More than 2,000 boxes containing $4 million worth of medicines and supplies delivered by Direct Relief arrived on Tuesday at the island of Roatan – located off the northern coast of Honduras.

The medicines will be distributed by Intensive Heart Ventures to eight health care facilities treating people in need:  Clinica Esperanza; Roatan Hospital; Centro de Salud-Los Fuertes; Centro de Salud-French Harbour; Clinica Oak Ridge; Centro de Salud-Pandy Town; Clinica Glenda Fe; and Hospital Loma de Luz (on the mainland).

The donations supply much of the island with medicines that are often hard for local providers and patients to access because they are isolated both physically and culturally from Tegucigalpa, the capital. Supplies included hypertensive medicines, diabetes medicines and supplies, and antibiotics, among other products needed to help patients manage chronic conditions as well as acute care issues.

There is a high incidence of both hypertension and diabetes on the island, and many people receive treatment for these conditions for the first time at the clinic partners Direct Relief supports, according to Peggy Stranges, a registered nurse at La Clinica Esperanza.

The shipment arrives shortly after the Honduran Ministry of Health declared a  state of emergency in response to the recent dengue fever epidemic.