The summit brought more than 40 leaders from across the Caribbean together to hear from medical and industry experts on the increased risk of disasters and the threats such events pose to health infrastructure in hurricane-prone areas around the region.

As ocean temperatures continue to rise due to climate change, so has the severity of the hurricanes that batter the Caribbean region year after year. The Caribbean experienced 70 named tropical storms across 19 countries between 1980 and 2019.

In response, Direct Relief has provided support to Caribbean health initiatives, including medical refrigeration, solar power, and requested medical supplies. By providing aid and logistical assistance before, during, and after hurricanes and tropical storms, Direct Relief has responded in the contiguous U.S. and Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Barbados, Cuba, St. Maarten, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos, Antigua, and Jamaica.

“Governments worldwide have significant challenges in this post-covid moment, facing intensifying natural events that pose great risks to this region,” said Thomas Tighe, President and CEO of Direct Relief. “We deeply appreciate these leaders being here to share their perspectives on how private philanthropy can assist them to better prepare and respond to disasters in the Caribbean.”

Since establishing the Puerto Rico office in 2017 to support Hurricane Maria response, Direct Relief has facilitated the implementation of over 400 projects to strengthen Puerto Rico’s healthcare system through its health center network and other local nonprofit organizations. With an investment of more than $120 million, including grant funding and requested medical aid, the organization has expanded healthcare services for vulnerable communities across the island and bolstered emergency preparedness capacity at health facilities.

Now, Direct Relief has unveiled Puerto Rico as a hub for Caribbean emergency response, with over 25 tons of emergency medical supplies staged on the island and ready for deployment to neighboring Caribbean islands facing impacts from disasters and emergencies.

As part of Direct Relief’s efforts to support disaster response in the region, the Hurricane Preparedness Program features the deployment of large caches of the medical items most needed in the wake of a disaster, including trauma supplies, antibiotics, and wound care supplies, as well as medications for diabetes, hypertension, and respiratory, psychological, and gastrointestinal ailments. The Hurricane Preparedness Packs weigh 1,470 lbs. and are designed to provide enough medical supplies to care for 1,000 people for 30 days.

This year, 18 countries in the Northern Hemisphere, including Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Panama, and St. Lucia will receive the Hurricane Preparedness Packs from Direct Relief.

The post Direct Relief Convenes 15 Caribbean Nations to Discuss Climate Change and Impacts on Health appeared first on Direct Relief.

• Working with the Mexican government, Direct Relief delivered 95,000 polio vaccine doses to Ecuador.

• A $200,000 grant from Direct Relief is helping Alaska’s most vulnerable receive Covid-19 vaccines.

• Covid-19 vaccine clinic held at Direct Relief HQ.

• In Mississippi, a $250,000 grant from Direct Relief is bolstering efforts to address food insecurity.

Top Stories

When Ecuador Needed Polio Vaccines, Mexico and Direct Relief Stepped Up

The situation: Last month, Ecuador launched a national campaign to inoculate infants against polio, but the country ran short of the vaccine doses needed.

The response: The Mexican government responded to the appeal, offering to donate the vaccine from its national stockpile. To transport the aid, Mexico turned to Direct Relief.

The impact: Using its cold-chain transportation experience and resources, Direct Relief delivered 95,000 doses of the vaccine, which landed last week at Quito International Airport.

Direct Relief Supports Alaskan Covid-19 Vaccination Efforts

The situation: A health center in Alaska has undertaken an ambitious plan to vaccinate people living in remote communities, some of whom need to be transported by chartered plane.

The response: Direct Relief is supporting the vaccination efforts with a $200,000 grant.

The impact: Vaccinating people in remote communities reduces the likelihood that emergencies will arise, when help is far away and dependent on weather.

At Direct Relief Headquarters, A Vaccine Clinic Aimed at Vulnerable Locals

The situation: Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, a local health center, has been vaccinating the community’s most vulnerable against Covid-19.

The response: Direct Relief has hosted Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics for vaccine pop-up clinics on March 13 and 18, and will continue to do so.

The impact: More than 100 members of the community received the vaccine at the first clinic.

A New Program Aims to Reduce Hunger in Mississippi

The situation: Food insecurity is on the rise, and Mississippi has the highest rates in the country.

The response: A new program headed by the Community Health Center Association of Mississippi is working to reduce hunger while offering education on healthy eating. Direct Relief is supporting the program with a $250,000 grant.

The impact: Participating health centers are working to reach a range of diverse populations, from people with HIV to children experiencing hunger.

In Brief

The United States

• Over the past two weeks, Direct Relief has shipped 1,027 deliveries totaling more than $11.3 million (wholesale) to 477 health organizations in 46 states and territories.
• During that time, Direct Relief has processed more than $380,000 in grant funding to support a range of health-focused initiatives.
• Direct Relief also hosted a reproductive health webinar in honor of International Women’s Day.

Around the World

• Over the same period, Direct Relief has supported organizations in 24 countries with more than $15 million in medical aid and more than $250,000 in grant funding.
• Direct Relief is in the process of shipping more than two dozen 40-foot containers of PPE to health organizations around the world.
• Since the beginning of the pandemic, the organization has shipped 3,942 oxygen concentrators to health care providers worldwide.
• In response to a call from the Pan-American Health Organization, Direct Relief sent 1,900 pounds of medical aid to support a field hospital in Barbados.

The post Global Update: Polio Vaccines to Ecuador; Covid-19 Vaccinations in Alaska; A Local Vaccine Clinic appeared first on Direct Relief.

At the end of 2020, the island nation – with a population of about 287,000 people – had seen fewer than 350 cases, and only seven deaths, said Lieutenant Colonel Junior Browne of the Barbados Defense Force.

But then, tourist season started.

“With more people coming in, there was a greater chance of something happening, and that led to community spread eventually,” Browne said.

In the months since, those numbers have climbed. According to Reuters, Barbados has seen 2,971 infections and 31 deaths since the pandemic’s beginning.

The country has launched an active response. In 2020, the government decided to set up an isolation unit for Covid-19 patients and recently established a new lockdown to combat the spread.

The Barbados Defense Force – which has the only WHO-classified Type 1 emergency medical team in the Caribbean – created testing facilities and a field hospital to support Barbados’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

“We were planning before we had even one positive case here in Barbados,” Browne said.

The field hospital is used to assist Queen Elizabeth Hospital with triaging potential Covid-19 cases. While the hospital had the staff it needed to run effectively, it was short of cots, beds, medicines, and other supplies.

The Barbados Defense Force reached out to the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) – the branch of the WHO that works specifically in the Americas – to ask for support. And in turn, the organization reached out to Direct Relief.

At Direct Relief headquarters

Every two weeks, Anna Lopez-Carr, a monitoring and evaluation specialist on Direct Relief’s Research and Analysis team, updates the organization’s Covid-19 International Vulnerability Index – a tool that takes a series of variables into account to determine how hard a country is likely to be hit by Covid-19.

“We wanted something that would go beyond just the Covid incidence and give us a better idea of how resilient some of these countries would be in terms of dealing with Covid,” Lopez-Carr said. The team takes into account the case incidence, but also considers hospital bed availability, population age, food insecurity, and the levels of other diseases.

“It’s something we can do to support the organization in terms of data and general knowledge or intelligence about Covid trends around the world,” said Lopez-Carr.

Cydney Justman, a senior emergency response manager, explained that the index has played a significant role in making decisions about where to send aid.

“Most of our partners in our global network are under increased stress, are experiencing a new sense of urgency in their work, and feel like the situation requires international assistance,” she said. “Really having data to look at that objectively is so helpful.”

A few weeks ago, Lopez-Carr noticed that Barbados’s vulnerability to Covid-19 – along with that of a few other nations – had increased.

At the same time, Justman was considering a request from PAHO on Barbados’s behalf.

She explained that Direct Relief receives urgent requests for assistance from all over the world, so the data provides focus on how and when to support the organization’s partners.

Having the information from Research and Analysis – which matched what she was hearing from PAHO – was instrumental. “I was aware of their increased vulnerability and it really matched up with that information from in-country,” she said.

The work that Research and Analysis does has long played a significant role in the Emergency Response team’s work. Justman used the example of the Hurricane Preparedness Map, which uses historical hurricane data to determine what locations are most vulnerable to tropical storms. Emergency Response uses the data to determine where to pre-position Hurricane Preparedness Packs, which contain the medications and supplies most frequently needed after a storm.

Still, Justman said, “every member of my team works with Research and Analysis in a different way, applying the tools they create to optimize our global efforts.”

Material aid

Justman’s team decided to support the Barbados Defense Force with more than 1,900 pounds of medical aid, including cots, a tent, and two Emergency Health Kits, each of which contains the medications and supplies to treat up to 1,000 patients for 30 days.

“We are trying to prepare ourselves to battle on several fronts, so the Direct Relief equipment and supplies will help us do that,” Browne said.

Browne explained that Barbados isn’t just prepared to respond locally. It’s also ready to help out neighbors in the Caribbean, should the need arise.

And Covid-19 isn’t the only threat. Hurricane season is coming. And nearby St. Vincent and the Grenadines has been experiencing an effusive volcanic eruption, to which the Barbados Defense Force is prepared to respond.

The donation “will help us extend our range of support here at home…and it will also assist us should we have to deploy otherwise as well,” he said.
Browne explained that Barbados has a well-defined strategy to combat the pandemic. A primary roadblock has been a shortage of medical supplies.

“Sometimes we lack the materials to work with,” he said. “There are a lot of things we can do on our own, but we just need a little assistance to get things going.”

The post Where Research Meets Response: Supporting the Fight Against Covid-19 in Barbados appeared first on Direct Relief.