In response to the July 11 terrorist bombings in Kampala, Direct Relief today authorized an immediate cash grant of $30,000 to cover emergency medical needs of victims. The funds are being provided to AMREF’s (African Medical Research and Education Foundation) Uganda office in response to an urgent request from the Ministry of Health struggling to care for the mass-casualty situation caused by the bombings.

Direct Relief also is making its medical inventory available and seeking additional support from its network of healthcare company partners for specialized equipment needed for reconstructive surgeries and serious, complex injuries among survivors.  A specific needs list was developed by the Ministry of Health upon assessment of existing resources and survivors’ injuries.

AMREF Country Director for Uganda, Joshua Kyallo, a member of the emergency panel of Ugandan and international nongovernmental organizations convened by the Minister of Health, and Direct Relief’s International Medical Adviser, Dr. Mike Marks, are working together on a coordinated response plan from within Uganda, with regional partners, and with AMREF’s and Direct Relief’s international operations.

“Direct Relief’s support will enable us to move very quickly with the Ministry of Health on the emergency response,” said AMREF’s Kyallo.

Direct Relief has worked in partnership with AMREF since 1996 to bolster improved access to and quality of health services in East Africa.

“We recognize that the larger development goals for health are often impeded by emergencies,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe.  “The people and facilities, including the AMREF team, now devoted to this crisis are the same people in facilities essential to the long-term efforts, and they need help.”

According to news reports, 76 people were killed in the July 11 bombings at restaurants and nightclubs in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city.

AMREF is an international African organization headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. AMREF’s mission is to ensure that every African can enjoy the right to good health by helping to create vibrant networks of informed communities that work with empowered health care providers in strong health systems. Today, AMREF implements its projects through country programs in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Southern Sudan and South Africa. Training and consulting support are provided to an additional 30 African countries.