Dr. William Hanlon is 24 days into his 700-kilometre solo expedition in Russia to bring awareness to health care needs in remote places across the world.
The Cochrane-based doctor started his trek across Lake Baikal, in Siberia, on Feb. 27 to help identify the specific health needs of each community and encourage and support high quality, economically viable, culturally sensitive and local solutions in the communities.
Due to the lack of cell and Internet access, Hanlon was not available for the telephone or email interview as he trekked across Lake Baikal but with help of his team, the Cochranite does keep a daily blog detailing the adventure.
“It is not about breaking records, being the fastest or the slowest, it’s more about creating records of life experience and passing the knowledge onto others and learning from other,” Hanlon wrote in one of his first blog posts before starting the 700-kilometre trek.
Travelling with a small tent, basic food, fuel and clothing, the doctor has been journeying on average more than 30 kilometres a day across Lake Baikal for just under a month at press time.
By day 22, Hanlon made it to Severobaykalsk, a town in Buryatia, Russia, located at the north end of the Lake.
Hanlon sits as the medical director on the board of directors for the Basic Health International Foundation, which is the organization sponsoring the trip.
The mission of the foundation is to develop and support self-sustainable public health and primary health care projects in remote, under-serviced, high-altitude communities in different parts of the world.
Currently there are three doctors on the board, including Hanlon, Dr. John McSorley from Airdrie, and Dr. Robert McLaughlin from Cochrane.
The international non-profit has taken on other expeditions in the past including climbing Mount Everest in 2007, climbing Mount Carstensz in Indonesia in 2009, venturing through Bhutan in 2012, trekking through the Antarctic for three months from November 2009 – January 2010, hiking through Greenland in 2014, journeying through Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2014 and visiting Nepal in December 2016.
Long-term goals of the foundation are to assist in the development of sustainable public health and primary health care projects in remote communities.
For more information on the foundation and Dr. Hanlon’s adventure, go to basichealthinternational.org.
FACTBOX
Programs offered by Basic Health International Foundation:
• Hygiene
• Immunization
• Nutrition
• Maternal/child health
• Prevention
• Clinical
• Medication
• Investigatory tools
• Education
Aid
Programs offered by Basic Health International Foundation: • Hygiene • Immunization • Nutrition • Maternal/child health • Prevention • Clinical • Medication • Investigatory tools • Education
