Over the past seven days, Direct Relief has delivered 241 shipments of requested medical aid to 31 U.S. states and territories and 15 countries worldwide.
The shipments contained 11.8 million defined daily doses of medication, including antibiotics, field medic packs, diabetes management medications and supplies, cancer therapies, personal care products, and more.
Turkey-Syria Earthquake Response
More than 111 tons of medical aid has been shipped to Turkey and Syria since the earthquake on Feb. 6. This week, 500 field medic packs arrived in Adana, Turkey.
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.
Expanding Emergency Contraception Access in the U.S.
This week, a new effort was announced to expand emergency contraception to underserved women across the U.S.
Curae Pharma360 Inc., a mission-driven pharmaceutical company, announced a partnership with Direct Relief to provide Curae’s OTC emergency contraception product free of charge to clinics that serve the most vulnerable women in the U.S.
Direct Relief is committed to increasing access to family planning, ending period poverty, and equipping health providers to facilitate safer births. In partnership with Curae, Direct Relief will provide more than 120,000 emergency contraceptives for free to its participating clinics.
International Women’s day
In honor of International Women’s Day, volunteers and Direct Relief staff packed 2,000 women’s hygiene kits on March 8, 2023, in Direct Relief’s volunteer center. Each kit contains soap, shampoo, razors, lip balm, toothbrushes, fingernail clippers, period products and more for distribution globally.
Dr. Steve Arrowsmith, International Medical Advisor to Direct Relief, also spoke to staff and volunteers about his work focusing on women’s health and fistula repair. Dr. Arrowsmith has treated fistula throughout Africa and Asia for nearly 30 years and is an esteemed mentor and trainer for new fistula surgeons. The presentation can be seen below.
This week, Organon announced new funding and product donations for Direct Relief to help improve access and outcomes related to unplanned pregnancy in select communities in the U.S.
“Empowering women with broad contraceptive access and education is a fundamental driver of equity and helping women decide when – and if – they decide to start a family,” said Kevin Ali, CEO of Organon. “Organon is proud to launch ‘Her Plan is Her Power’ and work with others to focus our resources and target responses to help ensure all women and girls can plan their future.”
Material aid for Ukraine
Several NGOs focused on health in Ukraine received medical aid from Direct Relief over the past seven days, including Ukrainian Soul, which received critical antibiotics and other medications to treat infections.
Since Feb. 24, 2022, Direct Relief has provided medical aid to Ukraine weighing more than 2.6 million pounds, or 1,300 tons, with more on the way.
OPERATIONAL SNAPSHOT
WORLDWIDE
This week, Direct Relief shipped 11.8 million defined daily doses of medication outside the U.S.
Countries that received medical aid over the past week included:
- Ukraine
- Fiji
- Sudan
- Honduras
- Sri Lanka
- India
- Lebanon
- Pakistan
- Nepal
- Jordan
UNITED STATES
Direct Relief delivered 216 shipments containing 4.5 tons of medications over the past week to organizations, including the following:
- Greater Killeen Free Clinic, Texas
- Community Health of East Tennessee, Tennessee
- Good News Clinics, Georgia
- Siloam Family Health Center, Tennessee
- HIV Alliance, Oregon
- Washington State Department of Health, Washington
- Dr. Gary Burnstein Community Health Clinic, Michigan
- Free Medical Clinic of America, Tennessee
- Scotland Community Health Clinic, North Carolina
- Faith Family Medical Clinic, Tennessee
YEAR-TO-DATE (GLOBAL)
Since Jan. 1, 2023, Direct Relief has delivered 2,596 shipments to 1,080 healthcare providers in 52 U.S. states and territories and 52 countries.
These shipments contained 121.6 million defined daily doses of medication valued at $307.7 million (wholesale), totaling 1.5 million lbs.
In The News
International Women’s Day: Direct Relief prepares 2,000 hygiene kits for women around the world – KEYT: “A local humanitarian organization is celebrating International Women’s Day 2023. On Wednesday, March 8, Direct Relief will welcome world-renowned fistula surgeon Dr. Steve Arrowsmith.”
Startup Curae Pharma360 partners with Direct Relief to distribute free contraceptives to safety-net clinics – Fierce Healthcare: “Curae Pharma360 was founded a year ago as a for-profit subsidiary of Medicines360, a nonprofit pharma company focused on R&D, to commercialize its products. Now, its first product—OTC emergency contraceptive levonorgestrel—is being distributed in partnership with Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization. The partnership began at the start of the year, and the product is free to the safety-net clinics.”
Gamers Raise $2 Million For Turkish And Syrian Earthquake Relief – The Gamer: “The gaming community has been rallying together in support of those affected by the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria, raising more than $2 million for disaster relief through participation in a popular program launched last week by Humble, the Turkiye-Syria Earthquake Relief Bundle. The proceeds will be going to the charities Direct Relief, International Medical Corps, and Save the Children.”
