AN MSF mobile exhibition will be touring Europe and North America during 2002 to draw attention to the plight of millions throughout the world who will die because they are denied access to the treatment they need. The drugs which would cure them are deemed too expensive or research is not being done into their disease because manufacturers feel the "the market is not worth investing in", MSF contends.

The wheel of misfortune

Starting at the "wheel of misfortune" which assigns the visitor one of five different roles and situations, MSF volunteers running the exhibit invite visitors to take on the identity of an imaginary person. By chance or circumstance, just like the patients MSF treats in developing countries, this person falls ill. Following a coded path through the exhibit, visitors will learn more about real people sharing the same fate. The organization says it will make visitors aware of diseases that are neglected by pharmaceutical companies and governments alike, and about treatment options which are often dramatically limited in developing countries.

By involving those who visit the exhibition in the dynamics of their campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, and raising awareness of the issues, MSF hopes to help mobilise public action to bring life-saving medicines to patients in poor countries.

MSF's mobile exhibition in Geneva, where it received an enthusiastic reception