MSC Cruises Raises 8 Million Euros For Unicef.

We often hear about some of the negative aspects of cruising, particularly the effects of mass tourism and the environmental impact but much amazing work does go unnoticed. Were you aware of MSC Cruises’ partnership with UNICEF?

MSC Cruises and UNICEF have worked in partnership since 2009 and together established in 2013 a global initiative to assist malnourished children in developing countries and those affected by crises. The initiative encourages MSC guests across the fleet to make a contribution to UNICEF.

MSC has recently announced that to date it has raised more than €8 million for UNICEF primarily thanks to the generous contributions of its guests. The funds raised are used to provide malnourished children with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) such as Plumpy’ Nut® and to date more than 6.5 million sachets of RUTF have been delivered to children in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia and Malawi.

Between 2013 and 2017, thanks to these generous contributions over 20,500 children have been treated in Somalia, over 15,700 in South Sudan, over 9,400 Ethiopia and, most recently, over 35,000 in Malawi. Through this long-standing partnership, MSC Cruises and UNICEF seek to fight hunger together and have helped to feed nearly 81,150 children and their families since 2013.

To continue to raise awareness on board its ships about UNICEF’s work, MSC Cruises organises “edutainment” activities for children and their parents. Each week sees the programme on board each of MSC Cruises’ ships including a dedicated UNICEF Day with fun games, a children’s parade and the distribution to each participating youngster of a leaflet to teach them about malnutrition in the world. They also receive a UNICEF World Citizen passport that is stamped after each educational activity is completed, making them an ambassador for the rights of the child worldwide.

Incredible work from MSC Cruises and their guests I’m sure you’ll agree. So next time you have some loose change after a port of call or a little left over currency remember, a little can go a long way.

Bye for now.