Direct Relief has offered emergency assistance to help the people of Haiti and Jamaica recover from the devastation left by Tropical Storm Gustav.
As needs are identified with local partner organizations in country, Direct Relief will deliver requested medical aid to Haiti, where Gustav has caused extensive flooding and 51 deaths. Landslides in neighboring Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola, have killed eight people. Packing winds of 70 mph and building toward hurricane strength, Gustav is winding its way over Jamaica and is scheduled to make landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast by Tuesday.
In July, Direct Relief delivered Hurricane Preparedness Packs to its partners in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and the U.S. Gulf States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The packs, which contain medical materials to treat 100 patients for a range of traumas and conditions for a 72-hour period, were developed after careful analysis of the health conditions and lack of available medications to treat them following 2005’s Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Direct Relief provides humanitarian assistance on an ongoing basis to charitable health facilities in Haiti, Jamaica, and other Caribbean nations. Personal care supplies, antibiotics, analgesics, and first-aid materials are among the most commonly supplied items. Direct Relief has been providing assistance in Haiti since 1964; since 1989, it has delivered $77.5 million (wholesale) in medical material aid.