Recent Cash Infusion Supports Clinics and Grassroots Recovery

July 28, 2008

As the recovery effort continues in Myanmar (also known as Burma) almost two months after Cyclone Nargis destroyed villages and upended lives, Direct Relief has provided an additional $283,000 in cash assistance to support clinics treating at-risk populations and to bolster grassroots community recovery efforts. Based on relationships established by staff in country to assess needs in the days following the cyclone, Direct Relief has sent grants to several trusted partners.
 
An $83,000 grant to Marie Stopes International (MSI) will support the expanded health services the nongovernmental organization is providing to vulnerable populations affected by Cyclone Nargis. MSI has been working in Myanmar for more than a decade in its established network of 20 clinics, focusing on reproductive and sexual health. After the cyclone hit, MSI rededicated its resources, including its 450 employees, to treat cyclone victims, sending assessment and aid teams into the Irrawaddy Delta to treat the large population desperately in need of medical care.

Direct Relief’s $25,000 grant to Better Burmese Health Care (BBHC) will help pay for physician and staff salaries, medical supplies, medication, testing, and ongoing training. A nonprofit humanitarian organization, BBHC maintains an established network of clinics in Myanmar that treat patients without the means to access care, and trains Burmese medical workers. Immediately after the cyclone, BBHC set up eight additional emergency clinics to provide acute medical care for the homeless and injured, and has been working to prevent the outbreak of infectious diseases. It collaborates closely with partners inside and outside the country to distribute essential medications, including antimalarials.

To help cyclone victims rebuild their devastated communities, Direct Relief has provided $175,000 in grants to two groups supporting the recovery effort in the Irrawaddy Delta. These grassroots community development organizations (they have asked to remain anonymous) have extensive knowledge of local needs and have worked cooperatively to help populations impacted by decades of civil strife to become stable and self-reliant. Nongovernmental and nonsectarian, they have years of experience working with Burmese populations to create self-help initiatives and support sustainable community-based projects. They train community leaders in leadership and vocational skills, including how to facilitate local development in a participatory process, sustainable agriculture, natural-resource management, community income generation, and micro-credit.

Direct Relief’s recent grants are the latest step in providing most-needed and specifically requested aid to partners assisting cyclone victims. Direct Relief has delivered more than $2 million in medical material aid to Myanmar since early May, when emergency response needs were first identified. This recent cash infusion boosts our total grants in Myanmar to $426,000.

Direct Relief Airlifts $1.4 Million in Emergency Medical Supplies, Supports Healthcare Training

Continuing its targeted support to victims of Cyclone Nargis, Direct Relief International this week provided via airlift 9 tons of medical material aid valued at $1.4 million to Myanmar. In addition, Direct Relief’s partnership with Australian Aid International (AAI) has established a series of training programs in emergency-response medicine that has trained more than 80 local physicians and health workers being deployed to the hardest-hit areas.

The most recent infusion of medical material aid includes critically needed materials—including surgical supplies, antibiotics, analgesics, orthopedic devices, and oral rehydration solution—requested by the Myanmar Medical Association (MMA), the country’s largest medical association. The infrastructure of the national professional organization of 8,000 doctors, founded in 1949, enables the allocation and distribution of aid to the village and township level. Direct Relief-provided materials are being deployed with medical volunteers to the hardest hit areas to treat cyclone victims and to prevent and control the outbreak of communicable diseases. Primary health concerns now include respiratory infection and diarrhea.

With financial and material support from Direct Relief, AAI’s team of deeply experienced emergency-medicine experts has initiated a series of specialized trainings for local physicians and health workers.

Since June 1, 83 healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, and volunteers, have received intensive training sessions in relief-clinic management and specialized training on treatment protocols for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and poisonous snake bite. In a “Train the Trainer” program, AAI is also teaching health teams how to instruct their counterparts in the field. Health teams have been deployed throughout the broader Yangon District and Kunyangon, the badly effected coastal area south of Yangon, where approximately 100,000 people remain in acute need of medical assistance.

Last week, Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe conducted a joint press conference call with Global Health Progress Chief Medical Officer Dr. Paul Antony to discuss the importance of preventing a devastating “second disaster” of fast-spreading disease. Click here to read the transcript and listen to the audio recording of the call.

Responding to the emergency, Direct Relief has delivered $1,998,232 in assistance to Myanmar, including $143,000 in financial support and 340,078 courses of treatment for victims of the May 3 cyclone.

Direct Relief Boosts Assistance for Medical Teams, Clinics Serving Affected Areas

Following an extensive in-country assessment by Direct Relief staff and confirmation of in-country logistics, Direct Relief has expanded its humanitarian assistance to Myanmar with the first in a series of planned airlifts of essential medical items to be used by Burmese doctors deploying to hardest-hit areas and to clinics operated by a partner international nongovernmental organization.

The most recent infusion of aid, transported on June 3 and valued at over $200,000 wholesale, was in response to urgent requests presented to Direct Relief staff who were in country last week. The shipment includes anti-infectives, wound dressings, and surgical supplies. Additional airlifts being prepared for delivery next week will contain, among other things, the pre-mixed rice-based oral rehydration solution Ceralyte. The contents are being assembled in response to unfolding community assessments conducted by Burmese physicians deployed from the professional medical association that requested Direct Relief’s assistance. The value of Direct Relief’s material assistance allocated to these shipments exceeds $1 million.

An additional $163,000 in financial assistance has been provided to partner nongovernmental organization Marie Stopes International, which operates 20 in-country clinics, and to Thai-border-based colleague nongovernmental organizations that Direct Relief has long supported. These groups have ramped up activities in response to the cyclone’s devastation.

Partnering with Professional Medical, Business Associations. Direct Relief’s assistance has been requested by the Myanmar Medical Association (MMA), which was established in 1949, and is the only professional body of medically qualified doctors in Myanmar. MMA is a national association organization of 8,000 physicians with 80 branches throughout the country.

In response to the cyclone, the MMA is mobilizing its members on short medical tours into the hard-hit Irrawaddy and Yangon divisions. Direct Relief’s shipment to MMA will equip these teams with critically needed medicines and supplies. After an extensive briefing with Direct Relief staff, MMA's president provided Direct Relief with a specifically requested list of needed items to assist the group in its expansive deployment of local physicians to the affected areas.

CDA, a leading association of in-country businesses, also has repurposed its network and resources to deliver humanitarian aid to affected communities. It has asked for assistance to help rebuild damaged health facilities throughout the affected region. The association has experience with development and infrastructure improvement programs; recently, CDA began work on water purification programs in conjunction with the NGOs Thirst-Aid and UNICEF.

All three groups are coordinating with a variety of nongovernmental organizations and the country’s Ministry of Health to provide assistance.

Members of Australian Aid International (AAI), a partner NGO with deep experience in complex emergencies and whose members are physicians specially trained in field emergency medicine, have been granted access into the country. They are providing treatment, sharing their expertise with Burmese doctors, and helping to oversee distribution of Direct Relief’s medical material aid. Direct Relief granted AAI $25,000 shortly after the cyclone struck to support these activities.

Community-level Financial Assistance. Additional financial assistance is also being provided to support villages’ and townships’ recovery efforts. These funds will be self-managed at the community level through a strict protocol to ensure community members' involvement in identifying needs, planning small-scale investments, transparency in expenditures, and personal accountability among community members. 

Direct Relief continues to work through the particular circumstances in Myanmar to ensure that assistance is targeted at—and reaches—the people who need it most. An estimated 2.4 million people were affected by the cyclone, and many are in dire need of aid.

Direct Relief International Plans More Aid As Experts Fear Widespread Disease Outbreaks

Twenty-four days after Cyclone Nargis struck in Myanmar, Direct Relief has successfully delivered almost $350,000 in medical material aid and targeted cash grants that are already helping individuals and families. Direct Relief is also planning to provide another $350,000 in cash support alone.

Direct Relief's initial airlift of essential medical aid was received at the airport in Yangon and sent directly to Laputta, one of the hardest hit townships. The contents, including critically needed antibiotics, oral rehydration salts, and wound-care items, have been distributed via local clinics coordinating with Myanmar’s Ministry of Health.

The need for medical aid remains great. Direct Relief partners have confirmed that standing water and lack of sanitation are creating breeding grounds for such diseases as malaria, dengue fever, and cholera. The World Health Organization, as lead agency for the UN coordinating health cluster for the response, is putting in place early warning systems to track the spread of these diseases.

To address these needs, Direct Relief plans further support to its network of trusted partners in the country, provided that the Myanmar government maintains its eased stance on the flow of international aid into the country.

As previously reported, Direct Relief has committed $500,000 in cash and has already issued $143,000 in targeted cash grants to locally based or locally operating groups serving the medical needs of affected people. Direct Relief staff in Asia are currently evaluating local nongovernmental, professional, reputable organizations that can effectively leverage cash grants into critical aid, and are working closely with other humanitarian groups, regional bodies including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the United Nations.

According to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the official number of dead (77,738) and missing (55,917) individuals has not changed since May 16.

Emergency Cash Infusion Bringing Immediate Aid for Cyclone-Affected Populations

Nearly two weeks after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, Direct Relief has provided five targeted cash grants worth $143,000 in total to trusted partners serving affected communities in country and working in Thailand to provide assistance to Myanmarese refugees.

The majority of the funds will be used to equip medical staff on the ground with the medicines and supplies most needed, including broad spectrum antibiotics, antiseptics and pain relief medication for trauma injuries, oral rehydration salts, and anti-malarial drugs. The funds will also be used to support the emergency operating expenses of clinics and medical outreach teams, including transport costs and clinical staff salaries.

Direct Relief Commits $500,000 In Cash To Relief Effort – Airlifts Essential Medical Supplies

Direct Relief International today committed $500,000 in cash to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Myanmar and sent an initial airlift of $200,000 in essential medical aid.

The cash commitment, enabled in part by donations from over 7,500 individual contributors who contributed via Google Checkout, will be used to furnish essential medical material to health facilities in Myanmar and partner organizations providing health services to people affected by the cyclone that struck last week.

The intial infusion of medical resources includes supplies to provide 21,300 courses of treatment for patients with bacterial and upper respiratory infections, dehydration, diarrhea, cholera and other water-borne diseases, as well as basic instruments and materials for wound care and other trauma needs.  The materials were specifically requested by in-country facilities run by a colleague nonprofit organization, which obtained clearance to receive and distribute the materials.

Direct Relief is working with international organizations with Myanmar-based health programs and regional organizations with community-based programs inside Myanmar.

"Because of our experiences responding to other emergencies involving surges of water in the region – particularly the 2004 Asian tsunami and Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh last year we know what types of needs arise, and consequently keep the supplies to fulfill those needs on hand," said Direct Relief's Emergency Response Coordinator Brett Williams.

In addition to the thousands of individual contributions, Direct Relief has received substantial support from healthcare companies. The initial aid sent today containes medicines and other materials donated by long-time Direct Relief supporters, including Abbott, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Cera Products Inc., the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, MedVantx, Midmark, Sappo Hill Soapworks, and Sunnight Solar. Henry Schein Inc. also has responded generously with donations of essential medical items for this emergency.

Direct Relief Still Pursuing Routes For Aid, Mapping Myanmar’s Healthcare Network

Direct Relief is continuing to reach out to its network of partner clinics and regional associations in and around Myanmar, including the exploration of logistical routes for medical material aid. Our Asia program officer is en route to Thailand in order to aid this process.

To help inform our response, Direct Relief has taken the health facility data from the World Health Organization’s Global Health Atlas Survey and mapped the entire Myanmar healthcare network in Google Earth. The resulting Google Earth layer contains plotted points for the 700-plus Ministry of Health facilities which represent existing points of access to health care. We often use Google Earth for our ongoing and emergency response efforts to help target medical assistance and coordinate efforts with other actors.

To share this information broadly, Google Earth has generously posted this layer and a post by Direct Relief COO Annie Maxwell to their LatLong blog. Click here to read Annie’s blog post. To download the Google Earth KML file, click here. (You will need Google Earth in order to view the file. To download Google Earth, click here.)

Humanitarian Aid Blocked – Cash Investment to Boost Health Services in Border Area

Direct Relief International today postponed its initial shipment of aid due to the widely reported reluctance of the Myanmar government' to accept outside aid. An emergency conference call today with fellow members of the Partnership for Quality Medical Donations, which includes over a dozen healthcare companies and colleague humanitarian nonprofits, confirmed all aid groups - as well as governments - are encountering the same obstacles.

With material assistance to cyclone victims impeded, we approved an immediate investment of $25,000 to a long-time, established partner clinic that operates on the Thai side of the border and is scaling up relief operations to the maximum extent possible.

Direct Relief's Asia program officer will be coordinating efforts from Thailand beginning Saturday.

Direct Relief to Support Medical Team Headed for Myanmar

In response to Cyclone Nargis, which has killed an estimated 22,500 people and displaced approximately 1 million more, Direct Relief has committed financial assistance to support Australian Aid International’s emergency medical team. AAI, a long-time trusted partner, is dispatching an experienced five-person medical team to Myanmar this week. The team consists of physicians, paramedics, and a logistician.

Along with conducting an assessment of health and medical needs, AAI will focus on emergency care for injured and sick patients through the operation of mobile medical outreach clinics. AAI plans to support and strengthen the existing primary health care infrastructure, and will work with Direct Relief to target appropriate medical materials required for recovery efforts.

Direct Relief has joined with Melbourne-based AAI during several recent emergency response efforts, including the July 2006 earthquake in Jogjakarta, Indonesia, October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, and 2006 civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Among other things, those experiences led AAI to help Direct Relief develop 75-lb “jump packs” that contain instruments, suturing material and wound dressings, and a basic array of medicines for emergency care.

Direct Relief today consulted with 10 colleague organizations, including two that operate clinics in Myanmar, and has received an initial request for medical material assistance for which logistics plans are being developed.

Also, we note with deep thanks that today Google today posted on its home page a link featuring UNICEF and Direct Relief International.

In previous emergencies that generated significant attention and contributions, we have found it important to clarify our donations policy and we do so again here and on the donations page of our Web site. Although circumstances in Myanmar – including governmental actions – will affect response efforts, our commitment is to assist people and communities affected by the tragedy in the most productive manner possible.

All contributions received by our organization – whether for this particular incident or for our humanitarian efforts worldwide – are used only for programmatic purposes. All our organization’s non-program expenses (fundraising and general management) are paid with funds received from a generous bequest in 2006.

Direct Relief Offers Assistance to Myanmar In Wake of Cyclone

In response to the cyclone that struck Myanmar over the weekend, Direct Relief International has offered assistance to regional humanitarian assistance groups.

The storm is reported to have caused tremendous damage and resulted in the tragic loss of more than 10,000 lives.

Direct Relief has contacted partners in Thailand and other neighboring countries, some of whom also run programs in Myanmar, to offer assistance to medical relief efforts for people affected by the storm.

The Myanmar government has yet to issue a formal request for international assistance - historically, the country rarely invites outside groups to provide assistance, even in emergencies.

Direct Relief has engaged in large-scale relief efforts in the region and is actively engaged in the recovery efforts response to the region's last major cyclone, Cyclone Sidr, which hit Bangladesh November 15, 2007, and resulted in 3,447 deaths and displaced 650,000 people.