Over the past seven days, Direct Relief has delivered 286 shipments of requested medical aid to 44 U.S. states and territories and eighteen countries worldwide.
The shipments contained 13.5 million defined daily doses of medication, including antibiotics, emergency medical backpacks, personal care products, and more.
Turkey-Syria Earthquake Response
Direct Relief’s response to recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria has continued, and more than 109 tons of medicine and supplies have been distributed or are being prepared to ship to the region, including antibiotics, wound care dressings, protective gear, and other requested medical resources.
This week, 500 emergency medical packs departed Direct Relief’s warehouse in Santa Barbara, California, for Turkey’s Ministry of Health Crisis Command Center. The backpacks will be distributed to first responders providing critical aid to patients after recent earthquakes.
Groups supported with medical aid include Turkey’s Ministry of Health, Ahbap, AKUT, Syrian American Medical Society, Independent Doctor’s Association, and Syrian Relief and Development.
In addition to continuous deployments of medical aid, Direct Relief is infusing cash support to local organizations scaling up to meet the needs of the moment. More than $2.5 million in financial aid has been committed.
Among the groups that received funding is the Turkish Renal Disaster Task Force, which used funds from Direct Relief to secure containerized housing for specialized medical teams cycling into Adiyaman, Hatay, and Kahramanmaras to provide medical care for crush wounds and resulting kidney issues that occur after acute traumas.
Direct Relief approved a similar project for the Turkish Society of Intensive Care so health providers can access safe housing while they provide emergency care. Direct Relief has committed $70,000 to purchase 14 units of temporary medical staff shelter in Turkey so far.
Read more about the latest earthquake response updates here.
Supporting cold-chain in Nepal
A new cold storage building funded by Direct Relief is up and running in Kathmandu, Nepal. The earthquake-resilient building houses a 440-square-foot walk-in freezer, two 216-square-foot walk-in coolers, and a backup diesel generator capable of powering all three units during a power outage.
With support from One Heart Worldwide, the new building will increase Nepal’s cold storage capacity of critical medications and vaccines.
Cyclone preparation in Vanuatu
This week, Direct Relief’s hurricane prep module arrived in Vanuatu to support the healthcare system before an impending cyclone impacted the region.
Each module is stocked with enough materials to treat 100 patients for 72 hours and contains supplies to treat issues ranging from trauma injuries to chronic conditions. The modules are provided free of charge, and are provided as part of Direct Relief’s hurricane preparedness program, which has grown to become the largest in the U.S., supporting 50 partners organizations throughout the U.S. Gulf Coast and Eastern seaboard, as well as in other hurricane- and cylone-prone areas throughout the world.
Material aid for Ukraine
This week, TAPS Ukraine delivered two Direct Relief field medic backpacks to the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital, which has been operating since 2014 in conflict zones in Ukraine. TAPS Ukraine has so far received 18 medical backpacks for redistribution to hospitals and clinics.
Since Feb. 24, 2022, Direct Relief has provided medical aid to Ukraine weighing more than 2.5 million pounds, or 1,250 tons, with more on the way.
OPERATIONAL SNAPSHOT
WORLDWIDE
This week, Direct Relief shipped 13 million defined daily doses of medication outside the U.S.
Countries that received medical aid over the past week included:
- Ukraine
- Turkey
- Iraq
- Bangladesh
- Belarus
- Senegal
- Kenya
- Pakistan
- Lebanon
- Dominican Republic
UNITED STATES
Direct Relief delivered 255 shipments containing 481,740 doses of medications over the past week to organizations, including the following:
- Palmetto Health Council, Inc., Georgia
- Volunteers in Medicine, Florida
- Bread of Healing Clinic, Wisconsin
- Antlers First Baptist Church Free Clinic, Oklahoma
- The Pic Place, Colorado
- Light of the World Clinic, Florida
- Good News Care Center, Florida
- Agape Clinic, Texas
- Community Care Center, North Carolina
- Good Samaritan Clinic, Florida
YEAR-TO-DATE (GLOBAL)
Since Jan. 1, 2023, Direct Relief has delivered 2,358 shipments to 1,015 healthcare providers in 52 U.S. states and territories and 49 countries.
These shipments contained 112.6 million defined daily doses of medication valued at $280.5 million (wholesale), totaling 1.3 million lbs.
In The News
- Wildfire Threat to Inpatient Health Care Facilities in California, 2022 – The American Journal of Public Health: Direct Relief’s Andrew Schroeder co-authored this publication, which discusses the implications of wildfires on California inpatient health care facilities.
- Direct Relief and Meta Cooperation to Promote Medical Preparedness for Disasters – BusinessNews: “Direct Relief, in partnership with Data for Good and Government and Social Impact in Meta, recently released the results of an online campaign aimed at promoting the preparedness of medicines and medical records for emergencies.”
- Support the Turkey-Syria earthquake relief efforts by picking up this gaming bundle – Mashable: “100% of the proceeds of this bundle will support Direct Relief, International Medical Corps, and Save the Children.”
