Over the past seven days, Direct Relief has delivered 614 shipments of requested medical aid to 44 U.S. states and territories and 14 countries worldwide.
The shipments contained 17.9 million defined daily doses of medication, including prenatal vitamins, personal care products, PPE, and more.
2023 Atlantic hurricane preparedness
As part of Direct Relief’s Hurricane Preparedness Program, established in 2006, the organization pre-positions hurricane preparedness packs each year in secure locations near vulnerable areas, providing partner facilities with the medications and medical supplies they’d need in case of a storm. Each is stocked with enough materials to treat 100 patients for 72 hours. The modules are provided free of charge.
Direct Relief started the program after Hurricane Katrina, and the organization began to preposition medical resources in storm-prone areas, giving medical professionals supplies and equipment should access be cut off due to storm impacts. The packs are often used to support care outside of clinic walls, in temporary or mobile facilities.
A larger version of the modules is shipped internationally and contains additional amounts of medical supplies. The modules were developed with experts from frontline clinics and health centers following Hurricane Katrina and refined since, and contain medical essentials for everything from first aid treatment to chronic disease management for diabetes, hypertension and asthma.
In preparation for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, Direct Relief has begun shipping hurricane prep packs to international and domestic healthcare partners.
Internationally, a total of 20 hurricane preparedness packs will be shipped out to 15 countries. Eighteen packs will be distributed to the Northern Hemisphere in the coming days, and two will be delivered in November to Fiji and Vanuatu ahead of their cyclone season. The packs have already been staged in Puerto Rico, ready to deploy for responses in the Caribbean, as well as in Panama for post-disaster deployment through the Pan American Health Organization.
Domestically, a total of 70 micro hurricane preparedness packs will be shipped to partner organizations in 11 states and territories (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia). Eight micro hurricane preparedness packs have been staged in Puerto Rico for local distribution.
Material aid for Ukraine
Since Feb. 24, 2022, Direct Relief has provided medical aid to Ukraine weighing more than 2.7 million pounds, or 1,350 tons, with more on the way.
Requested medications and supplies were received by Ukrainian Soul/Hospitable Hut this week and distributed to local healthcare providers. The shipment included thermometers, hygiene kits, and more.
OPERATIONAL SNAPSHOT
WORLDWIDE
This week, Direct Relief shipped 16 million defined daily doses of medication outside the U.S.
Countries that received medical aid over the past week included:
- Ukraine
- Malawi
- Liberia
- Honduras
- Turkey
- Zambia
- Sri Lanka
- Ghana
UNITED STATES
Direct Relief delivered 595 shipments containing over four tons of medications over the past week to organizations, including the following:
- Welvista, South Carolina
- NC MedAssist, North Carolina
- ODA Primary Care Health Center, New York
- Jefferson Comprehensive Health Center, Inc., Mississippi
- Community Care Center, North Carolina
- St. Vincent de Paul Pharmacy, Texas
- Health Care Center For The Homeless DBA Orange Blossom Family Health Center, Florida
- Acacia Medical Mission, Texas
- Hope Clinic of Garland Inc, Texas
- CommunityHealth, Illinois
YEAR-TO-DATE (GLOBAL)
Since Jan. 1, 2023, Direct Relief has delivered 6,706 shipments to 1,595 healthcare providers in 53 U.S. states and territories and 61 countries.
These shipments contained 229.3 million defined daily doses of medication valued at $747.8 million (wholesale), totaling 3 million lbs.
In The News
Direct Relief ships 69 tons of medical supplies to Turkey since Feb. 5 earthquakes – KEYT: “It’s really important as this starts to recede in people’s memory … is still a crisis for over 8 million people in Syria,” said president and CEO Thomas Tighe of Direct Relief.
4GRxANTED Campaign Generates Millions of Doses of Generic Medicine for Patients in Need – Yahoo! Finance: “Direct Relief announced today that it received a donation of 2 million doses of generic medications for nonprofit healthcare providers in the U.S. and globally, thanks to the Association of Accessible Medicines’ (AAM) 4GRxANTED campaign.”
