The awards, totaling $750,000, are part of a multi-year initiative now in its sixth year, funded by the Baxter Foundation – the philanthropic arm of Baxter International – and implemented by Direct Relief. The program supports community health centers and free and charitable clinics in developing programs that integrate nutrition education with chronic disease management and mental health services.

The following organizations will receive funding to support 18-month programs:

• Tampa Family Health Centers – Tampa, Florida – A federally qualified health center serving Tampa’s diverse communities, has launched a weight loss program using lifestyle medicine that integrates nutritional education, physical activity support, behavioral health counseling, and emotional wellness coaching.

• Faith Community Pharmacy – Newport, Kentucky – A charitable pharmacy serving low-income residents across the region has brought together multiple community partners to address barriers to implementing healthy habits and social determinants of health.

• Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services Center – Clarksdale, Mississippi – A community health center serving rural Mississippi Delta communities, started the Healthy Weight and Wellness Program, addressing critical health challenges, implementing innovative treatment, nutritional access, and education strategies.

• St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy – Cincinnati, Ohio – A charitable pharmacy providing medication access to uninsured and underinsured patients, created a program that offers culturally and economically responsive education tailored to each patient’s lived experience, demonstrating an important step toward advancing health equity.

• NeoMed Center – Gurabo, Puerto Rico – A community health center serving rural Puerto Rico with both fixed and mobile health services, developed the Integrated Nutrition Prescription program targeting patients with chronic conditions, food insecurity, and behavioral health conditions.

Addressing Critical Health Disparities

Community health centers and free and charitable clinics serve as the medical home for over 36 million people living in medically underserved areas across the United States. Patients at these facilities experience significantly higher rates of multiple chronic conditions compared to the general population, with 35% higher chances of having at least one chronic condition and 31% higher odds of having two or more chronic conditions.

“Nutrition is fundamental to managing chronic disease, yet many people face significant barriers in accessing healthy food and nutrition education,” said Maris Steward, program manager & regional analyst at Direct Relief. “These awards enable safety net providers to develop innovative, culturally appropriate programs that address health disparities in their communities.”

Program Impact and Innovation

The Transformative Innovation Awards support integrated healthcare models that go beyond traditional clinical care. Awardees will leverage community partnerships to expand outreach and education, creating comprehensive approaches to chronic disease management that incorporate nutrition counseling and mental health services.

“At Baxter and through the Baxter Foundation, we recognize that effective healthcare extends far beyond clinic and hospital walls and to the everyday lives of people and patients,” said Verónica Arroyave, vice president of corporate responsibility and global philanthropy at Baxter and executive director of the Baxter Foundation. “By supporting community health centers in implementing nutrition-focused programs, we’re investing in innovative, sustainable approaches to address the social determinants of health and advance resiliency in the communities we serve.”

The post Direct Relief, Baxter Foundation Announce 2025 Transformative Innovation Awards in Community Health appeared first on Direct Relief.

Nutrition education begins as soon as a patient with diabetes begins working with pharmacy staff. Learning to manage blood sugar is essential, as are setting and working toward lifestyle and nutritional goals. Staff follow a detailed protocol of monitoring, follow-up, and assessment. Through interactive demonstrations in the pharmacy’s teaching kitchen, dieticians teach healthy cooking skills. 
  
Pantry4Health began with a focus on donated fresh foods, but Curington quickly learned that produce was too risky — it went bad quickly, it was time-consuming, people weren’t familiar with the offerings. Now, the program teaches pharmacy patients to cook healthy foods using shelf-stable ingredients available in its food pantry. Dieticians and dietetics interns develop easy recipes based on the current offerings and bundle them together. Seasonings are bought in bulk, combined, and measured out for each bundle.  
  
New recipes and bundles are offered monthly. Staff constantly incorporate in feedback. For example, one patient, experiencing homelessness and with nowhere to cook, inspired a recipe for no-bake peanut butter balls with walnuts, oats, and cinnamon. Can openers are available in the pantry because many people don’t own one. 
 
“The meal I was taught today will help me so much because it is a vegetarian meal, and I am diabetic,” said one patient who received nutrition education through Pantry4Health. “I am moving soon, and this will be the first meal I am making for my family at our new home. It was delicious!” 

Sometimes inspiration is born of necessity. A beloved Hawaiian tuna rice bowl recipe began when canned tuna sat unwanted on food pantry shelves. Realizing that “we’ve gotta move this tuna,” Curington recalled, recipe developers combined it with coconut flakes and pineapple. Despair over canned salmon was resolved when a receptionist who grew up in the South taught other staff members to make a salmon croquette. Chickpeas and couscous weren’t popular — “no one knew what to do with them” — until a Mediterranean bowl recipe. 
  
The Transformative Innovation Award has also been a jumping-off point for new partnerships, including with the University of Cincinnati. St. Vincent de Paul now offers internships to dietetics students who want to focus on caring for vulnerable communities. “We didn’t have a program that would attract them” before this, Curington said. “When a nonprofit gives us funding, we brag about it a lot, it builds credibility, and it really helps bring more resources in.” 
  
Offering free medication and chronic disease management — there is no cash register at any of St. Vincent de Paul’s three pharmacy locations — means thinking strategically about long-term goals. Curington doesn’t want to build up a patient roster or even have permanent patients. “If I just keep collecting people, I won’t be able to [work with] new patients,” he said. The end goal is to “help people transition out of the safety net. No one wants to live in the net.” 

It’s a complex process that involves helping patients apply for insurance, learn to exercise and manage medical conditions — even to get them off medication if possible — and design a plan to maintain their health and well-being. 
  
That often takes six months to a year, but patients who need longer-term support to implement a plan receive it. Curington knows inflation, housing shortages, and the shifting public insurance landscape stack the deck against people who are already vulnerable. Someone who seeks out St. Vincent de Paul because they can’t pay rent and still afford medicine needs immediate support, but they also need a partner who can help them build stability over time. 
  
St. Vincent de Paul’s goal is to be that partner, Curington explained. Volunteers and interns are there because they want their neighbors to thrive.  
  
“Our love for our town, our love for our community, we’re blending that into our mission,” he said. 

The post For Patients with Diabetes, Growing Health and Self-Sufficiency One Meal at a Time appeared first on Direct Relief.

The Transformative Innovation Awards program, managed by Direct Relief and funded by the Baxter International Foundation, launched in 2019 to support community health centers, free and charitable clinics, and diabetes organizations that incorporate nutrition to help improve health outcomes for noncommunicable diseases, including diabetes.

“The Baxter International Foundation is delighted to partner with Direct Relief to support the 2023 award recipients as they work tirelessly to expand nutrition education and support and improve diabetes care for patients and families in their local communities,” said Verónica Arroyave, executive director of the Baxter International Foundation and vice president of corporate responsibility and global philanthropy at Baxter.

People with diabetes often experience nutrition-related challenges in managing their condition, including a lack of access to high-quality healthcare and healthy foods and the high cost of diabetes medications. Each 2023 awardee will receive a $115,000 grant supporting an 18-month project to develop novel nutrition-integrated approaches aimed at enhancing health outcomes for patients with diabetes.

The five 2023 awardees plan to use their funding to support a variety of initiatives:

• Asociación Puertorriqueña de Diabetes, San Juan, Puerto Rico: Nutrition and healthy lifestyle education, counseling and exercise programs.

• St. Vincent De Paul Charitable Pharmacy, Cincinnati: A pharmacist-led nutrition program for low-income and uninsured patients with diabetes, including nutritional and diabetes self-management education, free pre-packaged healthy meals and cooking demonstrations.

• Faith Community Pharmacy, Newport, Ky.: Nutrition education, cooking demonstrations and free healthy food to help patients better manage their diabetes.

• Fundación Pediátrica de Diabetes, San Juan, Puerto Rico: Education, nutrition and psychological counseling, staff training, diabetes-focused summer camps and diabetes discharge kits to support youth diagnosed with diabetes and help them live a diabetes-friendly lifestyle.

• Finger Lakes Community Health, Penn Yam, N.Y.: Development of a diabetes task force to strengthen infrastructure and treatment protocols, host provider education, expand community partnerships and improve patient support resources, focusing attention on cultural dietary differences to customize meal planning to each patient.

“These 2023 awardees exemplify how innovation and empathy can transform the lives of those most in need,” said Thomas Tighe, CEO and president of Direct Relief. “It’s a privilege for Direct Relief, in collaboration with the Baxter International Foundation, to support their efforts and help them do even more for the patients they serve.”

The Transformative Innovation Awards program has awarded grants totaling more than $1 million to 12 community health centers, free and charitable clinics, and diabetes-focused organizations, empowering them to advance nutrition education, improve access to diabetes care, address health disparities related to noncommunicable diseases, boost specialty care access, and tailor patient and community-specific approaches to care.

The post Direct Relief, Baxter International Foundation Announce 2023 Transformative Innovation Awards in Community Health appeared first on Direct Relief.

Unlike Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the recent hurricane batterings of Puerto Rico and Florida, Sri Lanka’s crisis grew slowly and has garnered few international headlines. But Sri Lankans are suffering amid the harshest economic crisis the country has confronted since gaining independence from the British empire in 1948.

With the country’s foreign reserves depleted, the nationalized healthcare system cannot afford to import medicine and medical supplies in sufficient quantities. Sri Lanka relies on imports for about 85% of its pharmaceutical needs and about 80% of its medical supplies. The country imported $815 million in medicine in 2021, but by May had only about $25 million in foreign reserves to pay for imports of any kind.

Direct Relief to Sri Lanka

Last week in Sri Lanka, Direct Relief staff participated in an extensive series of meetings with Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and much of the country’s healthcare leadership while overseeing the arrival of what may be the largest donation of medicine to the country since the crisis began.

The 3,500-bed National Hospital of Sri Lanka in Columbo, which usually has 1,300 medicines in stock, is now down to requesting only the 60 most essential medicines.

With anesthesia in short supply, most general surgeries in the country have ceased, including kidney transplants. Cancer patients have lost access to medications needed to fight the deadly disease. Diabetes patients must secure and bring their own glucose meters for blood sugar checkups.

Many hospitals are stocked out of basic items like bandages and cotton balls. The stockouts are forcing rural clinics to close their doors and refer patients to larger facilities in urban areas, which also are overwhelmed by the flow of patients.

Due to a severe fuel shortage, the country’s fishing fleets cannot go far out to sea, slashing the supply of fish that is a significant source of protein in the country, including at its largest children’s hospital.

In addition to Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister and the Ministery of Health, Direct Relief staff met with the chairs of the country’s medical universities, including the colleges of oncology, psychiatry, nephrology, hematology, endocrinology, critical care medicine, anesthesiology, and maternal & child health.

Sri Lanka is also losing clinicians as they migrate to other countries with more opportunities, while its medical colleges see the number of applicants for medical education decline sharply.

“Every one of the medical college leaders informed us that they are in a dire situation, with major shortages across the board for everything,” said Chris Alleway, Direct Relief’s manager of emergency response and new initiatives. “A lot of them were very emotional in our conversations. You could tell that they’re holding together the health care system to the best of their abilities with limited to no resources.”

Responding to the crisis spurred by Sri Lanka’s default in June of this year, Direct Relief has delivered eight humanitarian shipments totaling 27 tons and 16 million defined daily doses of donated medicine.

The largest shipment from Direct Relief to Sri Lanka—36,600 lbs. (18 tons) of medicine and medical supplies requested explicitly by Sri Lanka’s government—arrived in recent weeks.

“Direct Relief’s donation of $10 million worth of medicine will save many lives,” Prime Minister Gunawardena said in a statement.

The 18-ton shipment included medications to treat infections, wounds, seizures, mental health conditions, glaucoma, cardiovascular disease and respiratory issues.

These products were donated to Direct Relief by companies including Accord Healthcare, Apotex, Baxter International, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Viatris. One particularly considerable contribution from Accord included nearly 200,000 defined daily doses of IV furosemide, which is used to treat edema from heart failure and liver and kidney disease.

Other companies contributing donated medicine to Sri Lanka include AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation, Eli Lilly & Co., Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Integra LifeSciences, Meitheal Pharmaceuticals, and Merck.

Partnering with Sri Lanka’s College of Endocrinologists and the Life for a Child program, Direct Relief has also donated and delivered two shipping containers of insulin that went to 25 health facilities for the benefit of patients under the age of 14 with diabetes.

Direct Relief works closely with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Sri Lankan Embassy in the United States, the Medical Supply Division, and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority to deliver supplies and will continue to do so.

Direct Relief has also received invaluable assistance from Medical Help Sri Lanka, an organization formed by Sri Lankans in the United States.

“Direct Relief has established trusted relationships at all levels of the government and will continue to provide support as needed,” Alleway said.

In April, Sri Lanka suspended repayment of nearly $7 billion in foreign debt due this year out of a total foreign debt of more than $51 billion. On Sept. 1, the International Monetary Fund announced $2.9 billion in loans “to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while safeguarding financial stability, reducing corruption vulnerabilities and unlocking Sri Lanka’s growth potential.”

The loans, however, are not expected to restore Sri Lanka’s ability to import medicine quickly. In the meantime, Direct Relief will continue assisting the country to the fullest extent possible, with additional medical aid shipments already underway.

The post 22 Million Sri Lankans Lose Their Access to Medicine appeared first on Direct Relief.

Diabetes is a complex condition that generally requires changes to diet and exercise as well as careful monitoring and medication. “You’re often assuming, as a medical provider, that they may be able to join a gym or be able to buy exercise equipment,” said Laura Starr, director of development and communications at CommunityHealth.

But the vast majority of the clinic’s patients are uninsured and low income, making a holistic approach to diabetes care difficult. Many work in restaurants or on construction sites.

“It became very clear very quickly that what [a provider] would recommend to any patient with diabetes might be more difficult for them to access,” Starr said. “We knew early on at CommunityHealth that, if we were going to recommend something to our patients, we wanted to be able to provide that thing if at all possible.”

Today, CommunityHealth’s offerings include services from a wide variety of doctors and specialists, such as podiatrists, nephrologists, and ophthalmologists, who deal with some of the complications of diabetes. But the clinic is also intensely focused on providing the kinds of resources that help keep patients from needing those services to begin with.

Patients can meet regularly one-on-one with a pharmacist or nurse. Glucometers and test strips are available for patients who need them. A cooking and nutrition class is designed to teach patients to care for their health in a way that’s accessible and culturally appropriate. Patients who need help accessing nutritious food are connected to a local food pantry. And pre-pandemic, the clinic offered kickboxing, pilates, yoga, and other exercise classes. “We’re only as limited as the volunteers we can find,” Starr said.

In addition, the clinic just created a micro-site in a neighborhood where many of their patients live – and that, for many of them, required two bus transfers to get to a clinic location. Patients can have their vitals checked and labs drawn, and a reliable telehealth connection is available on-site. The site shares a location with a community organization that offers food services, English-language courses, and other resources.

Supporting on-the-ground efforts

CommunityHealth was the recent recipient of a grant from Direct Relief and the Baxter International Foundation, to support their work caring for diabetes in a holistic and sustainable way. The Transformative Innovation Awards in Community Health, as this three-year program is known, invests in programs that work to expand access to diabetes care through nutrition, prevention, and treatment.

“Providing patients with resources and education to manage and prevent diabetes is an important component of our commitment to empower patients,” said Verónica Arroyave, executive director of the Baxter International Foundation. “We are inspired by how each clinic that has received funding through this program has implemented innovative solutions that address specific needs of their community members.”

The awards come as safety net providers around the country take on the challenge of finding creative but sustainable ways to meet the needs of patients with chronic diseases. Many clinics and other organizations rely on volunteers or private funding to keep their doors open.

But underserved patients rely on these organizations and programs in turn. “Patients who come to CommunityHealth are typically those who don’t have anywhere else to go,” Starr said. When providers ask patients where they’d receive treatment if the clinic weren’t open, “most either say ‘the emergency room’ or ‘I wouldn’t get care’ or ‘I don’t know.’”

An integrated approach

At Faith Community Health, a charitable clinic in Branson, Missouri, and another awardee of the Baxter International Foundation-funded program, a 12-week class teaches first healthy living habits, then cooking, in a way that takes into account their patients’ financial and environmental challenges.

For example, a patient may need to exercise but “may live in a place that doesn’t have sidewalks or it’s very hilly,” said Heather Lyons-Burney, a clinical pharmacist at Faith Community Health. Someone who needs to lose weight may not have a scale. Someone who needs to cook healthy meals may need an appliance to cook them in. 

Faith Community Health works to meet those needs for patients, providing Instant Pots, scales, access to food, and other necessities for people enrolled in the course.

“We’re all about ‘How do we change someone’s lifestyle?’” said Lyons-Burney. “You’ve got to give someone the skills and the tools to do that.”

 Lyons-Burney explained that having this program integrated into their clinic operations makes it particularly effective. “It’s a place that they are already comfortable with. They come to us as a clinic; they come to us to get their medications,” she said. “They’re coming to see familiar faces.”

For many patients, just meeting basic needs is a challenge. Dealing with the complexities of diabetes care, and the holistic approach it so often needs, might be insurmountable without Faith Community Health’s intervention.

“No one would ever think of a dietician or cooking class,” Lyons-Burney said. “Getting exposure to these things would be completely outside their budget, and they would just remain unhealthy.”

Long-term change

At Puerto Rico’s Asociación Puertorriqueña de Diabetes, patients who participate in a holistic program have been shown to have improved A1C levels – a blood sugar test that’s frequently used to monitor diabetes. Program participants meet with a health educator, nutritionist, psychologist, endocrinologist, and personal trainer to address the different ways that a diabetes diagnosis affects their lives.

For example, a psychologist can help a patient come to terms with the changes in lifestyle and feelings that come with a diabetes diagnosis, said Adia Aponte, the organization’s coordinator of communications and health education services.

The program is designed to lower A1C levels, decrease body mass index, and teach patients to incorporate healthy habits into their daily lives. Patients exercise together, learn healthy cooking together, and even have a dedicated WhatsApp chat.

In a previous group, one patient lost 10 pounds in a month, Aponte said. This new iteration of the program, funded by one of the Baxter International Foundation awards, will serve 25 patients over three months.

Aponte stressed that the goal is to teach sustainable habits that will continue long after participation is over. “The change doesn’t stop with the program,” she said.

This ability to help patients – particularly those who may not otherwise receive reliable health care – make lasting changes can’t be overstated. That’s one of the many reasons why supporting the efforts of safety net healthcare providers is so essential, said Rose Levy, a program manager at Direct Relief.

“These providers are doing amazing work,” she said. “It doesn’t take moving heaven and earth to help them do well by their patients.”

The post Managing Diabetes Takes Much More than Medication. Meet Three Organizations Thinking Beyond the Needle. appeared first on Direct Relief.

The shipments contained 16.6 million defined daily doses of medication, including N-95 masks, mental health medications, antibiotics, chronic disease medications, nutritional products, insulin, and cancer treatments.

Ukraine Response to Date

Since February 24, Direct Relief has provided medical aid weighing more than 400 tons in weight, with more on the way.

Direct Relief has been responding directly to specific medical requests from Ukraine’s Ministry of Health, as well as NGOs and local organizations supporting health care in Ukraine. From acute trauma care supplies like tourniquets and blood clotting agents to chronic disease management medications, including insulin, to specialty therapies for cancers, Direct Relief has provided a host of medical materiel for care during the conflict.

IV fluids, donated by Baxter International, arrived in Kharkiv, Ukraine, this week to support medical care in northeastern Ukraine. The shipment was deployed from the company’s facilities in Europe and is the first of several donations, including large shipments en route to support patients managing kidney conditions in Ukraine.

This week, TAPS-Ukraine in Dnipro received an emergency field hospital, donated by the State of California Office of Emergency Services and transported by Direct Relief. The hospital kit, which contains 50 beds, trauma care and oxygen supplies and more, has since been deployed to frontline areas of the conflict needing medical support.

In the News

• Search and rescue in Ukraine – Santa Barbara News-Press: “The recent mission to Ukraine was entirely composed of volunteer firefighters and was not funded by the city or county of Santa Barbara. Joint Project Guardian is a nonprofit composed of volunteer firefighters. When firefighters arrived in Ukraine, they were met by supplies donated from Direct Relief and fire departments across the country who donated firefighting gear and search-and-rescue equipment.”

• Ray Ford: Wildfire in Goleta Foothills Highlights Message of Preparedness at Weekend Exposition – Noozhawk: “The Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council’s weekend event, held at Direct Relief in Goleta, was designed especially with this in mind. The goal was a strategic one: create an annual event to bring the community and fire-related agencies together, build a partnership for working together to create a fire-resilient community, and provide guidance for those who would like to be involved.“
• Vanguard Charitable survey: More than 1 in 3 American donors gave half or more of their charitable contributions to disaster relief efforts in the last year – PR Newswire:  “More than 1 in 3 (37%) American donors (defined as those who donated to charity in the past 12 months) gave half or more of their charitable contributions to disaster relief efforts in the last year, such as the Ukraine humanitarian crisis, COVID-19 relief, and relief in the wake of natural disasters like wildfires or other crises.“

WORLDWIDE

This week, outside the U.S., Direct Relief shipped more than 14.9 million defined daily doses of medication.

Countries that received medical aid over the past week included:

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 487 shipments containing 1.7 million doses of medications over the past week to organizations, including the following:

Bolstering Puerto Rico’s Emergency Services

Puerto Rico’s First Response Emergency Medical Services, or FREMS, is a group of first responders donating their time (and often their resources) to help those involved in car accidents, traumatic injuries, fires, floods, and other emergencies.

To expand their emergency response capacity in Puerto Rico, Direct Relief, as part of AbbVie’s $50 million donation, awarded a $350,000 grant to FREMS to purchase a new rescue unit and medical equipment such as complex cardiac monitors. The full story can be found here.

YEAR TO DATE

Since January 1, 2022, Direct Relief has delivered 7,298 shipments to 1,491 healthcare organizations in 51 U.S. states and territories and 75 countries.

These shipments contained 221.4 million defined daily doses of medication valued at $795.8 million (wholesale) and weighing 8 million lbs.

The post Supporting First Responders In Puerto Rico, Medical Aid to Ukraine and More appeared first on Direct Relief.

Hospitals across Nepal are nearing ICU and ventilator capacity and struggling with severe shortages of oxygen and other medical resources. Helping meet the acute need for oxygen, the May 25 flight from Chicago to Kathmandu will deliver 860 Direct Relief-purchased oxygen concentrators. Direct Relief is also helping secure a sustainable supply of medical-grade oxygen in Central Nepal by funding a new oxygen production plant at Siddhasthali Rural Community Hospital.

“On behalf of the Government of Nepal and the Embassy of Nepal in Washington, DC, I would like to express my gratitude to Direct Relief for responding to our request for humanitarian medical relief at a time when Nepal is undergoing through the most difficult phases of the ongoing pandemic,” said Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Ambassador of Nepal to the United States. “I would like to assure all individuals and organizations concerned that the Embassy of Nepal in Washington, D.C. is committed to providing all necessary coordination and facilitation to Direct Relief, including in customs clearance, receipt and distribution of donated medical supplies once delivered in Nepal.”

In addition to oxygen, the 25-ton Direct Relief airlift will include PPE and medications contributed by companies including 3M, AbbVie, Baxter, BD, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Tifie Humanitarian, Viatris, and others. Nepali health officials expressly requested and approved every item included on the flight.

“People in Nepal are facing the worst Covid crisis in the world today based on per-capita confirmed cases, and they need urgent help,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief President and CEO. “Direct Relief has the privilege of having worked with many extraordinarily skilled and committed Nepali partners, and we will do whatever we possibly can to help. We are profoundly grateful to the people and businesses whose contributions have made this airlift possible.”

Nepal-based organizations, including One Heart Worldwide, Dhulikhel Hospital, and The Covid-19 Crisis Management Center, will receive the Direct Relief-donated supplies in Kathmandu and distribute them to hospitals and clinics throughout the country.

The humanitarian flight to Nepal follows two FedEx-donated airlifts that transported more than 4,000 oxygen concentrators and nearly 2 million KN95 masks to neighboring India. Direct Relief partnered with several organizations, including Community Partners International, Cornell Presbyterian Hospital, Navya, Northwell Health, and Tata Memorial Hospital, to mobilize and deliver the supplies.

Ambassador Statement

Click to access Statemnt-to-Direct-Relief-from-H.E.-Ambassador-1.pdf

The post Direct Relief-Chartered Airlift Bound for Nepal Amid Covid-19 Surge appeared first on Direct Relief.

In the year since, Direct Relief has emerged as one of the largest charitable providers of personal protective gear (PPE) and critical care medications globally, having delivered more than 82 million units of PPE, 173 million defined daily doses of vital medicines, and 36 thousand pieces of diagnostic and intensive care equipment to thousands of local organizations across 100 countries, including the U.S.

The organization has also supported health care providers with more than $50 million in direct financial assistance to sustain care and expand services that include mobile and pop-up testing sites, telehealth expansion, and greater cold chain capacity.

For an overview of Direct Relief’s activities in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, please continue reading.

Financial Summary

Covid-19 Pandemic Donations

Jan. 27, 2020 – Jan. 27, 2021

Direct Relief does not accept government funding. Its work is made possible entirely through the support of companies, organizations, foundations, and individuals.

The organization recognizes that supporters who made generous contributions of funding, services, and in-kind goods amid the pandemic did so with the specific intent that their contributions fight Covid-19 and its devastating consequences. In accepting funds as part of its Covid-19 response, Direct Relief understands that these supporters deserve to know precisely how those funds have been and will be disbursed.

Direct Relief received more than 151,000 financial contributions designated for Covid-19, totaling $125.8 million.

Some of these Covid-19-designated donations also had additional restrictions from donors requiring the funds be used for a particular region or country. All designated funds have been respected, administered, and disbursed accordingly.

How Were Funds Used

Direct Relief initiated its Covid-19 response activities using general operating funds. As Direct Relief began receiving funds donated for Covid-19, it expanded its activities and spending accordingly. The situation remains dynamic, with designated funds continuing to be accepted. Direct Relief takes great care to deploy incoming funds responsibly, efficiently, and as rapidly as possible, consistent with donors’ intent.

The following offers a snapshot of the total Covid-19 donations received over the past year:

To date, Direct Relief has spent or committed a total of $83.5 million in cash (66% of the $125.8 million received) in its pandemic response — which continues at high-pace.

Of that amount, $40.8 million has been spent or committed as direct grants to organizations on the frontlines of the pandemic, $35.6 million has been spent on purchasing essential medical items not available through donation, and $7.1 million was spent to distribute all material and financial assistance provided in response to Covid-19, as described below.

Covid-19 Response

By the numbers

Jan. 27, 2020 – Jan. 27, 2021

Grant Making

Medical Aid

Protective Gear

Medical Material Support

Direct Relief has been responding to the pandemic since its earliest days, beginning with requests for help from overstretched hospitals in Wuhan, China. From there, Direct Relief’s response quickly expanded to the United States and the rest of the world.

Since Jan. 2020, the organization has provided support to more than 3,000 partner organizations fighting Covid-19 worldwide.

As of Jan. 27, 2021, that support has included more than 29,000 medical aid shipments totaling 4.9 million pounds and valued at $1.3 billion. Medical aid has reached organizations in 55 U.S. states and territories and 100 countries.

Material support has taken several distinct forms:

• Supplies to protect frontline health workers: Direct Relief provided masks, gloves, gowns, powered air-purifying respirators, face shields, and other PPE to health care organizations globally.
• Medical resources for intensive care: As the pandemic strained hospital resources, the organization provided ventilators, oxygen concentrators, and ICU medications to help overstretched hospitals treat patients with critical cases of Covid-19.
• Ongoing support for chronic health: To minimize interruptions to essential health services, including primary and specialty care, maternal and child health services, mental health treatment, and substance use disorder interventions, Direct Relief provided a wide range of support — chronic health medications, the overdose-reversing medication naloxone, midwife kits, and more.

Direct Relief arranged for and managed the logistics, transport, and delivery of all products to health facilities – free-of-charge.

Direct Financial Assistance

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, designated contributions have allowed Direct Relief to bolster the health care system with financial assistance and support the efforts of locally run organizations with strong ties to their communities.

Thanks to corporate and individual donors’ generosity, Direct Relief has granted more than $53 million in cash worldwide since Jan. 27, 2020.

Grant recipients include health centers, clinics, and locally run organizations providing vital care, testing, and other health care services during the pandemic. These grants helped sustain strained health facilities, keep patients out of hospitals, maintain continuity of care, and fund Covid-19 testing and vaccinations.

For a list of health care facilities and organizations worldwide that have received direct funding from Direct Relief in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, click here.

Covid-19 Response

By Region

United States

• Grants Disbursed: $48.6 million
• Material Aid Provided: $284.3 million
  • Shipments: 28.8 thousand
  • PPE: 21.3 million units
  • Medications: 48.6 million Defined Daily Doses
  • ICU Kits: 178
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 1,046

Americas

• Grants Disbursed: $405 thousand
• Material Aid Provided: $341 million
  • Shipments: 260
  • PPE: 8.2 million units
  • Medications: 61.1 million Defined Daily Doses
  • ICU Kits: 84
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 1,497 units

Asia

• Grants Disbursed: $1.3 million
• Material Aid Provided: $169.6 million
  • Shipments: 234
  • PPE: 4.1 million units
  • Medications: 15.6 million defined daily doses
  • ICU Kits: 58
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 420 units

Africa

• Grants Disbursed: $1.26 million
• Material Aid Provided: $489 million
  • Shipments: 234
  • PPE: 42.4 million units
  • Medications: 27.9 million defined daily doses
  • ICU kits: 73
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 326

Europe

• Grants Disbursed: $503 thousand
• Material Aid Provided: $33.1 million
  • Shipments: 50
  • PPE: 1.4 million units
  • Medications: 1.5 million defined daily doses
  • ICU kits: 4
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 524

Applied Research and Analytics

Even before the pandemic, Direct Relief had facilitated emergency managers’ use of population movement and other data for decision-making purposes, including in Texas, California, and Michigan.

When Covid-19 hit, it was immediately apparent that this kind of data would be an essential tool for analyzing social distancing effectiveness.

In March of 2020, Direct Relief, with researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, established the Covid-19 Mobility Data Network. The network, comprised of a group of about 70 infectious disease epidemiologists and other researchers, began creating simple, usable data projects to help public health officials and policymakers understand the impacts of social distancing measures in a given area.

Officials have used the group’s research and information tools in the UK, Spain, Italy, India, Australia, Botswana, Chile, and other countries. The data used for these analyses is hosted on the UN’s Humanitarian Data Exchange, allowing governments worldwide to receive support or analyze the data themselves.

While the Covid-19 Mobility Data Network was convened because of an emergency, Direct Relief and the researchers wanted to ensure that similar data would be readily available in a clear and actionable form and on an ongoing basis for future crises, including wildfires and hurricanes.

CrisisReady, working with the World Bank, is in the initial stages of creating a global emergency response network, which will launch in March-April of 2021.

In addition, Direct Relief is funding two researchers whose essential work combines population movement data and health crisis analysis: Pamela Martinez at the University of Illinois and Amy Wesolowski at Johns Hopkins University.

Among the resources developed by Direct Relief to inform and track its pandemic response are the following:

• The Covid-19 International Vulnerability Index examines population movement data and information about case counts, hospital beds, and other vulnerability indicators to generate actionable information and analysis.
• The United States forecast map draws on anonymized data to predict the spread of Covid-19.
• The United States pandemic response tracker shows Direct Relief’s distribution of medical aid across the country.
• The international pandemic response tracker shows the organization’s global distribution.

Looking forward

The remaining funds designated for the pandemic will enable Direct Relief to continue its worldwide response, focusing on:

1. Supporting vaccination efforts

• Expanding cold-chain storage and transport at hospitals and health centers and providing coolers for mobile vaccination campaigns.
• Providing needles and syringes to administer vaccines.
• Supplying PPE to health workers giving vaccinations.
• Funding education, awareness, and outreach campaigns at health centers and hospitals, particularly in poor communities and communities of color.
• Employing digital tools and artificial intelligence to determine low vaccine uptake areas and provide that information to policymakers and public health officials.
• Funding health centers that experience reimbursement gaps after administering vaccines.
• Increasing Direct Relief’s internal capabilities to receive, store, and distribute the vaccine.
• Supporting the opening of large-scale vaccination sites with funding and supplies.
• Providing back-up power sources to health care sites at risk of power loss, which can destroy vaccines.

2. Addressing Covid-19 gaps in hardest-hit areas

• Funding health initiatives in primarily minority communities hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic.
• Providing grants to health care providers in the United States and around the world struggling to care for patients affected by Covid-19.
• Continuing to provide critical care medications, oxygen concentrators, and ventilators to hospitals worldwide caring for Covid-19 patients.
• Supplying PPE to providers unable to access these lifesaving supplies reliably.
• Establishing and funding Covid-19 treatment and isolation wards ensures that low-resource areas have the resources to care for Covid-19 patients safely.
• Providing health care support for Covid-19 patients to recover at home, freeing hospital beds for more critical cases.

3. Continuing support for people with other health care needs:

• While global health resources are diverted towards preventing and treating Covid-19, fundamental health care needs continue.
• Babies continue to be born. The number of people with chronic conditions like diabetes and cancer is only growing. And children with diabetes, hemophilia, and rare diseases still need lifesaving therapies.
• As the pandemic continues, Direct Relief will continue to provide the essential medical aid required for their care.

Thank You

Direct Relief’s extensive ability to provide a wide range of medical aid, from PPE to medications intended for critical cases of Covid-19, would not have been possible without in-kind and financial donations from dozens of pharmaceutical and medical supply companies, with air transport and logistical services provided by FedEx.

Many of these organizations work closely with Direct Relief on an ongoing basis to fund and supply humanitarian projects and programs. However, the outpouring of support from corporate partners, both new and ongoing, has been unprecedented during the Covid-19 pandemic. Direct Relief is deeply grateful for their generosity and commitment.

Included among them are:

The post Covid-19 Relief: One-Year Report on Use of Funds and Response Activity appeared first on Direct Relief.

“You might have a child with leukemia, and only three or four of the six or seven drugs that are needed to treat the leukemia optimally would be available,” said Dr. David Poplack, the director of Global HOPE, a Texas Children’s Hospital program working to improve pediatric cancer outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Supplies in many countries in the region are unreliable, and doctors frequently must rely on drugs of inferior quality. “One might treat a child with newly diagnosed leukemia, and notice that their hair doesn’t fall out,” usually a sign that the drugs are of suspect potency, Dr. Poplack said.

But the pandemic has made the process more difficult than ever. Uganda is on lockdown, which means all but essential businesses are closed, and most transportation – including passenger flights – are shut down. Fewer customs officials are working, and only a few hours a day when they are, according to Michelle Mugyenyi, a program manager for Global HOPE working on the ground in Uganda.

As a result, there is a shortage at Mulago National Referral Hospital, the largest pediatric oncology/hematology center in Uganda and one of the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa, Mugyenyi said.

The potential consequences of the delays and decreased capacity are grave, according to Joseph Lubega, a pediatric oncologist who is the associate director of the Global HOPE/Makerere University Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship training program and an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine.

“When you’re treating a child with cancer … [the supply] has to be reliable, because everything has to be administered according to a very stringent timeline,” he said. “If it shows up a week later, it may mean the difference between life and death for a child.”

But despite the difficulties, a shipment of cancer medicine and supplies from Direct Relief’s warehouse – a result of the partnership between the organization and Texas Children’s Global HOPE – cleared customs on April 17.

The shipment included the drug cyclophosphamide, donated by the global medical products company Baxter, used to treat lymphoma, leukemia and kidney cancer, among others.

“It’s a really critical drug in all the common childhood cancers,” Dr. Lubega said. When it comes to the importance of the shipment, “I can’t even describe it in words. It’s a godsend.”

That shipment will be the first of many. Through a partnership with Direct Relief, the pharmaceutical company Teva will provide oncology drugs to Global HOPE’s program in Malawi beginning in 2020. Teva’s support will extend to Botswana and Uganda in early 2021.

Ambition and Aspiration

Dr. Lubega remembers a time – before Global HOPE began its work in 2016 – when there were no pediatric oncologists in Uganda.

When he was in medical school, “cancer wards were really death traps,” he recalled. “The expectation was that the child is diagnosed with cancer … we go through the motions, and soon they’re going to die.”

Dr. Lubega decided he was going to become a pediatric oncologist – but at the time, there were no training centers in Sub-Saharan Africa. So he went first to England for training, and then to the United States, where he received a fellowship from Texas Children’s Hospital.

Texas Children’s Hospital, under the umbrella of the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative, was already working with children with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2016, they sent Dr. Lubega to Uganda to establish a training program for pediatric cancer and blood specialists.

Texas Children’s Global HOPE program, which works to improve outcomes for children with cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa, works by establishing and developing training programs for hematologist-oncologists, and other specialists whose work is essential to successful cancer treatment; increasing the capacity and success of treatment programs; and improving access to life-saving cancer drugs.

“The stimulus behind our developing Global HOPE was the realization of the underlying, horrendous inequity between the outcome of children in Sub-Saharan Africa and children in the United States and Europe,” Poplack explained.

Establishing a training program was an ideal fit for the organization’s work. However, Dr. Lubega admitted, at the time he was more driven by “ambition and aspiration than having a concrete understanding of how this was going to go.”

At the time, there were no fully trained pediatric hematologist-oncologists and only a handful of nurses supporting children with cancer.

Drug supplies were unreliable and as a result, treatment protocols were haphazard at best.

Only 30% of children survived a month after beginning treatment.

The problem wasn’t a lack of health care providers, Dr. Poplack explained. “The pediatricians we work with are extremely well-trained, extremely capable,” he said. “What they lacked was specific subspecialty training in pediatric hematology-oncology, the modern clinical equipment and approaches to make an accurate diagnosis and then, the drugs and therapies that are needed once the diagnosis is made.”

Dr. Lubega set about training nursing staff, pharmacists, and the necessary specialists. He introduced evidence-based protocols.

But, “most important was really a culture change, that…these children can really be cured, they can be saved.”

Things changed quickly. “By the end of the first year, the [one-month] survival rate of kids we treated was up to 85%,” Dr. Lubega said. Over half survived for 18 months or longer.

Changing a Culture

There’s still a long way to go, according to  Dr. Lubega. “The reality is we are still just scratching the surface. Only 10 to 15% of kids in Africa with cancer ever see a cancer doctor, ever realize they have cancer.”

Cancer care is a multidisciplinary process, and some resources – pediatric surgeons, ICU units, pharmacists – are still extremely hard to come by.

Complicating matters is the fact that there seem to be some slight differences – possibly genetic, possibly environmental – between pediatric cancers in Africa and in the United States, but it’s impossible to study further until basic, reliable treatment protocols are established.

And then there’s the issue of oncology drugs, which are difficult for most families – or even governments – to afford.

Improved access to drugs won’t just improve outcomes for individual patients, Dr. Lubega said. It has the potential to change the culture around cancer care in Sub-Saharan Africa.

As the latest drugs become available, survival of children is improving, and a cure is becoming a reality for an increasing number of children, both Dr. Poplack and Dr. Lubega said.

Historically, the public understanding of childhood cancer has been limited. “In many of the villages and towns, there’s little awareness of what cancer is and that children do suffer from cancer,” Dr. Lubega explained. “People who have cancer are sometimes shunned, and there’s a significant stigma. It’s oftentimes considered infectious.”

Global HOPE also conducts community awareness and patient outreach programs designed to increase awareness of childhood cancers – and encourage people to take advantage of treatment.

The organization wants to change the culture around childhood cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa. “This is our number one priority if we as Global HOPE can show we can cure kids with cancer in the African setting,” Dr. Lubega said.

And drugs are an essential part of that, he explained: “If we have a stable supply of the chemotherapy agents, we can radically improve the survival statistics for tens of thousands of children.”

What’s Possible

COVID-19 has introduced some temporary challenges. Drugs are harder to come by. Because public transportation has shut down, it’s harder for patients to receive treatment.

“Our team is having to drive to the patients’ homes and administer chemotherapy there if it’s possible,” Dr. Lubega said.

And Dr. Lubega himself, for the time being, can’t return home. “I miss being part of it, because the difference between there and my work in the U.S. is the impact you make,” he said, speaking from Texas.

“I’m one of many, many pediatric oncologists here. There, you are making a real, paradigm-shifting impact in terms of what’s possible for those children.”

Working with Direct Relief and Teva will mean a long-term supply of precisely the drugs that will improve outcomes for children – and, with luck, encourage families to seek care and health officials to treat pediatric cancer as more of a priority.

Dr. Poplack is optimistic. “If we can improve the survival rate by 40% – and we’ll ultimately go far beyond that – 40,000 children can be saved each year,” he said. “I know of no other medical activity where one can have that kind of impact.”

The post Children’s Cancer Drugs Are Scarce in Uganda. A New Partnership Is Changing That. appeared first on Direct Relief.

“Ensuring that individuals from all communities and neighborhoods have access to needed health resources is one of the reasons that we partner with companies like Baxter,” said Thomas Tighe, president and CEO, Direct Relief. “We’re excited to build on our collaboration with Baxter for the Transformative Innovation Awards and highlight the efforts of local providers who are bringing access to care for patients and communities.”

The health centers and charitable clinics selected for the first year will use the awards to expand nutrition education and diabetes prevention programs in communities located on the west and southwest sides of Chicago and Crystal Lake, Ill. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, there are an estimated 1.3 million people in Illinois living with diabetes, and another 3.6 million are prediabetic.

“We’re honored to expand our work with Direct Relief to bring needed resources to health centers that are working tirelessly to improve care for patients living with diabetes in under-resourced areas,” said Verónica Arroyave, executive director of the Baxter International Foundation.

Nearly $200,000 was awarded to the following organizations for the Transformative Innovation Awards in 2019:

• CommunityHealth: With 12% of its patients being diabetic and another 6% prediabetic, CommunityHealth recognizes the importance of tackling diabetes through treatment, education and nutrition. With the award, CommunityHealth will more than double the size of its six-week nutrition program and workshops where patients learn how to cook and prep their own healthy meals.
• Erie Family Health Center Inc: As part of its Diabetes Prevention and Management (DPM) initiative, Erie will use the award to start four new lifestyle change groups based on the Centers for Disease Control’s evidence-based National Diabetes Prevention Program for adults with prediabetes and those with high risk factors. Lifestyle change groups deliver an intensive, structured educational program that focuses on patient behavior modification to support healthy eating, increased physical activity, and stress management. Additionally, funding will be used to expand one-on-one health education for diabetic adults.
• Esperanza Health Centers: Esperanza’s nurse-led insulin titration program helps address the social and economic barriers that impact the health of its primarily Latino patients living with diabetes. The award will be used to expand the program that pairs a patient with a registered nurse who maintains weekly check-ins to provide ongoing, patient-centered nutrition education and counseling to address behavioral, cultural, and systemic barriers to healthy eating.
• Family Health Partnership Clinic: Family Health Partnership Clinic will use the award to implement a ‘Health Coaching Program’ developed by the University of California, San Francisco’s Center for Excellence in Primary Care, dedicating a nurse and health coach to improve health literacy and access to healthy foods, promote lifestyle and behavioral changes and increase patients’ awareness of their glucose levels. Those enrolled in this program will have their charts reviewed regularly by the clinic’s medical director, a specialist in diabetes management.

The post The Baxter International Foundation and Direct Relief Launch Program to Improve Diabetes Care in Underserved Communities appeared first on Direct Relief.

In a high-ceiling playroom on the ground floor, a group of ten children gather with their caretakers and nurses, passing a ball around a circle in an animated game of hot potato. Each time the ball stops, the children answer different questions about their homes all across Mexico. They talk about the foods they miss while they’re in the capital for their treatment, about their heroes and dreams. One child speaks eagerly about her trips between her home in Cancún and Casa de la Amistad, about missing the beach but appreciating the capital’s rich culture and about her hero, Wonder Woman. She also shares her dreams of returning to Mexico City to study psychology when she’s older and healthy so that she can help other children the way her doctors at Casa de la Amistad have helped her.

Over the course of the last 28 years, Casa de la Amistad has served more than 9,000 children and expanded its network of trained professionals – some 1,700 have been trained professionals since 2016 – to 27 of Mexico’s 31 states. Within Mexico City, a metropolis of 22 million people spread out over a low valley and up onto the flanks of the surrounding hills, children and young people at Casa de la Amistad travel to top specialists at eight hospitals around the city, navigating the cities notoriously snarled traffic in vehicles provided by the Baxter International Foundation’s (the philanthropic arm of Baxter International), Driving Your Health community health program.

In an effort to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who depend on its products, Baxter partners with organizations to increase access to healthcare for the underserved. Through Direct Relief and Baxter’s support, the overall Driving Your Health program has directly benefited over 81,000 patients. Another 706,000 people have been indirect beneficiaries of the program by participating in patient counseling from trained healthcare workers or receiving healthcare literature.

At Casa de la Amistad specifically, over 11,000 patients and their caregivers were transported roundtrip via the Baxter bus from their lodging facilities to local treatment hospitals in Mexico City.

Medical education from trained health workers, focusing on early detection, and cancer prevention and detection literature reached more than 150,000 people in Mexico. Baxter also formed collaborative partnerships with the Mexican Diabetes Association and Association Gilberto to provide other medical outreach health programs for the communities around Mexico City.

Beatriz Martínez Navarrate was diagnosed with bone cancer at a young age. Her father worked in construction and her little brother had special needs, which meant that her family had little to no extra money for her treatment. At first, doctors said that Beatriz would likely lose her knee, but once her treatments began, they revised their prognosis. Her doctors would be able to save the knee, but she would need an interior prosthesis in order for it to function properly. While her prognosis was better, this prosthetic was an expensive piece of technology and procedure. That’s when she heard about Casa de la Amistad. Beatriz and her family turned to the organization for help, and she is now 18 months into her treatment.

For older patients like Martínez whose futures are closer at hand, the access to treatment hospitals made possible at the Casa de la Amistad has allowed them to focus on their own needs and desires, rather than on the heavy financial burden that might otherwise have fallen on their families. “I’ve always loved traditional dance, so that’s what I want to do after my surgery,” said Martínez.

Not only is Casa de la Amistad a residential center, but it’s also a space that allows kids and their families to continue dreaming despite the stress of their illness and treatment. Patients who are receiving treatment at the center can continue their studies and preserve some elements of normalcy in their lives that have been upended by cancer. Patients also benefit from the support of other young people living through a similar experience.

Felipe Alamilla Figueroa was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer at the age of 20. One of seven siblings, he’s had the support of the entire family over his two years of treatment, but says that Casa de la Amistad was able to help relieve the burden that can come along with a cancer diagnosis. “Over time, the cost of treatment is really crushing,” said Alamilla. “But once I came here to the Casa de la Amistad and thanks to the resources here, my family was able to manage things more easily.”

Michel Hernandez Flores came to the Casa de la Amistad from the port city of Coatzacoalcos at the age of 15 after he was diagnosed with bone cancer. Two years later, she was entering her undergraduate program. She plans to study medicine, a new dream that was born here at Casa de la Amistad. “Before I wanted to be an architect,” Hernandez says, “but now I want to be a pediatric oncologist.”

The post In Mexico City, a Joyful Respite for Children with Cancer appeared first on Direct Relief.

English

En una sala de juegos de techo alto en la planta baja, un grupo de diez niños se reúne con sus cuidadores y enfermera/os, pasando una pelota alrededor de un círculo en un juego animado de papa caliente. Cada vez que la pelota se detiene, los niños responden diferentes preguntas sobre sus hogares en todo México. Hablan sobre los alimentos que extrañan mientras están en la capital para realizar su tratamiento, sobre sus héroes y sueños. Una niña habla con entusiasmo sobre sus viajes entre su casa en Cancún y Casa de la Amistad, sobre extrañar la playa, pero apreciar la cultura rica de la capital y sobre su héroe, la Mujer Maravilla. También comparte sus sueños de regresar a la Ciudad de México para estudiar psicología cuando sea mayor y saludable, de modo que pueda ayudar a otros niños en la forma en que sus médicos en Casa de la Amistad la han ayudado.

En el transcurso de los últimos 28 años, Casa de la Amistad atendió a más de 9000 niños y amplió su red de profesionales capacitados (unos 1700 han sido profesionales capacitados desde 2016) a 27 de los 31 estados de México. Dentro de la Ciudad de México, una metrópolis de 22 millones de personas repartidas en un valle bajo y en los flancos de las colinas circundantes, los niños y jóvenes de Casa de la Amistad viajan a los mejores especialistas de ocho hospitales de la ciudad. Los traslados se dan en medio del complicado tránsito de las ciudades, en vehículos proporcionados por la Fundación Baxter International (el brazo filantrópico de Baxter International), el programa de salud comunitaria Driving Your Health.

En un esfuerzo por marcar una diferencia significativa en las vidas de quienes dependen de sus productos, Baxter se asocia con organizaciones para aumentar el acceso a la atención médica para los desatendidos. A través de Direct Relief y el apoyo de Baxter, el programa global Driving Your Health ha beneficiado directamente a más de 81,000 pacientes. Otras 706,000 personas han sido beneficiarias indirectas del programa al participar en el asesoramiento a pacientes por parte de trabajadores de la salud capacitados o al recibir literatura sobre la salud.

Específicamente, en la Casa de la Amistad, más de 11,000 pacientes y sus cuidadores fueron transportados ida y vuelta a través del autobús Baxter desde sus instalaciones de alojamiento a hospitales de tratamiento locales en la Ciudad de México.

La educación médica de profesionales de la salud capacitados, centrada en la detección temprana y la literatura sobre prevención y detección del cáncer llegó a más de 150,000 personas en México. Baxter también formó asociaciones de colaboración con la Asociación Mexicana de Diabetes y la Asociación Gilberto para proporcionar otros programas de salud de alcance médico para las comunidades alrededor de la Ciudad de México.

Para pacientes mayores como Martínez, cuyo futuro está más cerca, el acceso a los hospitales de tratamiento se hace posible en Casa de la Amistad y les ha permitido centrarse en sus propias necesidades y deseos, en lugar de en la pesada carga financiera que, de otro modo, podría haber recaído sobre sus familias. “Siempre me ha encantado el baile tradicional, así que eso es lo que quiero hacer después de mi cirugía”, dijo Martínez.

Casa de la Amistad no solo es un centro residencial, sino que también es un espacio que permite que los niños y sus familias sigan soñando, a pesar del estrés de su enfermedad y tratamiento. Los pacientes que reciben tratamiento en el centro pueden continuar sus estudios y preservar algunos elementos de normalidad en sus vidas, que han sido alteradas por el cáncer. Los pacientes también se benefician del apoyo de otros jóvenes que viven una experiencia similar.

A Felipe Alamilla Figueroa se le diagnosticó cáncer linfático a la edad de 20 años. Tiene siete hermanos y ha recibido el apoyo de toda la familia durante sus dos años de tratamiento, pero dice que Casa de la Amistad pudo ayudar a aliviar la carga que puede conllevar un diagnóstico de cáncer. “Con el tiempo, el costo del tratamiento es realmente abrumador”, afirmó Alamilla. “Pero, una vez que vine aquí, a Casa de la Amistad, y gracias a los recursos con los que cuentan, mi familia pudo manejar las cosas más fácilmente”.

Michel Hernández Flores llegó a Casa de la Amistad desde la ciudad portuaria de Coatzacoalcos a la edad de 15 años, después de que le diagnosticaron cáncer de huesos. Dos años más tarde, estaba ingresando a su programa de pregrado. Planea estudiar medicina, un nuevo sueño que nació aquí en Casa de la Amistad. “Antes quería ser arquitecta”, dice Hernández, “pero ahora quiero ser oncóloga pediátrica”.

The post En la Ciudad de México, un Alegre Descanso para Niños con Cáncer appeared first on Direct Relief.

An emergency shipment of 11,840 N-95 masks is bound for District 4-C1 Lions Clubs to support wildfire response efforts in Northern California. pic.twitter.com/JQfuKEum4V

— Direct Relief (@DirectRelief) August 8, 2018

Northwest of Shasta County, the Carr Fire, the deadliest of the sixteen-plus fires burning across California, has killed at least eight people and destroyed more than 1,600 structures.

Evacuations and road closures remain in effect with nearly 207,162 acres charred.

Nearly 600,000 acres burned. More than 13,000 firefighters battling blazes. More than 2,300 members of the National Guard pulled into the fight. https://t.co/Zyr2kV3xC8

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 8, 2018

Direct Relief has extended offers of support to more than 20 healthcare providers in the region and has also been in communication with the California Department of Health and the California Office of Emergency Services.

Direct Relief maintains a standing inventory of items needed during wildfires, such as N-95 masks and respiratory medications. A shipment of 1,000 N-95 masks, along with personal care items like lotion and soap for evacuees, was delivered to the Lake County Health Department earlier this month.

A total of 20,000 N-95 masks were also sent to the District 4-C1 Lions Club and Shasta County’s Health and Human Services Agency in response to the Carr fire, and additional respiratory medicines and supplies were delivered to Worldwide Healing Hands for those impacted by the Mendocino Complex Fire.

Companies that have supported the response with donated financial support or products include AbbVie, Baxter, BD, CVS, Google, Integra, and Sanofi.

As the situation evolves, Direct Relief will continue to monitor the impact and remains ready to support response efforts as needed.

The post As Wildfires Burn Across California, More Emergency Shipments Bound for Local Health Providers appeared first on Direct Relief.

Hurricane Bud, the second Category 4 storm to approach Mexico in the past week, is continuing to track northwest along the western coast of Mexico.

The most intense wind activity is not predicted to impact land; however, torrential rain could cause flash flooding and increase landslide risk in Michoacán, Colima, and Jalisco later in the week. Up to 12 inches of rain is expected in these areas.

Direct Relief is preparing a Hurricane Response Module, which contains essential medicines needed to treat patients in emergency situations, to be shipped to Mexico-based organizations and medical facilities in the region, should the need arise.

Intra-Mexico Logistics

Direct Relief operates the world’s largest charitable hurricane preparedness program, and keeps emergency modules preassembled at its headquarters, ready to send in the event of a disaster.

As a registered nonprofit in Mexico, Direct Relief helps Mexican hospitals, clinics, and foundations gain access to medical products that are needed to make a difference in the lives of Mexicans with a serious disease or illness or affected by emergencies. This includes work to address non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, as well as to manage emergency and disaster preparedness and response activities in Mexico.

Since receiving Donataria Autorizada status in 2015 – a designation that permits Mexican residents to receive tax benefits for their humanitarian donations – Direct Relief has provided more than $22 million in donated medicines and medical supplies to health facilities throughout Mexico.

Contributions from companies that include Abbvie, Abbott, BD, FedEx and Baxter, which have a significant presence in Mexico, have allowed medicines and medical resources from within the country to be routed to areas of high need.

This model of domestically-sourced humanitarian assistance proved invaluable during the 2017 earthquakes, which rocked Mexico City and the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas and left hundreds dead and critically injured.

The quakes prompted Direct Relief to establish a warehouse in Oaxaca as a secondary distribution point, adding to the organization’s main logistics hub in Mexico City.

As Hurricane Bud approaches land, Direct Relief stands ready to mobilize its in-country inventory and logistics infrastructure to support local health centers and emergency response agencies.

The post Hurricane Bud Churns Path Along Mexico’s Coast appeared first on Direct Relief.

The airlift contained nearly 40 tons of medications and medical essentials, amounting to $20.6 million (wholesale) in donated medications, nutritionals and medical supplies. More than two dozen healthcare companies provided these items, which included extensive quantities of intravenous solutions and prescription medications for acute conditions and chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.

“The airlift’s arrival reflects the ongoing concern and support for Puerto Ricans from thousands of people, including those at the dozens of companies who have stepped forward to help,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe. “The need and importance of the medical and health resources for people who need them is obvious, but the fact that they are here only because people from all walks took some action is particularly meaningful during the holiday season.”

The following companies contributed donations of medicine, supplies and funding for the flight:
3M, Abbott, AbbVie, ABF Freight, Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Amgen Foundation, Ansell Healthcare, Baxter International Inc., Bayer, BD, Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories LTD., Eli Lilly and Company, Essential Oxygen, GSK, Henry Schein, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Kaleo Pharma, Mylan, Nephron Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Prestige Brands, Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Sundial Brands, Teva Pharmaceuticals, USA, Trividia Health, Vaseline, and We Care Solar.

“Amgen Foundation is proud to support Direct Relief’s tireless work to meet the ongoing health needs of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria,” said Eduardo Cetlin, president of the Amgen Foundation. “Direct Relief continues to play a critical role in fulfilling the need for medical resources following the storm, and our support of their efforts reflects our commitment to the people.”

Since Hurricane Maria made landfall on Sept. 20, Direct Relief’s private assistance efforts have totaled over 218 tons (423,644 lbs) of specifically requested medical essentials valued at more than $52 million wholesale to bolster the health system and enable care for Puerto Rico’s residents. Direct Relief has provided these resources via 181 deliveries to more than 50 nonprofit health centers, public health facilities, emergency medical teams, and locally run nonprofit organizations focused on diabetes, vaccinations, and women’s health throughout Puerto Rico.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155754508324346.1073741869.6030179345&type=1&l=288d409c9e

The post Direct Relief Airlifts 79,365 lbs of Emergency Medical Aid to Puerto Rico appeared first on Direct Relief.

That afternoon, the elementary school was crowded with children and their mothers waiting in line to be seen by one of eight dentists from Mexico City who’d come for the week with the Asociación Gilberto, one of Direct Relief’s newest partners in Mexico. Most of those children would be seeing a dentist for the first time in their young lives. “At a private doctor, they’ll charge you 500 pesos for an extraction,” said Rita Revollar, whose two primary school-aged children had both come to the center for care. “My girl was scared because this was her first time, and her teeth seem fine, but you never know.”

“Of the 120 kids that come in each day, I’d say maybe 10 have healthy teeth,” said Dr. Fernando Cabrera Enriquez, who oversees the other eight dentists providing care. “One girl came in today with eight cavities and we’ve found four- and five-year-olds with really serious pathologies in their gums. I’d say Mexico State is really badly affected by these problems.”

Zacozonapan is just one of 72 communities in Mexico State that the local branch of Asociación Gilberto has reached in the last year, using funds from Baxter International Foundation (philanthropic arm of Baxter International Inc.) and channeled through Direct Relief. Though Zacozonapan is relatively prosperous, with most families earning their livings either as employees of the government or at the nearby mines, Maricela Sanchez Paz, who came that day with her two young daughters, said “the economy makes it hard to access a dentist. Work here is okay, but dental care isn’t included in public health service.”

That’s exactly why Laura Franco, the president of the Asociación Gilberto’s Mexico State branch, chose to focus on dental care when she started this program in January 2015. “The government offers certain services, so I thought, what they can’t offer – and that’s what we can do. So why dental care?” she asked. “Because it’s a luxury – and a necessity.”

For many families in Zacozonapan, logistics present an even more substantial problem than finances. The closest major city, the state capital of Toluca, is a two-hour drive on a good day, and the dental care that does come through Zacozonapan, Dr. Cabrera said, is woefully inadequate. That’s where Baxter Foundation and Direct Relief came in.

The dental program is part of a three-year comprehensive initiative funded by Baxter International Foundation called Driving Your Health. The program’s primary goal is to avert preventable medical conditions by expanding access to health care, providing health education, and increasing the early detection of potentially serious health conditions. The program was officially launched on September 22, 2016 in Mexico City.

As part of the Driving Your Health program, Direct Relief has channeled the Baxter International Foundation funds to four different organizations, all focused on bringing healthcare to communities in need. The Mexican Diabetes Association directed its portion of the funding toward establishing mobile glucose test sites that travel throughout Mexico City, raising awareness about diabetes – the single largest killer in Mexico – and, in many cases, providing people with a first warning of a developing or fully-blown glucose problem. Casa de la Amistad, or Friendship House, a center for pediatric cancer that has, to date, helped 9,000 children with limited resources, has used its funding to purchase a bus to transport patients from its center in Mexico City’s southern extreme to hospitals scattered around the city. The Order of Malta brings medical care to 150 underserved communities in and around the capital’s metropolitan area.

For all these organizations, the dissemination of care through mobile medical units is also a means of disseminating information, arguably an even more important mission for improving health in underserved communities. “Most people have at least three cavities in Mexico because they don’t know how to care for their teeth, so our Dentists talk with mothers about how to brush correctly,” said Franco. “In Mexico our culture is to give love through food – if you give more you love more – so we’re also trying to teach families to prepare healthier food.”

Families in Zacozonapan are, evidently, eager to learn. The school director who helped organize the event that week has, Franco said, already asked to schedule a date for next year. Franco, for her part, heaped praise on the community for doing so much to welcome them and make the process go smoothly by distributing information in schools and dividing visit days by age to avoid confusion, over-crowding, and disappointed families leaving without help. Numbered tickets were given out each morning to 120 families, some of whom traveled from smaller villages as much as two hours away. All of them waited patiently for their turn.

“Some people have already left,” Revollar said that afternoon as she waited with her daughter, both smiling nervously as they advanced slowly in line, “but you have to be patient for your health.”

– Michael Snyder is a journalist based in Mexico City.

The post In Mexico City and Beyond, Connecting Patients to Care appeared first on Direct Relief.

The Direct Relief-chartered MD-11 cargo jet contained $21 million (wholesale) in donated medical resources from 44 companies (full list of companies below), including extensive quantities of intravenous solutions and prescription medications for acute conditions and chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension that can rapidly become medical emergencies if not managed. 

“This airlift will go a long way towards helping our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico, and I am eternally grateful to Direct Relief and all of the organizations involved,” said President Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, and founder and board chair of the Clinton Foundation. “Their efforts are a reminder that when so many people need our help, our common humanity matters even more.”

The Clinton Foundation has supported Direct Relief’s work for years, including the recovery efforts after the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014. In the response to the Caribbean hurricanes this year, the Clinton Foundation has helped to coordinate and advise the team at Direct Relief.

Businesses Step Up to Fill Resource Gap

Direct Relief works with dozens of healthcare companies’ philanthropic arms on an ongoing basis to address public health needs and humanitarian crises across the globe and in all 50 U.S. states.  This private philanthropic support from businesses, as well as philanthropic support from individuals, foundations, and organizations has enabled a massively stepped-up response to assist in Puerto Rico, where health services have been severely constricted by the extensive damage caused by Hurricane Maria.

44 companies joined in filling specific requests that Direct Relief received from nonprofit health centers, government facilities, and private hospitals in Puerto Rico – all of which have been struggling to restore and expand services to care for the island’s more than 3 million residents.

“Direct Relief has been a wonderful partner for Eli Lilly and Company,” said Rob Smith, senior director of corporate responsibility and president of the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation.  “We have worked together to get insulin to those impacted by the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria.  Lilly could not ask for a more capable, responsive, and compassionate partner.  We are so grateful for all of the things Direct Relief is doing to help the great people of Puerto Rico recover from this terrible disaster.”

The medicines and supplies on the flight were donated by the following companies:

3M; Abbott; AbbVie; Alcon; Allergan plc; Amneal Pharmaceuticals; Apotex Inc.; AstraZeneca; Baxter International Inc.; Bayer; BD; Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Cera Products, Inc.; Cipla; Coola Suncare; CVS; DayOne Response; Ethicon; GSK; Henry Schein, Inc.; Integra LifeSciences; InTouch Health; Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson; Kaléo; LifeScan; Magno-Humphries Labs; Medtronic; Merck & Co., Inc.; Mylan; Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Noble Laboratories, Inc.; Novartis; Pfizer Inc.; Prestige Brands; Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Sanofi Foundation for NA; Sappo Hill Soapworks; Starbucks; Teva Pharmaceuticals, USA; Trividia Health; Vaseline; Wisconsin Pharmacal Company. 

Responding to an Unprecedented Hurricane Season

Today’s airlift follows several weeks of smaller-scale airlifts and hand-carried medications and emergency medical resources to dozens of Puerto Rico’s nonprofit health centers and medical teams organized by the Puerto Rico Department of Health.

Among the critical items has been 565 vials of blood-clotting factor for children with hemophilia, 15,600 vials of insulin, 35 pre-kitted emergency medical packs containing a broad range of Rx medications and supplies, as well as 1500 solar lights and over 4000 bottles of insect repellant to protect against Zika virus.

Direct Relief’s response in Puerto Rico has been concurrent with extensive responses to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma that preceded Maria.

Since Hurricane Harvey’s landfall on August 25, Direct Relief has sent 148 tons of medications, vaccines, and medical supplies valued at $64.7 million (wholesale) and including 19 million defined daily doses of Rx medications delivered via 560 emergency shipments to 143 partner organizations in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, USVI and seven Caribbean countries.

In addition, Direct Relief has provided and committed financial support in the form of grants totaling over $2.7 million to 43 nonprofit health centers and clinics and their primary care associations in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

The post 76-Ton Airlift of Medicine and Medical Supplies Lands in Puerto Rico   appeared first on Direct Relief.

Situated at the edge of the well-to-do Roma neighborhood, one of the hardest hit in the devastating 7.1 earthquake that struck central Mexico on Tuesday, Pushkin Park has, for the last three days, been the site of a collection center, one of many set up around Mexico’s capital providing hot food, water and medication to the thousands of people displaced by the earthquake.

Gabi Allard, president of the association, said that staffers spent the better part of Saturday afternoon moving around the city, particularly the south, collecting insulin to administer to diabetics who had either lost their homes in the widespread devastation, or who could not reenter them due to structural damage.

The association itself has been temporarily displaced from its headquarters nearby. In Parque Pushkin, Allard pulled out her phone to show pictures of cracks in the office walls. “There was no way we could stay there and continue to serve people,” she said. Using a van also donated by Direct Relief, the association has been able to move its essential equipment out of the offices and into the public sphere.

“For now the most important thing is to provide for the community. This is still a state of emergency.”

According to Allard, Mexico is home to as many 14 million diabetics, roughly 2 million of them residents of Mexico City. “If you have this kind of stress, then people don’t control their diabetes, and that’s when they really start to feel ill,” she said.

As the afternoon wore on, families of volunteers, drawn by an association staffer announcing the team’s services over a megaphone, came by to test their blood sugar. Others who had not been able to return to their homes in three days came to have their teeth cleaned and to collect free toothbrushes and floss, essential habits to reestablish some sense of normalcy in uncertain times.

By Friday afternoon, life in some parts of Mexico City had already started returning to normal. In the historic center, which avoided the worst of the earthquake’s effects, shopkeepers had come back to work and street vendors hawked ears of corn off the grill. Even in Roma, where several buildings collapsed and many others suffered permanent damage, cafés and restaurants had opened for business.

But destruction was never more than a few blocks away. Some businesses continued to offer their bathrooms, wifi and power outlets along with free meals, coffee and ice cream to displaced people and the volunteers who continued to flock to the sites of major building collapses, waiting patiently in hard hats and orange vests to take their turns clearing the rubble.

Emilia Dionisio had come in to the city center from her home in the lower income districts to the north. Built on solid bedrock in the surrounding hills, Mexico City’s poorer neighborhoods suffered far less damage than better-off areas built on the unstable terrain of the city center.

“I don’t have any money to give, but I wanted to help in any way I could,” Dionisio said.

Once at the park, she decided to come take advantage of the association’s services, an important part of the organization’s efforts to spread awareness about a disease that, particularly in urban Mexico, has reached epidemic proportions.

Having now received substantial insulin donations, Allard plans to use the Direct Relief-donated facilities on Parque Pushkin to organize treatment and dispense it to those in need while also disseminating information to the many city residents who still know little more than myths about diabetes. Allard plans to have staff on site throughout the coming week from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. – later if need be.

A woman who goes by the name Quetzaltlahuitli – Nahuatl for “beautiful light” – came through the tent with her daughter shortly after Dionisio had left. Residents of Iztapalapa, another outlying district built on bedrock, they had spent the previous three days volunteering.

“Way more buildings fell in 1985,” she said, referring to an even stronger earthquake that, 32 years before this one to the day, left nearly 10,000 people in Mexico City dead. “But the spirit of volunteerism and solidarity, that hasn’t changed.”

As she sat to have her glucose levels tested, one of the seven Association staffers on site asked how she was feeling. “How are you? Did you come in running? Did you come stressed?”

Quetzaltlahuitli smiled gently. “We’re calm, we’re calm. We’ve been walking over trying to find ways to help,” she said, “but we’re alright.”

– Michael Snyder is a journalist based in Mexico City.

The post After Chaos of the Earthquake, Clinics Give Stability to Patients with Diabetes appeared first on Direct Relief.

Instead of taking them to school, the bus picks them up curbside, then transports them to appointments that could mean the difference between life and death.

Many of the children come from rural parts of Mexico that don’t have the specialized cancer care they need, so they relocated temporarily to Casa de la Amistad, a nonprofit that offers housing and services to children with cancer. It’s a welcoming place where children and their caretakers can live while the treatment takes place in hospitals around Mexico City.

The sprawling capital city can be a transportation challenge, and the bus, funded by the Baxter International Foundation, connects a critical portion of the healing journey for children and their families. The bus was purchased last year and will transport more than 10,000 young patients by 2018.

The bus is one part of the “Driving your Health” initiative, which aims to increase access to healthcare in and around Mexico City.

The post Mexico City Children with Cancer Board Bus to Treatment, Better Life (Video) appeared first on Direct Relief.

Cancer is the leading cause of death for children in Mexico, who commonly lack access to care. With the support of Direct Relief and Baxter International Foundation, patients like Imanol will continue being served by the Manejando Tu Salud program.

Baxter International Foundation and Direct Relief partnered to create Driving Your Health, a mobile health program in Mexico City.

The post Driving Your Health: Mapping Patient Care Across Mexico City appeared first on Direct Relief.

More than 1 million people in Haiti are still in need due to the hurricane, and disease remains rampant, with almost 4,000 cholera cases reported since Oct. 4.

Direct Relief was quick to respond to healthcare partners after the storm and will continue to do so through the recovery.

Financial Summary

Direct Relief received more than 3,000 Hurricane Matthew-designated financial contributions totaling $827,962; including pledges, the total increases to $1,071,266.

Direct Relief recognizes that the generous supporters who pledged and gave more than $1 million in response to Hurricane Matthew did so with the express intent that their contributions benefit people affected by the storm.

In accepting funds for Hurricane Matthew, Direct Relief understands that both those who contributed — and the people for whose benefit the contributions were made — deserve to know, in detail, how Direct Relief is using these funds.

*Direct Relief does not rely on government funding.

The Response

As the world’s attention shifts, Direct Relief remains committed to supporting the needs of local healthcare providers in Haiti and the U.S.

United States

Direct Relief shipped $1.3 million worth of supplies to impacted communities in the U.S. after Matthew. Five tons of medicines and medical supplies were sent in 29 different shipments.

Before the storm made landfall, Direct Relief had prepositioned emergency medical modules in the hurricane’s path. Two were opened after the storm, one at the Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center in North Carolina, and another at the Franklin C. Fetter Health Care Network in South Carolina.

Each U.S.–bound pack contains enough medicines and supplies to treat 100 patients for three to five days after a hurricane hits.

Haiti

Roadways and bridges were washed away by the storm, and some of the hardest-hit communities in the southwestern part of the country also proved the most difficult to access. In the following weeks, Direct Relief used any means possible to transport aid, including by helicopters and ships.

Since Oct. 4, Direct Relief delivered $10 million worth of medicines and medical supplies to Haiti – nearly 20 tons. That included more than half a million daily doses of medication.

Material Support

Below is a list of companies that contributed medical resources to the response.

Looking Forward

Cholera persists as a life-threatening force in the country, and Direct Relief will continue to supply partners with supplies to treat this preventable, but deadly, disease. Direct Relief is continuing to deliver shipments of oral rehydration salts, IV equipment and other needed supplies.

The next delivery is scheduled to arrive in the coming days with more than 500,000 water purification sachets. Each sachet can clean 10 liters of drinking water. In total, the shipment will result in nearly 1.5 million gallons of safe drinking water.

The shipment will also contain oral rehydration salts, which can be mixed with the purified water to restore the electrolytes of a dehydrated person.

The post Hurricane Matthew: The Response Continues appeared first on Direct Relief.

‘This unique collaboration brings healthcare services directly to those who are unable to access care due to lack of transportation, the cost of transportation or the inability to take time off from work to get their healthcare needs addressed,” said Stacey Eisen, Baxter International Foundation President. ”The Foundation is proud to be able to support the local community in this way and bring quality healthcare to more people.”

Funded by a $2.25 million grant from the Baxter International Foundation — and working in collaboration with the Mexican Association of Malta, House of Friendship for Children with Cancer I.A.P. and Mexican Association of Diabetes, Mexico City A.C. — the three-year initiative aims to provide direct healthcare services for 40,000 patients and health education, prevention, and awareness training to an additional 310,000 individuals.

Although Mexico City and the State of Mexico overall have higher living standards than many regions of the country, they have pockets of extreme poverty with many individuals who are often disconnected from available health services.

”Driving Your Health recognizes that, for too many people, the benefits of healthcare are beyond reach, and that new approaches are needed,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief president and CEO. ”Direct Relief is delighted to collaborate with Baxter on this initiative to improve the health and lives of those in need.”

A mobile unit comprised of 4 doctors and 10 nurses will travel to 50 different locations each year to screen and provide essential health services to people in need. Program staff will also provide pediatric oncology patients with transportation to medical facilities that specialize in the treatments they require.

The program will train doctors to support patient self-management of chronic diseases, as well as provide hundreds of thousands of individuals with educational resources. To maintain the program at the end of three years, Direct Relief will develop local sponsorships and general fund raising, hire a Director of Corporate Relations for development and local program management and establish a Mexican Mobile Health Advisory Board.

These efforts will be supplemented by the contributions of Baxter employees in Mexico City and its surrounding manufacturing facilities in Mexico volunteering their technical expertise, assisting mobile medical teams during patient screenings, and packing personal care kits.

”Consistent with Baxter’s mission of saving and sustaining lives, this program allows us to provide the underserved people in our local community with access to much-needed health services,” said Jaime Upegui, Baxter Mexico General Manager.

The post Baxter International and Direct Relief Launch Mobile Health Initiative in Mexico City appeared first on Direct Relief.

Not only did the floodwaters tear homes from their foundations, but it broke gas lines, causing some buildings to engulf in flames.

While floodwaters have since receded, the recovery has just begun for many of West Virginia residents.

Direct Relief’s Response:

In the early hours of the emergency, Direct Relief offered immediate assistance to its existing network of healthcare partners in the affected region, as well as the West Virginia Primary Care Association. Requests for assistance came in right away, with partners expressing an urgent need for a large volume of supplies.

As of July 13, Direct Relief has provided the following health centers and clinics with 40 shipments of Rx medications, vaccines, diabetic supplies and insulin, and personal care items, along with emergency medical kits designed to equip health facilities with the medicines resources required to meet the needs of patients immediately after natural or manmade disaster.

• Access Health, a health center based in Raleigh County, was severely impacted by flooding. Still, the health center’s staff have operated a free clinic for flood victims at its Williamsburg location as well as a mobile pharmacy to reach the worst-hit flood areas. Access Health has also provided tetanus vaccinations (Tdap) to highway workers and patients and has partnered with the National Guard to distribute generators and supplies to families in need. To support their efforts, Direct Relief delivered an emergency health kit — a set of essential medicines and supplies designed for emergencies such as this.
• Cabin Creek Health Systems operates four clinic sites across West Virginia, one of which was severely impacted by the floods and, consequentially, experience an urgent need for Tdap, which Direct Relief provided. Direct Relief also provided medicine to another of Cabin Creek’s clinics, 30 miles from Clendenin Health Center.
• Roane County Family Health Care, a Direct Relief partner since 2009, has partnered with the West Virginia Primary Care Association to organize outreach efforts throughout the southern part of Roane County, where they have visited shelters to provide medical care and distribute supplies, including those delivered by Direct Relief.
• West Virginia Health Right, a free clinic in Charleston, has provided medical relief services throughout West Virginia’s most impacted areas. The clinic building has doubled as a large distribution hub for medical supplies throughout the community.

A photo posted by WVPB (@wvpublic) on Jun 24, 2016 at 6:26am PDT

Partners in Relief

The medical supplies, valued at more than $1 million, were donated by more than 25 companies. They include the following:

• 3M
• AbbVie
• Actavis
• Allergan
• Apotex
• AstraZeneca
• Baxter
• BD
• Boehringer Ingelheim
• Calmoseptine
• Colgate
• Covidien
• CVS
• GSK

• Henry Schein
• J&J (Janssen, J&J Consumer, LifeScan)
• Medtronic
• MedVantx
• Merck
• Pfizer
• Prestige
• Sanofi
• Sappo Hill
• Takeda
• Terry Town
• TEVA
• Unilever

Updated 17:27 PT, July 13, 2016

The post West Virginia: Flood Response appeared first on Direct Relief.

A June 10 report issued by Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population noted that 375 of the 446 public health facilities and 16 private facilities in Nepal’s hardest hit regions were destroyed, with the highest near-term priority being the resumption of health services, including the provision of logistics to provide drugs and supplies, to care for both injured persons and the general population.

“The Nepal earthquakes delivered a cruel blow, causing more people to need care and destroying the places where they can receive it,” said Thomas Tighe, President and CEO of Direct Relief. “Private resources are keenly needed as part of the collective effort, and we are deeply thankful to the companies that have again stepped up to help in such a substantial way.”

The 21 healthcare companies listed below contributed to today’s airlift, which contains 5,350,173 defined daily doses (DDDs) of medications, trauma and wound care supplies, and thousands of liters of oral rehydration solution (Pedialyte) – acutely needed in a country where cholera is endemic and posing a heightened risk.

The post Earthquake Recovery: 21 Healthcare Companies Making a Difference in Nepal appeared first on Direct Relief.

With the substantial decrease in new Ebola cases in recent weeks, the airlift represents a pivot toward helping local health facilities deal with both the pre-existing health challenges exacerbated by the outbreak as well as the still serious threats that Ebola presents.

Dozens of primary care facilities shuttered during the crisis; malaria and other conditions went untreated; vaccination programs were suspended, prompting a recent measles outbreak; and pregnancy-related complications saw an uptick as more women gave birth at home.

“As the focus shifts to long-term health systems strengthening in West Africa, these items will help restore confidence in health care for both providers and people seeking care,” said Andrew MacCalla, Director of Emergency Response and International Programs at Direct Relief.

Each module contains 36 of the essential supplies needed to operate a functional medical clinic for two months, including items such as surgical gowns, gloves, masks, lanterns, medical disposal bins, and non-contact thermometers. The contents were developed in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ministry of Health of Liberia, and Last Mile Health.

The supplies contained in the modules were donated, in part, by the City of Yokohama, 3M, BD, California Nurses Foundation, and One Million Lights. Additional supplies were purchased through a grant from The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

Another 17 modules will ship later in the month for a total of 100 modules. In Liberia, 40 modules will be distributed by Last Mile Health. In Sierra Leone, 10 modules will be distributed by Wellbody Alliance and 50 modules will be distributed by Medical Research Centre. Prescription medicines contained on the airlift will also be delivered to all three of these partners, as well as to Africare in Liberia.

The pharmaceutical supplies were made possible by Accord Healthcare, Inc., Actavis Pharma, Inc., Bayer Corporation – USA, Baxter International, Inc., GSK, Hospira, Inc., Mylan Inc., Prestige Brands, and Teva Pharmaceuticals.

Since Direct Relief began responding to the Ebola outbreak last spring, the organization has sent 40 shipments of Ebola relief aid valued at $25 million (wholesale), which have been distributed to more than 1,000 clinics and health centers in West Africa, in coordination with partner agencies.

The post 747 Jets to West Africa as Ebola Response Pivots toward Recovery appeared first on Direct Relief.

The medicines will be distributed by Intensive Heart Ventures to eight health care facilities treating people in need:  Clinica Esperanza; Roatan Hospital; Centro de Salud-Los Fuertes; Centro de Salud-French Harbour; Clinica Oak Ridge; Centro de Salud-Pandy Town; Clinica Glenda Fe; and Hospital Loma de Luz (on the mainland).

The donations supply much of the island with medicines that are often hard for local providers and patients to access because they are isolated both physically and culturally from Tegucigalpa, the capital. Supplies included hypertensive medicines, diabetes medicines and supplies, and antibiotics, among other products needed to help patients manage chronic conditions as well as acute care issues.

There is a high incidence of both hypertension and diabetes on the island, and many people receive treatment for these conditions for the first time at the clinic partners Direct Relief supports, according to Peggy Stranges, a registered nurse at La Clinica Esperanza.

The shipment arrives shortly after the Honduran Ministry of Health declared a  state of emergency in response to the recent dengue fever epidemic.

The post Medicines Arrive to Help People on Honduran Island of Roatan appeared first on Direct Relief.

It was two and a half years ago that Lindsey Pollaczek and I met Jacinta, an eight-year-old girl from southwestern Kenya with Burkitt’s Lymphoma. Jacinta sat in a white plastic chair across from us in an austere room at the Sota Health Center in Shirati, Tanzania. She occasionally looked up from the ground and smiled at us shyly as Dr. Esther Kawira described the harrowing story of her diagnosis and the initial stages of her treatment.

Burkitt’s Lymphoma is an aggressive cancer that accounts for more than half of all childhood cancers in equatorial Africa and is rarely found anywhere else. It presents as rapidly growing tumors in the jaw bone or the abdomen and if untreated, it is usually fatal. The disease is related to the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), the first virus to be associated with human cancer, and current research has suggested that malaria may also play a role in the development of Burkitt’s Lymphoma.

When we met Jacinta, she had just completed her first round of chemotherapy at the Sota Health Center, a rural health facility supported by the SHED Foundation. Dr. Kawira explained that the swelling and disfigurement caused by the tumor in her lower jaw, which was still visible, had improved dramatically in the past six weeks and that her treatment was going as well as could be expected.  Still, Jacinta seemed self-conscious about her face. Her mother said “She used to be beautiful.” Dr. Kawira said optimistically, “she will be beautiful again.”

Fortunately for Jacinta, at Sota Health Center, the chemotherapy is donated and therefore is able to be given at no charge to the patient. This is not often the case and most frequently patients must buy the drugs themselves—which at several hundred dollars for the full course is often out of the question—or the hospital or health center must purchase the drugs and find a way to cover their loss.

Burkitt’s Lymphoma has a high cure rate with adequate therapy. In developed countries 90% of children with the disease are effectively cured. For countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the disease has been low priority given the other childhood illnesses which affect more children and are cheaper to treat. With limited treatment availability and disease management capacity the mortality in Africa for this disease remains high.

Dr. Kawira recently sent us a follow-up photo of Jacinta, who is now cancer free, a year after she completed treatment. The photo illustrates what is possible when a child with Burkitt’s has the opportunity to complete a full course of treatment. This transformation, which occurs in many cases, is not only life-saving for the child but incredibly encouraging for their family, and the health care providers overseeing their care.

After meeting Jacinta and understanding the tremendous demand for pediatric oncology services in Africa, Direct Relief formed an alliance with the Burkitt’s Lymphoma Fund for Africa (BLFA) to implement a program which provides full courses of treatment for 500 children with Burkitt’s in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. With generous donations from companies like Baxter and GSK, Direct Relief has been able to provide some of the products critical to the treatment regimen, making free treatment available for patients who might otherwise go without.

Direct Relief has provided two shipments of medicines and medical supplies to the Sota Health Center in Tanzania valued at more than $400,000. In addition, Direct Relief provides ongoing material assistance for the Burkitt’s Lymphoma Programs at the Uganda Program for Cancer and Infectious Disease in Kampala and the Nyanza Provincial General Hospital in western Kenya through the OGRA Foundation.

The post Jacinta’s Story: A Life Transformed by Cancer Treatment appeared first on Direct Relief.