MSC Cruises raises €4m for charity

MSC Cruises has revealed €4million has been raised on board its ships around the globe on behalf of charity UNICEF. 

MSC Cruises and UNICEF joined forces in 2009 under the ‘Get on Board for Children’ initiative, which encourages guests on board MSC Cruises ships to make a contribution to UNICEF. UNICEF is the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN agency that fights for the rights of children around the world and is active in more than 190 countries and territories.

Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ executive chairman, commented: “MSC Cruises and UNICEF have a long-established and strong relationship, having worked hand in hand since 2009 on a programme that positively impacted the life of thousands of children around the world. We are therefore extremely proud to have reached the €4 million milestone and wish to thank our guests for their continued generosity in support of UNICEF and our joint programme.”

Amongst the most recent developments related to the “Get on Board for Children” programme, the partnership between MSC Cruises and UNICEF was expanded in 2014 with a new life-saving initiative to provide assistance to malnourished children by delivering Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) – such as Plumpy’Nut – to treat severe malnutrition in developing countries and in those affected by crisis situations. In this endeavour, to this day, more than €1.3 million was put to use to help children and their families in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia and Nepal.

Amongst other activities, MSC Cruises organises educational activities for children and their parents on board its ships to raise awareness of UNICEF’s work and the needs of children around the world. Each week sees a dedicated UNICEF Day that includes fun games, a children’s parade and the distribution of a leaflet to each child to teach them about malnutrition in the world as well as a UNICEF World Citizen passport that is stamped after each educational activity is completed, making them an ambassador for the rights of children worldwide.

Over the years, MSC Cruises’ collaboration has provided several UNICEF projects with funds to combat poverty and inequality as well as (from 2009 to 2013) malaria in some parts of the world. Close to €2.6 million was used in various projects in Brazil to help children in 126 vulnerable communities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paolo gain access to a quality education. In addition, part of that amount was used to fight malaria in high-risk countries such as Mauritania, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Comoros.