10 Years of Giving

ST is committed to providing and leaving an enduring legacy, not only in Australia but overseas. Sustainable healthcare and education are among our philanthropic passions. We were intrigued when we first heard about the work of Specialists Without Borders (now Pangea). This not-for-profit group, founded in 2008, ensures large contingents of Australian medical professionals are able to travel to developing countries to train and educate their peers. In reality, it translates to improved healthcare for the people and patients in these resource-poor nations, like Rwanda. Royal Melbourne Hospital Director of Neurosurgery Associate Professor Kate Drummond is Pangea’s Chair.

Here, she explains how ST has made a difference.

“I don’t think we would have been able to survive from SWB into Pangea without the support of Specialised Therapeutics. They have been our biggest donors and our most supportive and regular donors and basically, that money has allowed us to run our programs, feed our participants, buy our teaching materials and transport our people. It has been absolutely vital. It has meant we can have a little bit of admin support. As you can imagine, trying to organise 350 people right across the world, having a little bit of admin support has been fantastic – it has basically allowed us to survive.

None of the products that Specialised Therapeutics have are of any use in Africa, or in any of the countries we go to. This is true philanthropy.

What is has allowed is education of people who really are going to benefit from the upskilling we can give them, to provide more sophisticated and more safe health care in the areas they are working. They are very senior doctors and nurses going across from Australia to provide tailored education programs.”

Associate Professor Kate Drummond shared these insights in August 2018. To hear her discussion, please click on the video link above.