Operational Update: Field Hospitals to Ukraine, Medicines to Sri Lanka, and More

Officials in Odessa, Ukraine, look over a field hospital provided by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and transported by Direct Relief. The hospital is one of five that has been shipped to Ukraine for care of people wounded in the conflict, with two more expected to ship out in the coming days. (Image courtesy of the Odessa Mayor’s Office)

Over the past seven days, Direct Relief delivered 289 shipments of requested medical aid to 33 U.S. states and territories and nine countries worldwide, including Ukraine.

The shipments contained 7.6 million defined daily doses of medication, including PPE, Covid-19 therapies, diabetes medication, and cancer treatments.

Ukraine Response to Date

Since February 24, Direct Relief has provided medical aid weighing more than 350 tons in weight and including over 68 million defined doses of medication, with more on the way.

This week, Direct Relief issued a $750,000 emergency grant to the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), which has members working in several hospitals in Ukraine. The funds provided will be used to procure medication and equipment that is most urgently needed in these facilities. In total, Direct Relief has deployed more than $12 million in financial assistance for Ukraine response since the start of the war.

Additionally, a fifth field hospital kit left Direct Relief’s warehouse this week for distribution to the front lines of the war in Ukraine. The kit, donated by The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, contains 50 beds, wound and IV kits, and critical trauma care supplies.

Emergency Response

This week, the Calf Canyon/Hermit Peak Fire has burned more than 160,000 acres in New Mexico. In response, Direct Relief shipped an emergency delivery of air purifiers, N95 masks, and personal care products requested by Tewa Women United. Tewa Women United, a Native women-led organization and a recipient of a grant from Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity, is affected by wildfires threatening the region.

Air purifiers, N95 masks, and personal care products requested by Tewa Women United are prepped for departure to New Mexico from Direct Relief’s warehouse on May 5, 2022 in response to the wildfires threatening the area. (Maeve O’Connor/Direct Relief)

Additionally, antibiotics, thyroid medications, chronic disease medications, vitamins and syringes, left Direct Relief’s warehouse this week for distribution to the Ministry of Health of Sri Lanka, which will use the donated medications to supplement health facilities experiencing shortages.

In the News

WORLDWIDE

This week, outside the U.S., Direct Relief shipped more than 7.3 million defined daily doses of medication.

Countries that received medical aid over the past week included:

  • Ukraine
  • Sri Lanka
  • India
  • Guyana
  • Honduras
  • Dominican Republic
  • Guatemala
  • Morocco
  • Ecuador

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 270 shipments containing 360,048 doses of medications over the past week to organizations, including the following:

  • Community Action Corporation of South Texas Alice Health Center, Texas
  • Christ Clinic, Texas
  • LaSante Health Center, New York
  • Health Access, Inc., West Virginia
  • The Floating Hospital, New York
  • Cactus Health Services, Inc., Texas
  • Unity Health on Main, South Carolina
  • Dream Centers Women’s Clinic, Colorado
  • WATCH Healthcare Program, North Carolina
  • Free Clinic of Rome, Georgia

YEAR TO DATE

Since January 1, 2022, Direct Relief has delivered 6,508 shipments to 1,445 healthcare organizations in 51 U.S. states and territories and 73 countries.

These shipments contained 196.9 million defined daily doses of medication valued at $715.9 million (wholesale) and weighing 7.7 million lbs.

Ukraine Relief

Direct Relief is deploying emergency medical aid, from oxygen concentrators to critical care medicines – while preparing longer-term assistance to people in Ukraine displaced or affected by the war.

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