Ambulance to Mongolia

Why?

Health care in Mongolia is administered by the state and a handful of charities, and all medical and hospital services are free. However, the country's 3 million people are spread over a territory roughly equal to that of Western Europe, and many people who fall ill face a trip of 1-3 days to see a doctor, often for conditions requiring urgent treatment.  Lacking the ability to deliver medical services to many scattered communities, the state is forced to focus on emergency rather than preventative treatment, which is key to improving the long-term health of the population.  The extremely low population density is combined with inadequate infrastructure, extreme climatic conditions, and growing health care demands -- the result are enormous strains on an already stressed rudimentary health care system.
One of the most important assets in supporting a healthcare system under these conditions and to improve both preventative and emergency care is ensuring the existence of an adequate fleet of sturdy functional ambulances.  They are sorely lacking in Mongolia today, with most ambulances in being small retired Russian military jeeps.  In addition to being well past their useful livespans, the jeeps, without electric sockets and generators, are capable of providing only the most basic of care.

What?

We are a team of three whose goal it is to find, purchase, refurbish, and drive such an ambulance with all equipment London to Ulan Bataar in July 2010 as part of the Mongolia Charity Rally, which is organized with the registered UK charity Go Help.  Once in Mongolia, we will donate it to a rural hospital or a local charity providing such medical services.  In July-August 2010, we will be taking to Mongolia a fully functional used European ambulance which can be used both as a traditional emergency care ambulance, as well as a mobile clinic for preventative care of vaccinations, screenings, and basic health education.

Who?

Parag Khanna is a senior fellow at the noted New America Foundation think-tank and has travelled extensively in Central Asia as well as written a book of political analysis on the region.
Sebastian Strassburg is a proven logistician with global experience in a variety of fields, from shipping to security and an avid outdoorsman who is handy with a ratchet as much as he is with a pen. He currently works at [  ] in Dubai.
Mikhail Zeldovich is a London and Moscow-based investment consultant and part-time adventurer, former international trade negotiator, and fluent Russian speaker, who has also travelled widely through the region.

Route

We plan to cross Western and Eastern Europe into Ukraine, and travel through it to the Russian border and to Moscow.  From there we plan to drive towards the Caspian, passing through Astrakhan and Makhachkala and on to the Caspian Sea port of Baku in Azerbaijan.  Then we will get a brief respite from driving by taking a ferry across to Turkmenistan. Crossing that country quickly (so the transit visa doesn’t run out), we will travel through the Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan and cross into Kazakhstan, arriving in Almaty.  The next phase will see drive through the desolate emptiness of Eastern and Northern Kazakhstan, crossing briefly back into Russia will allow us to pass north of the Tien Shan mountains and back into Russia, from which we will enter Mongolia towards the final destination of Ulan Bataar.