From employees
For the last seven days, Direct Relief has delivered 520 deliveries of requested medical assistance to 47 US states and territories and 19 countries worldwide.
The shipments included 25.4 million defined daily doses of medications, including insulin, cardiovascular medications, antibiotics, chronic disease medications, PSA and more.
Support for Nepal after deadly earthquake
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck northwestern Nepal last week. At least 153 people died, 345 were injured and about 12,000 families were left homeless in seven districts last week, according to a preliminary report from the Nepal Red Cross.
Staff at Dhulikhel Hospital, which Direct Relief has supported since 2015, have already been deployed to support earthquake-affected regions in western Nepal. Dhulikhel Hospital is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental institution that operates a 475-bed hospital in addition to community health programs and 18 outreach centers serving populations from at least 50 of 75 districts in Nepal.
In the last three months, Direct Relief has sent two large shipments of medical products totaling 35 pallets to Dhulikhel Hospital containing surgical instruments, diagnostic equipment, PPE, nutritional products, vitamins and ICU supplies.
Direct Relief continues to monitor the situation and stands ready to respond to inquiries.
The response to Hurricane Otis in Acapulco continues
Two weeks have passed since deadly Hurricane Otis, a powerful Category 5 storm, made landfall in Acapulco, Mexico, but risks from damage to infrastructure could make this and the following weeks the deadliest phase of the hurricane yet.
Dr. Giorgio Franyuti, founder and director of Medical Impact, a Mexico-based nonprofit medical aid organization that organizes monthly missions to underserved communities domestically and responds to disasters at home and abroad, said, “The secondary disaster is greater than the first.” . The earthquake or hurricane does not kill as many people as, for example, water shortages. The cuts to basic services will result in serious deaths among those affected by the hurricane.”
The lack of refrigeration combined with limited access to quality food, drinking water and gas for cooking food and boiling water poses an extremely dangerous combination of challenges for communities in rural Guerrero that were already at risk before the storm, according to Franyuti. Who said that the lack of clean water is a top priority?
To date, Direct Relief has committed $500,000 in emergency assistance, which will be used to support local NGOs and first responders, such as Medical Impact, who are helping those affected by the hurricane. The organization has also delivered 83 field medic kits containing first aid supplies for care outside the hospital walls. Thirteen emergency health kits containing medicines and supplies often needed after disasters were shipped to the region, as well as 20,000 liters of diesel to power the emergency generators at the Acapulco General Hospital, which ran out of fuel.
Direct Relief will continue to respond to Hurricane Otis in the coming days.
Turkey continues to recover from February’s earthquakes
Recovery from February’s devastating earthquakes in Turkey continues, albeit slowly. In Hatay province alone, 23,453 people died and over 75,000 buildings were damaged beyond repair. Debris clearance is still ongoing and as reconstruction has not yet begun, cities in the region have been reduced to vast, unrecognizable rubble.
Over 150,000 people still live in containers and many Syrian refugees live in formal and informal tent camps. These overcrowded temporary housing situations, lacking access to reliable water sources due to infrastructure damage, continually expose populations to public health risks.
Direct Relief staff recently visited Hatay and met with many nonprofit organizations that have received medical assistance and support from Direct Relief, including a primary health center providing care from the container pictured below.
This facility in SamandaÄŸ, Hatay, is typical of the earthquake zone and consists of a container provided by the Ministry of Health. Doctors are solely responsible for setting up and equipping the temporary clinics with the necessary medical equipment. Since doctors are also EQ survivors, purchasing these items has proven difficult.
Direct Relief’s recent $300,000 commitment to purchase medical equipment will help 58 primary health centers purchase needed items locally to better care for earthquake survivors and ease the burden on medical professionals throughout the region region.
OPERATIONAL SNAPSHOT
WORLDWIDE
Direct Relief was sent this week 22.8 million defined daily doses of medication outside the USA
Countries receiving medical assistance last week included:
- Ukraine
- Morocco
- Pakistan
- India
- Uganda
- Fiji
- Malawi
- Mali
- Madagascar
- Honduras
- Turkey
- Colombia
- Liberia
- Lebanon
- Guatemala
- Cambodia
- Israel
- Tanzania
UNITED STATES
Direct help delivered“476 shipments with more than 16.1 tons of medication” last week to organizations including the following:
- Mission Arlington Medical Clinic, Texas
- GAIN, Inc, Arkansas
- Family Health and Birth Center, District of Columbia
- Riverside Health Center, West Virginia
- Phoenix Allies for Community Health, Arizona
- Charis Health Center, Tennessee
- Amistad Community Health Center, Texas
- Southeast Community Health Systems, Louisiana
- Faith Family Medical Clinic, Tennessee
- Community Care Clinic of Highlands-Cashiers, North Carolina
Direct Relief also awarded a $150,000 grant to One805, an organization that provides Santa Barbara County first responders with needed resources, such as safety items or equipment, mental health support, or empowerment assistance emergency and disaster preparedness in local communities. This grant will support mental health services for firefighters in Santa Barbara County.
YEAR TO DATE (GLOBAL)
Direct Relief has been delivering since January 1, 2023 18,700 deliveries to 2,402 healthcare providers in 55 US states and territories and 86 countries.
These shipments included 484.1 million defined daily doses of medication valued at $1.8 billion (wholesale), totaling 5.7 million pounds.
In the news
We shed light on the worsening opioid crisis – USA today
Other victims of Otis: Rural Guerrero fears being left out of reconstruction efforts – Court Intelligence Service
Armenian Artsakh Fund [and Direct Relief] Delivers $486,000 worth of medicines to Artsakh Armenians in Armenia – Ortr
Alycia Clark: Trailblazing as Chief Pharmacist at Direct Relief – Montecito diary
The Emerging Leaders program marks a decade of vision and courage – Noozhawk
Energy Secretary Granholm meets with the IREC Puerto Rico team to discuss energy resiliency – I REC
Finger Lakes Community Health wins innovation award – Finger Lakes Times
Source : www.directrelief.org