Conflict in Ukraine impacting other aid missions

There are fears the crisis in Ukraine could hinder other humanitarian projects that were being run.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF - Médecins Sans Frontières) had been in the country to help deliver projects tackling HIV and TB, but this has all halted so teams can care for casualties of war.

MSF is a non-political, non-religious medical organisation working in around 70 countries caring for those suffering through conflict, epidemic and natural disaster.

Andy Dennis, a Harrogate Hospital staff nurse, has volunteered abroad with the organisation in the past. He said:

"MSF's presence in Ukraine is not a new thing. Tragically, those projects that are vital for people have come to a crashing halt and MSF's interventions there is in the process of changing to a conflict and humanitarian role.

"Resources are being pulled from emergency teams on the borders as this crisis escalates. There are over a million people who are currently displaced and that's within just a few days."

In 2014 he worked in MSF's Ebola management Centre in Kailahun, Eastern Sierra Leone for a month. His friend and colleague Dr Anna Simon and myself have since documented this experience in a book called Ebola – Behind the Mask.

In May 2022 Andy and his partner Tracey, who works in dermatology at York Hospital, will be cycling over 2000 miles from Amsterdam to Gibraltar in their 'Ride to the Rock' challenge. It's the next phase of their fundraising project for MSF.

They will be splitting the trip over three, 700 mile stages. They'll travel from Amsterdam to Brussels, Paris, Geneva and Barcelona before pressing on to Gibraltar.

All funds raised will go towards the MSF cause and help them in their important work overseas.

"This kind of organisation that has that philosophy of wanting to be where no other actors are working is just fantastic and that I wanted to be a part of it as soon as I really understood what they were about. Why wouldn't I want to be a part of that

"Whatever weather we're given there's people sleeping outdoors, in Ukraine, right now. We're not going to be feeling sorry for ourselves and this is to raise money for people who really need help in this world. That need isn't going away as we've seen over the last few weeks.

"We just want to let people know you can make a difference in your life. You don't have to be an internationally recognised sports person or a famous actor. You can just be a normal person from Starbeck like me who just chooses to do something to make a difference to someone else's life."

In 2011, Andy walked from Amsterdam to Barcelona in 3.5 months, raising £18,000 for MSF.

Previously the couple had set off on a 4000-mile fundraising cycle ride from San Francisco to New York, conquering mountains, deserts, winds and other tough terrains.

You can find out more about the couple's journey here.