Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have reported a total of 25,791 Ebola cases since the outbreak began last year, with more than 10,600 deaths reported.

During the visit, the Deputy Minister and Mr. Jalloh outlined the key priorities for strengthening Sierra Leone’s health system. These include ensuring that medical facilities are properly equipped with supplies and staff, that medical professionals have the training and tools they need to effectively care for patients, and that the public’s trust in the health system is reestablished and maintained.

To date, Direct Relief has supplied more than 500 health facilities in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone with more than $26 million worth (wholesale) of emergency medical aid in coordination with local partnerships. This includes 4.8 million gloves, 22.8 million defined daily doses of essential medicines, and 240,000 gowns and coveralls, among other aid items.

“Were it not for Direct Relief, their timely intervention, and all the support from their donors, we would not be where we are today,” said Deputy Minister Rahman. “We would have lost more lives than we have lost.”

The Deputy Minister’s visit precedes the Ebola Innovation Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday, April 21. Convened by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and the Skoll Global Threats Fund, attendees include a mix of tech giants such as Google, household brands such as J&J, and global organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Direct Relief.

Alongside the United Nations, African Union, and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Deputy Minister Rahman will open the event with a discussion of lessons learned and an appraisal of the current situation in her country.

“No one has a better understanding of Ebola’s tragic effects, what worked and didn’t work in responding to it, or has a bigger stake in preventing such future devastation than those in the affected countries,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief CEO.  “It’s an honor to host Deputy Minister Rahman and Mr. Jalloh, whose insights have guided Direct Relief’s efforts, and to join them at this important meeting, urging those whose innovations have so profoundly reshaped countless areas of modern life to do the same in confronting Ebola.”

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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.

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The effects of Ebola extend well beyond those infected. The side effect is depriving people of basic human needs. These grants will enable the people of West Africa to quickly receive essential care and supplies they need to get through this crisis. – Paul G. Allen

With Mr. Allen’s support, Direct Relief will focus on the following near-term priorities to meet the urgent needs of frontline health providers:

• Restock and reopen 100 health centers staffed by 1,500 health workers by providing kits containing a stock of essential items. The contents of these kits were developed by Harvard-trained doctors working in Liberia and approved by the Ministry of Health to set the standard for ensuring a safe and well-functioning health facility.
• Ensure safe births by providing 267 Midwife Kits to Liberia and Sierra Leone – enough for 13,350 deliveries. In Sierra Leone alone, pre- and post-natal care visits are down 28 percent, and delivery with a skilled birth attendant is down 16%. Estimates show that maternal mortality may rise to 15 percent as a result of the Ebola crisis.
• Equip 47 Ebola treatment facilities in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Direct Relief will pre-package the supplies per facility to ensure efficient in-country receiving and immediate delivery. This will help remove bottlenecks and enable more rapid and direct transportation of materials to the centers caring for patients with Ebola.

This support from Mr. Allen is essential to Direct Relief’s collaborative efforts to meet the vastly expanded, urgent need for critical supplies necessary to contain, treat those sickened by the virus, and address the outbreak’s shattering ripple effects on the broader health system. – Thomas Tighe, CEO of Direct Relief.

To date, Direct Relief has sent 140 tons of medical materials valued at $6.98 million (wholesale) via airlifts and ocean freight containers.

Mr. Allen’s Contributions to Date:

From the early days of the outbreak, Mr. Allen and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation have focused on finding, funding and coordinating strategic solutions that address the most critical needs and can be deployed quickly. To date, Mr. Allen has committed funding towards implementing the following solutions:

• A contribution to the American Red Cross to fund equipment, volunteers and educational materials in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. (August 2014)
• A matching grant to Global Giving, which more than 700 donors doubled in only four days. Ten groups received funding to distribute sanitation supplies, conduct training sessions and produce public service announcements. (August 2014)
• A partnership with UNICEF to airlift 50,000 protection kits into Liberia. (September 2014)
• A partnership with Airlink to execute a continuous air bridge to deliver critically needed medical protective gear and pharmaceuticals. (September 2014)
• A grant to the CDC Foundation to establish CDC emergency operations centers in the most-affected countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. These centers are helping to develop a systematic response with improved data management and communication systems for disease and patient contact tracing, which will ultimately help to detect and stop the disease from spreading. (September 2014)
• Funding to Medical Teams International (MTI) to help provide infrastructure, housing and transportation needs for MTI’s staff in Liberia. (September 2014)
• A partnership with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontieres to support their existing Ebola emergency programs in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. (September 2014)
• A grant to BBC Media Action to support education and communications programs in the affected countries aimed at increasing public knowledge and awareness, supporting the government in responding to the crisis and instilling safer health practices among local audiences. (October 2014)
• The establishment of the Ebola Medevac Fund to fund and develop two Medevac containment units that can be used to safely evacuate medical professionals from West Africa. (October 2014)
• A partnership with University of Massachusetts Medical School to help provide training, medical workers, and lab equipment for relief efforts in Liberia. (October 2014)
• A grant to AmeriCares, to provide additional supplies and services to under-resourced clinics to improve the county health system in Grand Bassa County in Liberia. (October 2014)
• A grant to Action Against Hunger to provide food for isolated patients, construct water kiosks and hand washing stations, improve Ebola prevention awareness, and train community health volunteers. (October 2014)
• A $1 million grant to Direct Relief to support the continued delivery by Direct Relief of medical supplies and logistical support on the ground in Ebola-affected West African nations. To date, Direct Relief has sent 140 tons of medical materials via airlifts and ocean freight containers. (October 2014)

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The shipment – valued at nearly $100,000 (wholesale) and weighing more than 13 tons – includes rehydration solutions, antibiotics and personal protective gear for use by medical staff treating Ebola.

According to John Ly, Medical Director at Last Mile Health, the oral rehydration solutions (ORS) from Ceralyte included in this donation are enough to provide 822 adults or 1,645 children each a week’s worth of ORS treatment.

The shipment also included birthing beds, gurneys, stools, walkers, IV stands, wheelchairs, exam lights, and prescription medications to treat ongoing and chronic conditions that persist amid the Ebola outbreak.

“Thanks again for all that you are doing and for all of the help that we have received from Direct Relief over the past year,” wrote Dr. John Fankhauser, Acting Hospital Administrator and Deputy Medical Director of ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, in an email. “Our needs at the hospital are significant.”

This shipment was made possible in part by a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to AirLink to help establish an air bridge for Ebola response. Direct Relief and other response organizations coordinated a previous shipment of Ebola aid with AirLink, a disaster relief organization that helps its nonprofit partners connect with airlines for passenger and cargo transportation.

Today’s delivery follows last week’s shipment of 100 tons of medical aid to Liberia and Sierra Leone – the largest of U.S. origin since the outbreak began.

You can help send more Ebola relief shipments like these to people most in need. Donate here.

Learn more about the Ebola response.

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