Over the past seven days, Direct Relief has delivered 528 shipments of requested medical aid to 49 U.S. states and territories and 8 countries worldwide.

The shipments contained 5.1 million defined daily doses of medication, including first aid kits, insulin, vitamins, PPE, antibiotics, and more.

Ukraine

The war in Ukraine is in its 19^th month.

With another winter looming, Ukraine’s healthcare system is bracing for more strikes on energy infrastructure. Many hospitals are still badly damaged, and millions of people are displaced around the country, stretching medical services to the limit. Demand for psychological support among the population is snowballing, according to experts on the ground.

Since the war broke out, Direct Relief has deployed more than 1,550 tons of medical aid, 294.9 million defined daily doses, $35.2 million in financial assistance, and $1.1 billion in material aid assistance to a network of government and non-profit health care providers across Ukraine.

Also, non-profits that Direct Relief supports in Ukraine are starting new psychosocial initiatives across the country, including a center providing free psychosocial support for kids called the Kimnata Pidtrymky (“Room of Support”) recently opened by Kharkiv Renovation Fund, are helping normalize reaching out for psychological help.

Read the full story here.

global collaboration for health

Direct Relief’s President & CEO, Thomas Tighe, provided the closing remarks this week at a Devex event in New York City. He and other experts from the World Food Program, the World Health Organization and other organizations discussed how to build a more resilient and coordinated response to global crises.

Their conversation specifically explored the lessons learned through INITIATE² , a five-year initiative that has developed innovative solutions for health emergencies, and apply this partnership model to other areas of global cooperation.

“Because Direct Relief is both privately funded as a public charity, our view is you have to invite the participation of everybody,” said Tighe. “No one with a job in humanitarian aid or in government cares more about society than anyone else. If you think differently, it can lead to a sense of superiority and that’s really damaging. Much of the scale and pace of innovation has come from the private sector… we have more resources and more tools today to solve all these vaccine problems that we have ever had in the history of humanity, and that gives me great hope.”

To watch the full event, click here.

OPERATIONAL SNAPSHOT

WORLDWIDE

This week, Direct Relief shipped 2.6 million defined daily doses of medication outside the U.S.

Countries that received medical aid over the past week included:

Direct Relief also issued a grant for $90,000 to the Baylor College of Medicine-Children’s Foundation Malawi to build a 15 X 4.5 meter temperature controlled permanent storage unit for their Area 25 Maternity Hospital, which in light of recent growth, has been unable to keep up with storage and inventory infrastructure needs. Funds will also be used to support the salary of an inventory management specialist who will manage medications and supplies for the hospital, which will allow for the transition to an electronic cloud-based systems and a more integrated system overall.

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 504 shipments containing more than 22 tons of medications over the past week to organizations, including the following:

In addition, Direct Relief issued an operating grant of $750,000 to the MAVEN Project, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization with the mission of improving access to high-quality specialty care among diverse and underserved communities. This grant will support their core functions and increase their partner numbers across the U.S. Direct Relief has worked with the MAVEN Project for nearly four years and this operational grant builds upon previous funding for projects such as telehealth, virtual education sessions around patient care, and counseling services for busy clinic staff.

Direct Relief also issued two grants to Puerto Rico: The first to Iniciativa Comunitaria de Investigacion, Inc., in the amount of $224,110, which was the last of four grant payments to support their work in the recovery and rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Maria. The second grant for $50,000 was issued to Hogar del Buen Pastor, Inc., an organization that provides a holistic approach to homelessness so people can rehabilitate and find a way to return to a prosperous life. This grant will support their continuity of services.

YEAR-TO-DATE (GLOBAL)

Since January 1, 2023, Direct Relief has delivered 14,900 shipments to 2,209 healthcare providers in 55 U.S. states and territories and 83 countries.

These shipments contained 400.5 million defined daily doses of medication valued at $1.5 billion (wholesale), totaling 4.9 million lbs.

in the news

• Doing more good: three trends tech companies should consider in supporting humanitarian response – The Independent
• Upcoming Event: Data-Driven Decision Making in a Changing Climate – Harvard University
• SAC Health Wins National Award for Innovative Care in Vaccine Delivery – MarketWatch
• CHARGE partnership helps health centers transition to clean energy, boost climate resilience – The Kresge Foundation