By staff
Over the past seven days, Direct Relief has delivered 396 medical aid shipments requested in 41 US states and territories and 16 countries worldwide.
The shipments contained 4.3 million defined daily doses of drugs, including cardiovascular drugs, vitamins, personal care products, surgical supplies, PPE, etc.
Strengthening the cold chain in Nepal
Nepal’s first modern cold chain facility is nearing completion and will help boost the country’s capacity to store temperature-sensitive therapies, including Covid-19 vaccines and other vaccinations. An official handover took place in Kathmandu last week and the cold storage is expected to be commissioned in early 2023.
The building, which has a footprint of 1,500 square feet, progressed thanks to a $275,000 grant from Direct Relief to build cold storage capacity for the healthcare system. Following the severe Covid-19 outbreak in Nepal last year, Direct Relief offered the Nepalese Ministry of Health and Population a donation of monoclonal antibody therapies from Eli Lilly.
The donation highlighted a critical need for cold storage expansion in the country, and Direct Relief committed $275,000 to construct a dedicated cold chain building on behalf of the ministry, complete with backup solar power . A handover took place last week from local NGO One Heart Worldwide, a group that organized the construction project, to officials from the Ministry of Health and Population.
Direct assistance to Ukrainian refugees
More than 270,000 Ukrainian refugees in Poland have received financial support through Health4Ukraine, a Direct Relief-funded program that supports co-payment for medication for those who have recently arrived in Poland. The program is supported by a $15 million grant from Direct Relief and administered by Pelion, Poland’s largest healthcare company.
According to data from Pelion, most of those supported are women and children, and the program was used by participants in almost all but three of Poland’s 380 local districts and in more than half of all pharmacies in the country. Pelion data shows that $7.1 million was spent by Health4Ukraine participants through the end of October. Of this amount, 36% was spent on non-pharmaceutical products in pharmacies, such as vitamins, medical devices, skin treatments and supplies such as bandages. 35% was spent on over-the-counter drugs and 29% on prescription drugs.
Supporting diabetes treatment in Poland
Another initiative to directly support Ukrainian refugees in Poland is also underway to connect people with supplies to manage diabetes. Direct Relief provided a $100,000 grant to the Polish Diabetes Association, which purchased over 1,000 vouchers to use at local pharmacies for diabetes management tools.
The association reported that “vouchers were distributed to dozens of support points for refugees with diabetes from Ukraine throughout Poland run by branches and circles of the PSD, and then transferred to the most needy people. … mainly women, mothers with children, as well as elderly people, who often had to leave their homes abruptly, without being able to take their basic things with them. Some of them came to Poland without any means of subsistence and therefore without the possibility of taking care of their health.
Material support for Ukraine
Since February 24, Direct Relief has provided medical aid to Ukraine weighing over 2.1 million pounds, or 1,038 tonnes, and more are on the way.
This month, Direct Relief provided essential emergency items to Ukraine, including field medical kits for triage care, antibiotics, nutritional products, gastrointestinal medicines, insulin pens, etc Ukraine.
Hurricane Fiona Update
- Over $400,000 in medical supplies and drugs requested were delivered to Puerto Rico.
- 7,146 lbs of drugs requested have been given.
- Over 600 personal care kits were delivered to displaced persons.
- 400+ families received health services.
- Over 200 volunteers deployed to community health fairs.
- 126 emergency medical backpacks were distributed to first responders in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Honduras.
- Nine generating sets have been issued to patients who rely on life support medical equipment.
OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW
WORLDWIDE
This week, Direct Relief shipped 2.8 million defined daily doses of drugs outside the United States
Countries that have received medical aid in the past week include:
- Ukraine
- Honduras
- India
- Fiji
- Jordan
- Israel
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- south sudan
UNITED STATES
Direct relief delivered 361 deliveries containing 1.5 million doses of medicine  in the last week to organizations, including the following:
- Lake County, Ohio Free Clinic
- Monon Family Health Clinic, Indiana
- Mission Medical Clinic Arlington, Texas
- Community Health Care System, Georgia
- East Tennessee Community Health, Tennessee
- ODA Primary Care Health Center, New York
- Free Clinic of Meridian, Inc., Mississippi
- Triangle Area Network, Texas
- Kanawha City Health Center, West Virginia
- Hardeman County, Tennessee
TOTAL OF THE YEAR (GLOBAL)
Since January 1, 2022, Direct Relief has delivered 17.9,000 shipments to 2,182 healthcare providers in 53 US states and territories and 91 countries.
These shipments contained 509.8 million defined daily doses of drugs worth $1.5 billion (wholesale), totaling £10.7 million.
