported outbreaks.
Imagine you are on a mission for MSF and your work in the contamination risk zone is about to begin in about fifteen minutes. Before your intervention, you must put on "personal protective equipment" (PPE) before coming into contact with potentially infected individuals. You then discover that the logistics team left in a hurry and took the keys to the locker room. Will you be able to unlock all the lockers and equip yourself in time?
