Coordinating Medical Support for a Tour Across Multiple African Countries

Overview

A specialist travel and tour company had to manage a high-profile African tour across 20 countries in four weeks. The project involved complex travel logistics, cross-border coordination, and travel risk management across diverse healthcare systems and languages. To help safeguard the crew’s wellbeing, we provided medical assistance, travel risk support, and real-time coordination. This ensured operational continuity throughout the fast-paced, multi-country journey. 
 

Problem

Managing a tour across approximately 20 African countries within a month comes with significant travel risk management, medical assistance, and operational coordination challenges. The tour company thus required a trusted partner to coordinate emergency medical support and, access to reliable healthcare providers across diverse healthcare systems and locations.  

Based in Ghana, the client knew of West African Rescue Association (WARA) for its emergency response services. Since WARA is part of International SOS, the Group’s regional presence and expertise were leveraged to support this specific tour. Without a centralized solution, managing multiple hospitals, ambulance services, and emergency response networks country by country would have placed considerable strain on the tour team.

Solution

To support the successful delivery of the tour, a bespoke solution was developed combining the medical element of our EventSafe solution and Workforce Resilience services, including: 

• Dedicated coordination support throughout the tour. 
• 24/7 access to medical assistance and travel risk support. 
• Real-time incident management and emergency response coordination. 
• Rapid deployment of doctors, paramedics, and ambulance services when required. 
• Access to a trusted network of healthcare providers across multiple African countries. 
• Dedicated communication channels to support seamless cross-border coordination. 
• Continuous emergency readiness to support crew wellbeing throughout the journey. 

This hybrid approach ensured continuous emergency readiness, access to trusted healthcare providers, and consistent medical support. 

Impact

By providing a single point of coordination for medical assistance and travel risk management, we reduced operational complexity and enabled the client to focus on delivering a fast-paced, multi-country tour across Africa with confidence. Through the dedicated support model, the client benefited from seamless access to emergency medical support, trusted healthcare providers, and coordinated response services across multiple countries. 

The effectiveness of the solution was demonstrated during one leg of the tour in Ghana. A WARA ambulance was deployed to the crew’s hotel within approximately 10 minutes of an incident being reported. The medical team assessed the situation and provided on-site care to the patients. This rapid response highlighted the value of centralized coordination and established emergency response protocols. 

The tour team expressed appreciation for the responsiveness, professionalism, and speed of support provided throughout the journey, particularly during medical incidents in Nigeria and Ghana where assistance was coordinated quickly and effectively. - Client’s Tour Manager