Over the past seven days, Direct Relief has delivered 665 shipments of requested medical aid to 48 U.S. states and territories and 17 countries worldwide.

The shipments contained 11.8 million defined daily doses of medication, including first aid kits, insulin, vitamins, PPE, antibiotics, and more.

MAUI EMERGENCY RESPONSE CONTINUES

As the community of Maui continues to recover from last month’s deadly fires, residents have begun returning to their homes and properties to begin clean-up efforts. Personal protective gear was requested for residents, who may be exposed to wildfire ash and chemicals as they begin to work to clear the area.

Requests for PPE came to Direct Relief from Maui Emergency Management, Hawaii Emergency Management, and FEMA, and a volunteer group with Boy Scouts Aloha Council assembled 20,000 kits of gear for people returning. The kits included N95 masks, N100 masks, safety goggles, work gloves, coveralls, and boot covers.

Direct Relief has supported communities with PPE after the Camp Fire, the Thomas Fire, and other wildfires in the U.S. Direct Relief continues to actively support multiple organizations on Maui, and across Hawaii, as the recovery and rebuilding begins and requests for shipments and emergency grants are ongoing.

FIELD MEDIC PACKS ARRIVE IN MOROCCO

This week, field medic packs arrived in Morocco to equip health providers administering medical services to those impacted by the devastating earthquake that shook portions of the country earlier this month.

The packs, which include medical essentials for triage care outside of clinic walls, arrived in Marrakesh this week to support the work of People to People Aid, working to support communities impacted by the 6.8-magnitude quake.

A YEAR OF RECOVERY FROM HURRICANES IAN, FIONA

After battering western Cuba, Hurricane Ian landed in southwestern Florida on September 28, 2022. Classified as a Category Four storm, the powerful hurricane was the strongest to make landfall in the state since Hurricane Michael in 2018.

In the year since the storm, many free and charitable medical clinics and health centers damaged by high winds, storm surges, and flooding have had to clean and repair their facilities while simultaneously meeting increased needs from patients, many of whom had also experienced losses.

In response to Hurricane Ian, Direct Relief delivered 454 emergency shipments to 109 healthcare facilities and organizations caring for people affected by the hurricane in Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia. The shipments contained more than 2.2 million defined daily doses of medications, including antibiotics, analgesics, anti-diabetes drugs, respiratory drugs, cardiovascular agents, mental health medicines, and nutritional supplements.

In addition, medical devices such as pulse oximeters and glucometers and consumables such as needles and syringes, first aid products, and personal care items were provided. The organization has also provided more than $1 million in emergency operations and recovery grants to support medical clinics and health centers.

This month was also the one-year marker since Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico. The storm struck the island on September 18, 2022, ravaging the southern and central regions of the island just two days before the anniversary of Hurricane Maria. Over 30 inches of rain and historic storm surges caused severe flooding that led to the collapse of roads, bridges, and homes.

Ahead of the 2022 hurricane season, Direct Relief prepositioned 10 large caches of emergency medical supplies at health clinics across Puerto Rico. Each cache contains 1,680 lbs. of the medical items most needed in the wake of a disaster, including trauma supplies, antibiotics, and medications for diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic conditions.

In addition to the caches of emergency medical goods, Direct Relief had over 100 field medic backpacks full of emergency medical supplies already staged in Puerto Rico. The backpacks were quickly deployed for use by first responders and for delivery to local health facilities caring for people affected by the hurricane. Thirty-six backpacks were also shipped to the Pan American Health Organization in the Dominican Republic.

Healthcare facilities caring for people affected by the hurricane and its aftermath and needing assistance with medical goods were quickly identified. In response to Hurricane Fiona, Direct Relief delivered 48 emergency shipments, with a wholesale value of $2 million, to 19 healthcare partners caring for people and communities in hard-hit areas of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Direct Relief will continue to support communities affected by Hurricanes Ian and Fiona as they recover.

FISTULA REPAIR KITS ARRIVE IN BANGLADESH

This week, two fistula repair modules arrived at Hope Foundation Hospital for Women and Children in Bangladesh to support the hospital’s efforts to treat fistula, an injury that can occur during birth. The kits contain surgical products, including sutures and other products needed for the procedure, and items included amount to what’s needed for 100 surgical repairs.

The modules will be used at Hope Hospital’s new maternity and fistula Center, a 104-bed hospital inaugurated earlier this year. The foundation is one of the primary providers of women’s healthcare to Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar.

OPERATIONAL SNAPSHOT

WORLDWIDE

This week, Direct Relief shipped 9.5 million defined daily doses of medication outside the U.S.
Countries that received medical aid over the past week included:

• Iraq
• Sri Lanka
• Syria
• Armenia
• India
• Ukraine
• El Salvador
• Palestinian Territories
• Ecuador
• Honduras
• Ukraine
• Botswana
• Yemen

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 633 shipments containing more than 9.8 tons of medications over the past week to organizations, including the following:

• The Agape Clinic, Texas
• Community Care Center, North Carolina
• Franklin County Community Care, Texas
• Faith Family Medical Clinic, Tennessee
• First Baptist Medical/Dental Clinic, Mississippi
• Greater Texoma Health Clinic, Texas
• Riverside Health Center, West Virginia
• Community Health of East Tennessee, Tennessee
• Texas Native Health, Texas
• Northwest Michigan Health Services, Inc. Traverse City Clinic, Michigan

YEAR-TO-DATE (GLOBAL)

Since January 1, 2023, Direct Relief has delivered 15,700 shipments to 2,249 healthcare providers in 55 U.S. states and territories and 83 countries.

These shipments contained 415.6 million defined daily doses of medication valued at $1.6 billion (wholesale), totaling 5.1 million lbs.

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