Responding to Flooding in the Pacific Northwest, Supporting Displaced Communities in South Sudan, and More

Flooding in Washington State after days of heavy rainfall. Photo taken December 11. (Credit: Skagit County Fire District #3)

By Tori Gordon

December 19, 2025

Over the past week, Direct Relief has delivered 623 shipments of requested medical aid to 50 U.S. states and territories and 18 countries worldwide. The shipments contained 8.1 million defined daily doses of medication.

Medications and supplies shipped this week included diabetes treatments, pain relief medications, personal protective equipment, nutritional supplements, and more.

Medical Aid Arrives in Flooded Pacific Northwest

Field medic packs, filled with medical essentials for first responders, are packed for shipment in this file photo taken at Direct Relief’s medical distribution facility. This week, field medic packs were dispatched to health providers in the Pacific Northwest after floods inundated some communities. (Lara Cooper/Direct Relief)

An atmospheric river brought days of heavy rainfall to Washington State and parts of the Pacific Northwest, triggering significant flooding, evacuations, and a statewide state of emergency in Washington.

Direct Relief responded ahead of a second round of storms by shipping 15 field medic packs to equip first responders and 95 kits filled with personal care items for displaced people to community health center and tribal partners in affected areas of Washington as well as to Libby, Montana. All supplies arrived by Monday, December 15, and additional support to community health centers across five counties in Washington state is being prepared.

Direct Relief is coordinating with Sea Mar Community Health Centers and the Northwest Regional Primary Care Association to assess ongoing impacts to the region and identify any additional needs resulting from the storms and ongoing flooding.

Direct Relief Hosts Pothawira International at Headquarters

Dr. Anne Alaniz cares for a newborn at Pothawira Birthing Center in Malawi. The center has received medical support from Direct Relief since 2023, and Dr. Alaniz and other staff recently visited Direct Relief’s headquarters. (Courtesy photo)

Last week, Direct Relief hosted Dr. Anne Alaniz, founder of Pothawira International, and Dr. Joanie Mayer Hope to discuss ongoing support for healthcare initiatives in Salima, Malawi.

Pothawira International serves the community through education, economic sustainability projects, and healthcare programs focused on women and children. The organization operates a clinic serving approximately 200 patients daily, a birthing center that completed over 500 deliveries in 2024, an orphanage, a primary school, and a sustainability farm. A new surgical center with four operating rooms is currently under construction.

Since 2023, Direct Relief has provided Pothawira with more than $6 million in medical aid, including midwifery kits, essential medications, and surgical supplies to support patient care in Malawi. “We have already increased our birthing delivery capacity because of these donations and opened more access since this has significantly lowered our overhead costs for deliveries,” said Dr. Alaniz.

Supporting Displaced Communities in South Sudan

Joseph Makuach, Health and Nutrition Coordinator with Transformation of the World in Christ, distributes therapeutic nutrition products to children and families at the Ajak-Kuac IDP/Refugee Camp in South Sudan. (Photo courtesy of Transformation of the World in Christ)

Direct Relief continues to support health and nutrition needs in South Sudan, where conflict-driven displacement has left many families facing severe food insecurity and limited access to care.

This month, Direct Relief shipped therapeutic nutrition products donated by Abbott to partners supporting internally displaced families in northern South Sudan. The distribution is underway through Transformation of the World in Christ, which is providing support to communities hosting people who have fled ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan.

Supplies are being distributed at multiple sites, including the Ajak-Kuac IDP/Refugee Camp and a clinic in Gogrial West County, to help address malnutrition among children.

Operational Snapshot

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 584 shipments containing 5 million doses of medication this past week to organizations, including the following:

Welvista, South Carolina
CommunityHealth, Illinois
The Agape Clinic, Texas
St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy Cincinnati, Ohio
Centro De Servicios Primarios De Sa Lud Inc, Puerto Rico

Cross-Over Healthcare Ministry, Virginia
Rutgers RWJ Eric B. Chandler Health Center, New Jersey
Clinica Esperanza/ Hope Clinic, Rhode Island
Greenville Free Medical Clinic, South Carolina
University Health- Truman Medical Center HSD, Missouri

Around the World

Medical aid departs Direct Relief’s warehouse for Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health to support response efforts to a Marburg Virus Disease outbreak in southern Ethiopia, where the highly infectious hemorrhagic fever has placed added strain on the healthcare system. The shipment includes personal protective equipment, oral rehydration salts to manage severe dehydration, and antibiotics to treat secondary infections, supporting frontline health workers providing care in the absence of an approved treatment or vaccine (Shannon Hickerson/ Direct Relief).

Globally, Direct Relief shipped over 3.1 million defined daily doses of medication, totaling 75,184 lbs., to countries including the following:

El Salvador
Ukraine
India
Gambia

Ethiopia
Lebanon
Malawi
Pakistan

YEAR-TO-DATE

Since January 1, 2025, Direct Relief has delivered 28.9K shipments to 2,725 partner organizations in 54 U.S. states and territories and 90 countries. These shipments contained 315.2 million defined daily doses of medication, valued at $2 billion wholesale, totaling 4.2 million lbs.