Maximizing its partnerships with corporations, nongovernmental, and governmental organizations, Direct Relief continues to supply needed materials to Chile to help people affected by the recent earthquake.

Direct Relief has facilitated a large shipment of more than 48,000 bottles of nutritional products, including oral rehydration solutions and adult nutritionals, donated by Abbott affiliates in Chile and Ecuador for distribution to a hospitals, clinics, and shelters in the hardest-hit areas. Valued at more than $165,000 (wholesale), these requested materials join the more than $112,000 (wholesale) of products and medicines previously sent to Chile for earthquake relief.

Fundación Educativa de Desarrollo Economico y Social (FEDES), our partner in Chile, is distributing the needed aid during its ongoing outreach trips to temporary camps and health facilities caring for people affected by the earthquake and tsunami. FEDES reports that several fishing villages, including San Pedro, La Pesca, Iloca, Duau, and Lincanten, have been heavily damaged or completely destroyed. Despite their losses, residents are expressing gratitude for the help they’re receiving. In the Maule region, FEDES says that several of the larger public hospitals are “uninhabitable,” and the Chilean army has established temporary field hospitals where patients continue to receive care.

Direct Relief staff has been in contact with the head pharmacist at the Chilean Ministry of Health (MOH) in Santiago as well as regional MOH offices to identify the most-needed medicines. Covidien, GlaxoSmithKline, and Johnson & Johnson have also offered donations of needed products from their affiliates in Chile and nearby countries, a priority because it expedites the delivery of medical aid to the people who urgently need it.