The grants were disbursed from Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity, with support from Sanofi, and will address chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The funds will support prevention, education, and improved care for both children and adult patients. Community health centers in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, where Sanofi has a significant presence, are receiving the awards.

“Respiratory conditions, including asthma, disproportionately impact vulnerable communities. These funds will directly support organizations working to address and prevent these life-altering conditions,” said Dr. Byron Scott, Direct Relief’s President and Chief Operating Officer and Co-Chair of the Fund for Health Equity. “I am humbled that both Sanofi and Direct Relief can help these organizations with their goals of improving the health of people seeking care.”

Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity mobilizes financial resources for community health centers, free and charitable clinics, and other nonprofit organizations focused on non-clinical interventions that affect a person’s health – commonly known as the social determinants of health. These factors include a person’s physical, social, cultural, and economic environments.

Sanofi’s donation is part of the company’s “Breathe Easier” campaign, which focuses on the intersection of the environment and human health, and supports communities experiencing a high burden of respiratory illness.

“We are proud to support Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity and the 10 centers that will lead the way in improving respiratory care in many communities,” said Diana Blankman, Head of U.S. Corporate Social Responsibility at Sanofi. “We strongly believe in the development of community-based solutions by those who know best how to provide culturally relevant care to the patients they serve.”

The funding will support the following 10 health centers’ efforts:

• Brockton Neighborhood Health Center – Brockton, MA
• Codman Square Health Center – Dorchester, MA
• Holyoke Health Center – Holyoke, MA
• Greater Lawrence Family Health Center – Methuen, MA
• Caring Health Center – Springfield, MA
• Zufall Health Center – Dover, NJ
• Henry J. Austin Health Center – Trenton, NJ
• Valley Health Partners – Allentown, PA
• Delaware Valley Community Health – Philadelphia, PA
• Spectrum Foundation for Health Equity and Community Impact – Philadelphia, PA

The post Direct Relief Awards $2 Million to 10 Community Health Centers appeared first on Direct Relief.

Pharmacists at CrossOver Healthcare Ministry were excited to participate in Direct Relief’s long-standing ReplenishRx program when a staffer asked them an unexpected question: “Do you have enough refrigerator space for all your patients?”

The answer: It’s complicated. CrossOver, a charitable pharmacy in Richmond, Virginia, provides its services — medical and dental visits, labs, social work, and Medicaid enrollment assistance, along with prescription medications — entirely through volunteer time and donations. Although they’ve been a Direct Relief partner for more than a decade, their facilities were too small for a long time to house all the medications, let alone the cold-chain medicines like insulin, that their patients needed.

Now, they were in a larger facility, but medical refrigeration was an ongoing challenge. Getting enough insulin for patients was, as CrossOver CEO Julie Bilodeau termed it, “chaos.” Insulin supplies were unpredictable and took up to 12 weeks to come in. “We were finding we had to switch people from one insulin to the other,” she explained.

For CrossOver’s pharmaceutical staff, this wasn’t ideal. The pharmacy offers medications to low-income, uninsured patients who have “a much higher incidence of chronic disease,” Bilodeau explained. “Helping patients manage diabetes is really critical for us.”

Joining the ReplenishRx program, which offers U.S. healthcare partners access to a wide range of prescription medications, including commonly requested medications for chronic diseases like diabetes, was a game-changer for them. But with about 1,000 patients with diabetes registered at the pharmacy, storing enough refrigerated insulin to meet each person’s need — consistently — was a challenge.

Direct Relief offered an additional, supportive donation: two pharmaceutical-grade refrigerators from healthcare company Sanofi, which collaborates with the organization. In total, Direct Relief was distributing 32 medical refrigerators, which maintain and monitor highly consistent temperatures to safeguard cold-chain medications and vaccines, to replenishment partners across the U.S.

“The refrigerators allowed us to join the program,” Bilodeau said. “Without [the donation], we would have had to delay and raise significant funds” to be able to store enough insulin to meet patient needs.

Amiyah Newsome, medications program manager at CrossOver, said the refrigerators have made it possible to offer patients who need insulin 90-day prescriptions rather than only being able to provide 30 days at a time — making it more likely patients will have access to and reliably take their medication. They’ve also made it possible for CrossOver to add about 25 new medications to its formulary — the list of prescription medicines available to patients.

Newsome recalled a recent patient with no insurance who was overdue to see a provider — and whose A1C levels, a measure of blood sugar used in diagnosing diabetes, were “not in a safe range.” The insulin he needed was available in CrossOver’s new medical refrigerators, and “he was able to get seen by the provider and get his prescription filled all in one day,” she said.

For Bilodeau, the access the ReplenishRx program provides — and the medical refrigerators that make participating possible — are key to the pharmacy’s mission: “Our mission really is to provide access to health care to people who, without CrossOver, would not be able to access care,” she explained.

But fulfilling that mission in the face of growing demand isn’t always easy. “We’re at capacity. We’re turning people away,” Bilodeau explained. “There’s a tremendous amount of need,” especially, she said, in Richmond, where many people who can’t afford to live in Washington, D.C., settle in the hope of finding an affordable place to live.

CrossOver staff have seen patients from about 150 countries, and Bilodeau said current patients speak between 30 and 40 languages. “That’s kind of built into our DNA: All are welcome,” she explained.

While cold-chain storage isn’t always a widely publicized need, Bilodeau said many nonprofit healthcare providers can’t afford to store all the refrigerated medications their patients need. While many clinics and charitable pharmacies rely primarily on volunteers and donations — all of CrossOver’s pharmacists are volunteers, for example, and the pharmacy relies on external medication donations to stock its shelves — meeting logistical needs often poses a unique challenge.

“A number of clinics are having trouble finding refrigerators like this,” Bilodeau said.

During the past two years, Direct Relief has provided CrossOver Healthcare Ministry, a partner since 2011, with more than $738,000 in medication support, including insulin and other chronic disease medications.

The post Two Medical Refrigerators Bolster Health Care for Uninsured Patients at a Virginia Charitable Pharmacy appeared first on Direct Relief.

The shipments contained 13.4 million defined daily doses of medication and supplies, including insulin, prenatal vitamins, oral rehydration tablets, and more.

Strengthening Cold Chain Capacity for Free Clinics

Recently, several pharmaceutical-grade refrigeration systems donated by Sanofi were delivered by Direct Relief to multiple clinics across the U.S., including Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy in Alabama and Welvista in South Carolina.

These fridges have expanded capacity at these sites, allowing for more storage of temperature-sensitive medications, like vaccines and insulin. The systems were donated and placed as part of Direct Relief’s ReplenishRx program, which works to provide free and charitable clinics with medications and supplies at no cost.

Supporting Care for Women in Malawi

This week, Dr. Anne Alaniz, a gynecological oncologist and founder of Pothawira International, spoke about her work in Malawi and her plans to build a new surgical center that will expand care for women in the region.

Direct Relief has supported Pothawira International with more than $5 million in oncology medications, midwife kits, which contain 50 essential items to facilitate safe births, and other requested medical aid. Pothawira, which translates to “Safe Haven,” includes an outpatient clinic, which sees 200 patients a day and a birthing center, which is expected to exceed 500 deliveries in 2024.

A new surgical center, which will include four operating rooms, will enable safe cesarean deliveries, laparoscopic surgeries, radiology services, and more for women who need cancer treatments or are experiencing birth complications. Pothawira also operates an orphanage, primary school, and sustainability farm to support community needs.

Dr. Alaniz, originally from Malawi and who moved to the U.S. at 16, now practices medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital between her medical missions in Malawi. She spoke to a gathering of about 120 people in Montecito, California, this week to raise awareness about Pothawira International and Direct Relief’s Maternal and Child Health Programs in advance of Mother’s Day.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Alaniz and Pothawira International.

Direct Relief Hosts Health Fair in Puerto Rico

Direct Relief and La Fondita de Jesús, a nonprofit focused on services to unhoused people and other vulnerable populations, hosted a health fair on April 23 in Rio Piedra, Puerto Rico. The fair offered health services, personal care kits filled with hygiene items for attendees, and more.

Direct Relief Chief Pharmacy Officer Honored

Direct Relief’s Chief Pharmacy Officer Alycia Clark, PharmD, has been selected among the “Top 50 Women in Business” by the Pacific Coast Business Times.

The Business Times honors 50 of the region’s top women leaders in a number of sectors, including finance, professional services, health care, technology, and nonprofits. Clark was selected for her outstanding contributions to public health and emergency response.

Read the full selection article here.

Operational Snapshot

WORLDWIDE

Over the last week, Direct Relief shipped more than 13 million defined daily doses of medication outside the U.S.

Countries that received medical aid over the past week included:

UNITED STATES

Included in this week’s shipments were deliveries of oral rehydration salts in response to the outbreak of dengue fever in Puerto Rico. The organization is monitoring the outbreak and will continue to respond as requested.

Direct Relief delivered 510 shipments containing over four tons of medications during the past seven days to organizations, including the following:

YEAR TO DATE

Since January 1, 2024, Direct Relief has delivered 7,666 shipments to 1,573 partner organizations in 54 U.S. states and territories and 67 countries.

These shipments contained 121.6 million defined daily doses of medication totaling 2.4 million lbs.

The post Supporting Street Medicine in Puerto Rico, Women’s Health in Malawi, and More appeared first on Direct Relief.

The shipments contained 10.3 million defined daily doses of medication and supplies, including insulin, vaccines, emergency hygiene kits, and personal care products.

Hurricane Otis response continues

In response to Hurricane Otis, shipments of Sanofi insulin and hexavalent vaccine products donated by Direct Relief were delivered to impacted regions in Mexico. The shipment of vaccines was received by the Guerrero Ministry of Health at Hospital Raymundo Abarca Alarcón in Chilpancingo. The donated shipment of insulin was received by Federación Mexicana de Diabetes at Hospital Naval in Acapulco.

midwives address health needs in morocco

Since the devastating magnitude 6.8 earthquake that shook Morocco in September, AMSF (L’Asociation Marocaine de Sages femmes or the Moroccan Midwives Association) has been hard at work providing healthcare to women in the localities affected by the quake.

With grant funding from Direct Relief, the non-profit has launched a health caravan, essentially a clinic on wheels, that is providing sexual and reproductive health care and psychological support. Their team is also now able to undertake a preparedness and recovery training in reproductive health via a distance learning module provided by the Women’s Refugee Commission.

OPERATIONAL SNAPSHOT

WORLDWIDE

This week, Direct Relief shipped 9.2 million defined daily doses of medication outside the U.S.

Countries that received medical aid over the past week included:

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 503 shipments containing over 10 tons of medications over the past week to organizations, including the following:

YEAR-TO-DATE (GLOBAL)

Since January 1, 2023, Direct Relief has delivered 21,600 shipments to 2,568 healthcare providers in 55 U.S. states and territories and 88 countries.

These shipments contained 549.2 million defined daily doses of medication valued at $2 billion (wholesale), totaling 6.2 million lbs.

IN THE NEWS

Last-minute distribution helps provide toys, hygiene kits, blankets to 100+ Santa Maria families – KSBY

‘The Bell’ Symphony for Cello and Orchestra to support Direct Relief efforts in Ukraine – The Strad

Nourishing Brands: How Liquid IV Became A Billion Dollar Hydra – The Marketing Sage

AbbVie spends $350M to bolster healthcare, education; ‘We look forward to the impact we will make in the decades to come’ – Chicago Tribune

America’s Top 100 Charities – Forbes Magazine

The post Disaster Relief Efforts Continue in Mexico and Morocco appeared first on Direct Relief.

ReplenishRx is an enhanced version of a program that provided 91,000 prescriptions to more than 23,000 patients in 2022. ReplenishRx makes it easier for free clinics, community health centers, and charitable pharmacies to enroll in the program themselves, and in turn, makes it easier for providers to enroll individual patients.

ReplenishRx is a streamlined option for pharmaceutical and medical technology manufacturers to donate their products directly to safety net organizations that care for people without health insurance or other means to pay for them.

ReplenishRx provides free medicine only for people lacking any health insurance and with household income at or below 300% of the Federal poverty line. Neither patients nor private insurance companies, nor the government are billed for the medicine. People eligible for ReplenishRx assistance do not qualify for health coverage from their state’s Medicaid program and cannot afford to purchase health insurance.

Pharmaceutical companies or foundations donating medicine to ReplenishRx include AbbVie, Eli Lilly and Company, Johnson & Johnson Patient Assistance Foundation, Medicines360, and Sanofi Cares North America.

“Lilly is deeply committed to expanding access to our medicines,” said Patrik Jonsson, Executive Vice President; President, Lilly Immunology and Lilly USA; and Chief Customer Officer. “We appreciate that Direct Relief’s ReplenishRx program not only reduces administrative burdens on safety-net clinics but also streamlines the process so that patients with limited resources can get the medicines they need, when they need them.”

Lilly and Sanofi both donate insulin through ReplenishRx.

Direct Relief set up its original Replenishment program in 2008 to streamline availability of medicine to uninsured patients at safety net clinics that primarily serve uninsured patients, including Federally Qualified Health Centers and free and charitable clinics and pharmacies. The program was designed to make it easier for patients to get medicine, while improving delivery and management of inventory for safety net clinics and pharmaceutical manufacturers. It helps clinics and charitable pharmacies provide a steady supply of vital medicine to patients lacking insurance, without the need to apply to individual Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) offered by pharmaceutical companies.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers ship donated medicine to Direct Relief’s warehouse in Santa Barbara, California. Direct Relief manages clinic enrollment, distribution logistics, and compliance oversight of the health clinics. The clinics enroll patients based on strict eligibility guidelines, track all inventory received from Direct Relief, dispense prescribed products to eligible patients, and report product usage back to Direct Relief. Direct Relief’s ReplenishRx enables manufacturers to reach a growing network of safety-net organizations.

“The program provides a consistent, steady supply of medication for patients who have no insurance, who are low-income and have diabetes or another chronic disease,” said Marisa Barnes, who runs the ReplenishRx program at Direct Relief. “We’re reducing the amount of paperwork that’s required to participate, which means more clinics and more patients will be able to take part in the program. We’re anticipating rapid growth, particularly in the provision of insulin.”

Traditional PAPs are most often used by individual patients, who seek out programs for specific drugs, apply themselves for admission and then apply for annual renewals. Many safety-net providers help patients submit and manage the paperwork or do it on their behalf. Each patient, including those enrolled by clinics, requires a separate application from each drug maker. Clinics often rely on volunteers to help patients manage the paperwork.

Direct Relief acts as a single point of contact between each clinic and all the pharmaceutical makers it works with. Each clinic requests all its donated medicine once a month for its eligible patients from Direct Relief, and each pharmaceutical company deals only with Direct Relief to distribute its donated medicine to enrolled clinics. Rather than having to continuously request refills for each drug, enrolled healthcare organizations each month report how much of a medicine they have used, and Direct Relief sends them the same amount of the drug again in a single monthly shipment.

ReplenishRx enables patients to receive medicine at the clinic during the same visit when it is prescribed, reducing the risk that the patient won’t follow through to obtain and take the medicine, and thus improving overall health outcomes.

“Direct Relief’s Replenishment Program streamlines the process of participating in manufacturers’ patient assistance programs for our low-income, uninsured patients,” said Jennifer Buxton, Acting Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Cape Fear Clinic Inc. in Wilmington, N.C. “But, perhaps more importantly, it removes the treatment delay by allowing our clinic to keep inventory on hand that is immediately available for use.”

“Direct Relief’s Replenishment Program has been a complete game-changer for NC MedAssist’s Free Pharmacy Program,” said Dustin Allen, Chief Operating Officer & Director of Pharmacy Operations at NC MedAssist in Charlotte, N.C., the only statewide nonprofit pharmacy in North Carolina. “By ordering medications via a single interface as opposed to four separate ones, it not only cuts down on time needed for order placement but also ensures consistent delivery of medications.”

The original Replenishment program required participating pharmacies to use pharmacy software that many of the smallest healthcare organizations lack. Under ReplenishRx, enrolled organizations can upload the necessary information from their electronic health record systems, allowing a wider degree of participation.

Direct Relief has also made it faster and easier for small healthcare organizations to enroll in the program. Under the original program, it could take eight months to a year for an organization to develop and document the standard operating procedures needed to ensure compliance with donation program requirements, which differ among pharma companies. Direct Relief has now developed a Standard Operating Procedures manual that healthcare organizations can integrate into their processes.

ReplenishRx is just one of the many ways Direct Relief provides support to health centers, free and charitable clinics and charitable pharmacies. Direct Relief’s core Safety Net Program donates medicine and medical supplies to more than 1,300 health clinic and charitable pharmacy locations. The program allows them to request donations of specific drugs, which Direct Relief allocates according to available supply and the number of patients each organization serves. In 2022, the Safety Net Program donated medicine with a wholesale value of $258 million. All the medicine Direct Relief donates to these organizations can be dispensed only to low-income patients lacking any health insurance.

The post Direct Relief’s ReplenishRx Increases Access to Donated Medicine for People Unable to Afford It 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.

The $2.5 million investment aims to triple Direct Relief’s medical refrigeration and freezer capacity. Direct Relief’s current validated-for-vaccine cold-storage warehousing can hold up to 40 million doses of vaccine in 10-dose-per-vial packaging within the typical 2-8-degree Celsius temperature range but lacks larger-volume freezer capacity that some Covid-19 vaccines may require.

The organization is in discussions with national and state health authorities, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, and pharmaceutical donors about Covid-19 vaccine distribution plans.

Direct Relief is one of the world’s primary channels for distributing donated charitable medications—including vaccines and other cold-chain medications (those requiring constant, carefully controlled refrigeration)—to people who otherwise would not have access. In the United States, Direct Relief is a central conduit for distributing such medications to nonprofit safety-net providers, including community health centers. These providers are critical in reaching underserved communities, and specifically people of color, who have been disproportionally affected by Covid-19.

Direct Relief’s state-of-the-art pharmaceutical distribution center, which opened in 2018 in California, is one of 665 facilities in the United States accredited by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy as an Accredited Drug Distributor and is the only one operated by a global humanitarian aid organization.

While the specific temperature-management requirements for various Covid-19 vaccines remain unknown, Direct Relief believes global cold-chain capacity is far below what is needed for rapid, mass-vaccination efforts to immunize the U.S. population, much less the global population.

“Direct Relief is taking this step with urgency, recognizing the pressures that exist in getting approved vaccine to people who need it in a safe, secure way,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief President and CEO. “Existing cold-chain channels were not built to support this scale of activity. The situation echoes the severe challenges that arose with the allocation and distribution of PPE—which did not require specialized licensing to handle, store, or track, as do prescription drugs and vaccines.”

Direct Relief has extensive experience working with the world’s largest medical manufacturers to distribute cold-chain prescription drugs, vaccines, and biologic therapies connected with humanitarian and emergency-response efforts.

In the fiscal year ended June 30, Direct Relief completed 2,103 cold-chain deliveries of such products, managing end-to-end distribution to health facilities across the United States and 33 other countries. These deliveries included 738,000 vials of insulin from Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi for patients with Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes; cancer treatment drugs from Amgen, Teva, Takeda, and Baxter; blood-clotting hemophilia treatments from Bayer, Takeda, Pfizer, and Kedrion Biopharma; and biologic therapies from Takeda and Biogen for patients with rare genetic diseases.

Direct Relief has been responding expansively to Covid-19 since reports first arose in January of cases in Wuhan, China, and the Western United States. Since Direct Relief’s first Covid-19 aid delivery on Jan. 27, the organization sent 21,083 medical aid shipments to 2,786 health facilities in 54 U.S. states and territories and 88 countries. These shipments contained 3.2 million lbs. (1,600 tons) of medical essentials, including more than 38 million N95 and surgical masks, more than 7 million gloves, more than 1 million face shields, and tens of thousands of protective suits and other items to help safeguard health workers and care for patients, as well as including 76.9 million Defined Daily Doses of medications, with a value of $747.6 million (wholesale acquisition cost).

“Because Direct Relief is a public-benefit nonprofit with the specialized licensing, capacity, and experience required for cold-chain vaccine distribution, we will do whatever we possibly can to pitch in and backstop public agencies that have their hands more than full,” Tighe said. “We also want to ensure that those most in need, whom our organization supports every day and have suffered disproportionate effects from Covid-19, have a channel to support them.”

The post Direct Relief Prepares for Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution, Investing $2.5 Million to Expand Cold-Chain Capacity appeared first on Direct Relief.

“It was rough to see,” said Glover, who is the pharmacy director for Hoover Drug, a charitable pharmacy that’s part of the Stigler Health & Wellness Center. The organization serves uninsured and low income patients, many of whom are living in flooded areas of eastern Oklahoma.

The record-breaking late May floods killed one man in Arkansas and sent about eight feet of water inside local schools around Fort Smith, and also into eastern Oklahoma. The waters destroyed desks and other equipment, but also things that will prove harder to replace.

“Some of these teachers lost their life’s work. Their lessons plans and prep materials were totally destroyed. They were pretty heartbroken about it,” Glover said.

The destruction was amplified because teachers and administrators had only prepared for about three feet of water, placing chairs and other materials on top of desks or nearby shelves.

Beyond the devastation of losing work and mementos at the school, hundreds of homes were impacted. As the community began to recover, other health concerns arose, especially for those who led the charge to clean up.

“Given the conditions that they were in, there was a lot of debris, lots to clean up, and the chance of getting cut and an infection was pretty high—tree limbs, water, you name it, was in the facility,” Glover said.

Tetanus was his main concern, and people cleaning up from storm damage are particularly at risk of the bacterial illness, which can be transmitted through a cut or wound.

“[Tetanus] is pretty serious, it can be life threatening,” Glover said.

That’s why, for the first time, he and his team set out on the road to offer vaccinations on-site, in partnership with the Moffett and Roland school districts in eastern Oklahoma, administering over 125 Tdap shots, which protect against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis, also known as whooping cough.

The vaccines were needed since many people involved with the clean-up couldn’t remember when they last received the shot, or were coming up on the 10-year limit for effectiveness. The shipment of vaccines, donated by Sanofi, along with protective gear, was the latest in a series of medical aid sent to the health center since flooding began in May.

Health center staff worked to provide evacuated patients with Direct Relief-donated insulin, over-the-counter medications, hygiene products for evacuees and 10 Emergency Medical Backpacks, filled with essential first aid items for medical outreach.

Purchasing the tetanus vaccines would have been an unplanned expense for the health center, so Glover turned to Direct Relief, which was able to ship the requested vaccines, along with other safety gear needed for the clean-up, like masks and protective suits.

In addition to the school, Glover also distributed vaccines at three other sites in the area.

“It was very fulfilling. We got to talk to the people who were directly effected, people who had lost everything, their houses. They were trying to salvage everything they could get. The flood came very quickly and the water… they had little to no time to get any of their possessions out,” Glover said.

“It was a scary thing to see, to know that this could happen to these people,” he said.

With the tragedy, Glover said he saw a silver lining. Community organizations and businesses have stepped up to provide food, cash support and other donations to help people get back on their feet.

“What this community donated was outrageous and it shows people can get the help they need. People are there to care for them.”

The post Protecting Responders after Floodwaters Inundate Oklahoma School, Surrounding Community appeared first on Direct Relief.

NEW: Florence is now a category 4 hurricane. Data from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter indicate that Florence has continued to rapidly strengthen and has maximum sustained winds near 130 mph (195 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 946 mb (27.93 inches) https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/wfLt6fJPl2

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 10, 2018

Direct Relief has offered support to more than 200 healthcare partners that are currently in the storm’s projected path to coordinate potential relief efforts. At the start of hurricane season, hurricane-specific medicines and supplies were also prepositioned in locations serving high-risk areas along the coast and can be opened by health centers should they be needed.

Hurricane preparedness is central to Direct Relief’s emergency efforts in the United States, and began with the organization’s response to Hurricane Katrina in 2004.

Essential medicines and supplies are delivered to secure locations near hurricane-prone areas prior to hurricane season each year. The organization also keeps a stock of emergency medical supplies at its headquarters for high-risk areas should the need for additional support arise.

Financial support from Direct Relief’s long-time partner, FedEx, supported the delivery of hurricane-specific medicines and supplies donated by the following companies:

3M; Abbott; Alcon; Apotex; BD; Boehringer Ingelheim; Lilly; Merck; Omron; Pfizer; Sanofi.

Direct Relief is closely monitoring Hurricane Florence and will continue to provide information as the situation evolves.

The post Hurricane Florence: Essential Medicines and Supplies Staged as Storm Approaches East Coast appeared first on Direct Relief.

These and 11 other countries all received shipments of life-sustaining insulin over the past three months.

More than 422 million people around the world have diabetes, according to the World Health Organization. Only a fraction have the means to access the medicine they need to manage their disease.

Thanks to several key donations, Direct Relief is now shipping more insulin than ever before, and a new warehouse with expanded cold storage lets that insulin stay at optimum temperature before reaching the people who need it the most.

One of the challenges of distributing insulin is keeping it at a constant temperature through transit.

When Direct Relief receives a donation of insulin, it’s stored in the organization’s 2,800-square-foot cold room, which stays between 36 and 41 degrees Fahrenheit. The room is stacked floor to ceiling with temperature-sensitive medications, including insulin and vaccines.

When it’s time to send a shipment, these medications are packed into refrigerated shipping containers at Direct Relief’s warehouse. The specialized containers maintain cold temperatures until medications arrive at a health center, clinic or hospital, where they are stored and administered to patients.

Managing diabetes across the U.S.

One key initiative is enabling Direct Relief to ship more insulin throughout the U.S.

Recently, Eli Lilly and Company donated $4.4 million worth of insulin to Direct Relief for health centers and clinics across the United States.

Direct Relief regularly ships essential medicines to health centers through its replenishment program. Because of the latest donation, nearly 30 clinics and health centers across the U.S. will receive monthly shipments of requested insulin.

To ensure each location has the ability to store that insulin safely, Direct Relief shipped 78 refrigerators – custom sized to fit under a pharmacy counter – to 29 clinical sites across the U.S., thanks to a donation from Sanofi.

Supporting Children with Diabetes, Around the World

Another donation from Eli Lilly has insulin being shipped around the world for children living with Type 1 diabetes.

Earlier this year, Lilly donated  272,000 vials of insulin to be distributed around the world to hospitals and diabetes associations supported by the International Diabetes Federation’s Life for a Child program.

Direct Relief has been working with the Life for a Child Program to provide insulin, syringes and other supplies, as well as diabetes education to children. Over half of that insulin supply has been shipped to 10,500 patients in 16 countries, and the remaining 115,000 vials of insulin will be sent to 15 countries by October 2018.

Going forward, Direct Relief will oversee the logistics and distribution of approximately 300,000 vials of various insulin mixes donated by Eli Lilly for the program each year, allowing more people to manage the disease and live life to the fullest.

The post Managing Diabetes, Across the U.S. and Around the World 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.

Thanks to a daylong event conducted by the VOCES Puerto Rico Vaccination Coalition, Puerto Rico’s Department of Health, the CDC Foundation, Direct Relief and others, 9,426 people were vaccinated against influenza at 55 different locations across the island.

“A year-round flu season, combined with the damage inflicted by Hurricane Maria to Puerto Rico’s vaccine inventories, has left the island’s population severely vulnerable to influenza and other conditions,” said Lilliam Rodríguez, President and Founder of VOCES Puerto Rico. “Immediate action through immunization is needed to protect the lives and health of the population. Today’s island-wide vaccination campaign aims to close the immunization gap and promote health for all.”

Free influenza vaccinations were offered Saturday at the 18,500-person capacity Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan and more than 50 vaccination centers, pharmacies, hospitals and primary health centers throughout the island.

Direct Relief provided 40,000 doses of influenza vaccine donated by pharmaceutical maker Sanofi S.A. for the initiative. Direct Relief is also providing logistics support and funding to rent the Coliseum and hire support staff for the event. With nearly 10,000 people already vaccinated as a result of Saturday’s event, the remaining vaccines can be used for additional immunizations.

“Hurricane Maria dealt a doubly cruel blow to Puerto Rico, devastating countless lives and livelihoods while damaging the health facilities, systems, and infrastructure needed to recover,” said Thomas Tighe, president and CEO, Direct Relief. “That’s why the work of VOCES and others to promote health and wellbeing across Puerto Rico are so critical. It’s a privilege for Direct Relief to support today’s mass immunization campaign and participate in these exceptional efforts to help people in Puerto Rico recover and live healthy lives.”

Puerto Rico’s healthcare system was devastated by Hurricane Maria last September, leaving fewer Puerto Ricans vaccinated this flu season. Dozens of clinics were shut and most lost the electrical power needed to refrigerate vaccines. Many clinics still don’t have electrical grid power.

“Sanofi Cares North America is proud to partner with Direct Relief in supporting this unprecedented flu vaccination campaign for the residents of Puerto Rico,” said Peter Lalli, President of Sanofi Cares North America. “We stand with the people of Puerto Rico as the recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Maria continues.”

Flu has been widespread in Puerto Rico this season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported that “34 states plus Puerto Rico continue to report widespread flu activity,” and while activity dropped from this year’s peak, it still matches the height of the 2015-16 season.

“We remain committed to making vaccines accessible to the Puerto Rican community, and to reach any region of the Island that needs it,” said Dr. Rafael Rodríguez Mercado, Secretary of Health, in a Spanish-language statement issued by VOCES.

In the six months since Hurricane Maria made landfall,  Direct Relief has supported 58 health facilities across Puerto Rico with $61.9 million in medications and medical supplies.

“Direct Relief was the first nongovernmental organization to provide vaccines to Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria,” said Dr. Rafael Rodriguez Mercado, Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Health. “Their efforts saved lives and prevented epidemic outbreaks, and we are exceedingly grateful to Direct Relief and other organizations for their continued support and partnership.”

The post Puerto Rico Launches Largest Single-Day Public Health Campaign Since Hurricane Maria 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.

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.

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.

The donation – valued at approximately $30 million (wholesale acquisition cost) – is Sanofi’s largest single donation of Auvi-Q ever and is part of the company’s commitment to helping people with severe allergies live healthier and safer lives through access to treatment. Auvi-Q is the only epinephrine auto-injector with audio and visual cues to help guide the user through the injection process during an anaphylactic reaction.

“Direct Relief is making the donation of Auvi-Q available to its entire network of more than 1,100 nonprofit health centers and clinics across all 50 U.S. states, with a particular focus on school-based health centers and allergy camps to ensure people are prepared when emergencies occur,” said Damon Taugher, Director of U.S. Programs at Direct Relief. “We are deeply thankful for the Sanofi Foundation’s terrific donation, which is a perfect example of why Direct Relief has built out a national network among nonprofit safety-net health centers and clinics and made the investment to become the only nonprofit to obtain Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributor status from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.”

Anaphylaxis is a severe, sudden allergic reaction that typically involves two or more organs, such as the skin, airways, lungs, stomach, heart or blood pressure. Reactions can be deadly. Anaphylaxis is most commonly triggered by allergies to foods, medications, insect bites/stings, latex, and exercise. Symptoms may include: difficulty breathing; rashes, hives or swelling of the lips, tongue or skin; vomiting; loss of blood pressure; or, even loss of consciousness.

“The Sanofi Foundation for North America is pleased to be able to provide Auvi-Q for patients at risk of anaphylaxis. Our goal is to ensure all people at risk for life-threatening allergies have their prescription epinephrine on-hand when allergic reactions occur. Sanofi US is committed to providing access to our drugs to underserved communities, particularly when children are at risk,” said John Spinnato, President, Sanofi Foundation for North America and Vice President North America Corporate Social Responsibility.

In October 2013, the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) published a landmark survey by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), which found that severe life-threatening allergic reactions – anaphylaxis – are common in the U.S. According to the survey  of 1,000 adults, sponsored by Sanofi US, anaphylaxis very likely occurs in nearly 1-in-50 Americans (1.6%), and the rate is probably higher, close to 1-in-20 (5.1%).  According to Anaphylaxis in America: The Prevalence and Characteristics of Anaphylaxis in the United States  there are alarming patterns of inaction when anaphylaxis occurs: most patients are not getting their prescriptions, not keeping their auto-injectors nearby or not using them during allergic reactions when they should.

There is no cure or preventative treatment for most causes of anaphylaxis, so immediate use of a prescription epinephrine auto-injector at the first sign of a severe allergic reaction is the standard-of-care for adults and children. Patients at-risk for anaphylaxis should be prescribed epinephrine auto-injectors to keep on-hand at all times and ready to use if an emergency occurs.

As the only nonprofit to receive Verified Accredited Wholesale Distributor (VAWD)© certification by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, Direct Relief is licensed to distribute prescription drugs in all 50 states and is well-positioned to ensure the people in need and at risk of life-threatening allergies have access to the standard of care treatment.

About Auvi-Q

Auvi-Q (epinephrine injection, USP) provides users with audible and visual cues, including a five-second injection countdown and an alert light to signal when the injection is complete. In addition to being an auto-injector, Auvi-Q features an automatic retractable needle mechanism designed to help prevent accidental needle sticks.

Auvi-Q is available in two dosages. Auvi-Q 0.3mg delivers 0.3mg epinephrine injection and is intended for patients who weigh 66 pounds or more. Auvi-Q 0.15mg delivers 0.15mg epinephrine injection and is intended for patients who weigh 33 – 66 pounds.Auvi-Q has not been studied in patients weighing less than 33 pounds.Each Auvi-Q pack contains two active devices – containing one dose of epinephrine each – and a training device that does not contain epinephrine, which is provided for practicing.Auvi-Q received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in August 2012.

Eric and Evan Edwards, twin brothers who suffer from life-threatening allergies, and co-founders of Kaléo Pharma (formerly Intelliject, Inc.), developed Auvi-Q with a team of world class engineers and scientists. The development process, based on Human Factors Engineering, incorporated real-world experiences and feedback from patients and caregivers. Sanofi US licensed the North America commercialization rights to Auvi-Q from Kaléo Pharma, which has retained commercialization rights for the rest of the world.The inventors of Auvi-Q received the George DiDomizio Industry Award as part of the 16^th annual ISMP Cheers Awards. This award recognizes individuals, organizations, and companies that have set a standard of excellence for others to follow in the prevention of medication errors and adverse drug events.

The post Sanofi US Donates Record Number of Epinephrine Auto-injectors to Help People at Risk for Severe, Life-threatening Allergic Reactions appeared first on Direct Relief.

Perez surveyed Direct Relief’s operations, met with the team handling the emergency response, and authorized on behalf of the Peruvian government immediate clearance of Direct Relief’s humanitarian aid.

CEO Thomas Tighe extended his deepest sympathies to Perez for the tragic loss of life caused by the earthquake and pledged Direct Relief’s full and ongoing support to help care for victims in response to the tragedy.

Dr. Kuon, whose organization conducts extensive humanitarian health efforts in Peru, is providing invaluable information from the network of Peruvian health officials and is supporting in-country logistics to ensure essential material is reaching responders immediately.

As the health needs of victims continue to be identified, Direct Relief is making arrangements to airlift additional medical and personal care supplies.  FedEx, which provided at no charge the initial airlift yesterday, has offered its continued logistics and transport support to Direct Relief’s response.

Program Officer Dan Smith, whose wife and daughter are in Peru, is coordinating Direct Relief’s response.  Smith has worked closely with the office of the Archdiocese of Lima for over five years on various humanitarian health projects and is in close communication with the Peruvian national civil defense coordinating agency, PAMS, and other Peruvian organizations involved in the relief effort.

Direct Relief’s first emergency airlift, completed less than 20 hours after the quake, included medical and first aid items specifically requested by Peruvian authorities.

Yesterday, Direct Relief committed $100,000 of its own resources to the quake relief effort, regardless of whether any contributions are received.  Any additional funds that are received for the quake will be restricted for use only in response to the Peru earthquake.

In light of the significant attention to this emergency, we wish to clarify that any funds received for the Peru quake will be used exclusively for this purpose without any expense charged to administration or fundraising.  Direct Relief pays all such overhead expenses with its own funds, thanks to a generous bequest received last year.

Direct Relief would sincerely like to thank the following corporate donors for making their materials available for the relief effort:

• Abbott
• BD
• Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
• Carlsbad Technology, Inc.
• Johnson & Johnson
• Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies
• Marlex Pharmaceuticals
• Matrixx Initiatives, Inc.
• McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals
• Midmark Corporation
• Miltex, Inc.
• Mylan Laboratories, Inc.
• OHM Laboratories, Inc.
• Sage Products, Inc.
• sanofi-aventis
• Schering-Plough Corporation
• Watson Pharmaceuticals
• Wisconsin Pharmacal Company LLC

Direct Relief is closely monitoring the situation and is in constant communication with its in-country partner network.  As the relief effort evolves, additional shipments will be air freighted as required.

The post Peruvian Government Expedites Direct Relief Humanitarian Assistance appeared first on Direct Relief.

The shipment was sent to one of our long-standing partners in Peru, the Archdiocese of Lima. A partner with Direct Relief for eight years, the Archdiocese operates two clinics located within the poorest sections of Lima, Peru’s sprawling capital city, and one located outside the city.

The donation consisted of specifically requested items, primarily antibiotics, to be delivered to the Instituto Nacional de Defensa Civil (INDECI), the primary coordinating agency for the government’s relief effort. The Archdiocese’s office is working to coordinate relief efforts with INDECI.

Other items in the shipment included first aid materials (gauze, first aid tape, bandages, etc.), antibiotic creams, analgesics, IV solutions and accessories, and oral rehydration salts.

Direct Relief would sincerely like to thank the following corporate donors for making their materials available for the relief effort:

• Abbott
• BD
• Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
• Carlsbad Technology, Inc.
• Johnson & Johnson
• Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies
• Marlex Pharmaceuticals
• Matrixx Initiatives, Inc.
• McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals
• Midmark Corporation
• Miltex, Inc.
• Mylan Laboratories, Inc.
• OHM Laboratories, Inc.
• Sage Products, Inc.
• sanofi-aventis
• Schering-Plough Corporation
• Watson Pharmaceuticals
• Wisconsin Pharmacal Company LLC

Direct Relief is closely monitoring the situation and is in constant communication with its in-country partner network.  As the relief effort evolves, additional shipments will be air freighted as required.

The post Direct Relief Sending Resources to Aid Victims of Peru Earthquake appeared first on Direct Relief.