Index of Updates from the Field
Cuba Hurricane Relief Update
By Angela Garcia - Deputy Director, November 19, 2008 10:05 PM
Working in collaboration with the World Health Organization/ Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Cuban Ministry of Health, Global Links sent six containers of urgently needed medical supplies, equipment and furnishings to assist hospitals in regions most impacted by the hurricanes. The last four containers were shipped within the final weeks of October and will conclude our hurricane relief efforts for the year.
These donations would not have been possible without the special funding Global Links received to support medical aid for Cuban healthcare facilities affected by the hurricanes. Four of the shipments were sponsored by the Department of Emergency Preparedness at PAHO in Washington, DC. The other shipments were sponsored by individual donors from across the United States, Canada, England and Australia and with funds earmarked for the Institute of Nephrology.
We would like to thank the following organizations for their help in raising awareness and funds for our efforts: US Cuba Sister Cities Association, Center for Democracy in the Americas and GlobalGiving.
We have raised over $21,000 to date from individual donors like you. In addition to allowing us to make additional shipments of materials, these generous donations allowed us to procure items such as new blood pressure units and new hospital grade mattresses.
The six shipments included: 54 hospital beds, 30 gurneys, over 100 chairs, IV poles and walkers, as well as other furnishings. In addition, we sent over 1,800 boxes of unused disposable medical supplies. Examples include: syringes, gauze, gloves, specialized surgical supplies, IV supplies and hospital linens. Specific items were chosen based on the needs indicated in a report on the damages and the strategic recovery plan communicated to us by PAHO and the Ministry of Health in Cuba.
Contributing to the quality of these shipments, Global Links also received many in-kind donations from various companies and institutions such as University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Quality Medical Relief, Riverside Medical Center (NJ), Standard Textile and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.
The combined monetary value of these six shipments is over $1.5 million.
We will continue our efforts to help the affected regions recover from the hurricanes. Global Links staff will be making an assessment trip to Cuba in the near future. We know the needs will be considerable. With your help, we hope to send another eight to ten shipments in 2009.
Cuba hurricane relief update
By Kathleen Hower - Executive Director, October 09, 2008 08:03 PM
Reports from the World Health Organization / Pan American Heath Organization verify that Cuban medical facilities have been extensively damaged by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, jeopardizing health care delivery in the country. More than 1,300 health facilities across the island reported damage. Reports indicate that the health infrastructure in western Cuba was severely damaged: 314 health facilities, 26 hospitals, 18 polyclinics, 191 family consultation offices, 14 homes for the elderly and 42 pharmacies. The Isle of Youth, an island off the southern coast of Cuba sustained severe damage. The general hospital with a capacity of 396 beds, was severely damaged and is not functional. This hospital delivers services to the population of 87,000. In addition, three primary health care clinics have also been damaged as well as the main emergency unit, the unit of epidemiological surveillance, and the municipal warehouse for medical supplies.
Working in collaboration with the WHO/PAHO, Global Links will send the first two shipments of urgently needed medical supplies and furnishings on Friday, October 3, and Monday, October 6. These are the first of four containers that we have committed to sending this month. Donations will begin to address urgent needs for basic medical supplies, furnishings and equipment communicated by our partners in Cuba.
Our first two shipments include more than 600 boxes of disposable and reusable medical supplies such as syringes, gauze, gloves, specialized surgical supplies, alcohol prep pads, liquid nutrition, IV supplies and hospital linens. Other basic materials include IV poles, beds, mattresses, gurneys, walkers, crutches and storage cabinets.
In the upcoming weeks, we will send many more hospital beds, mattresses, linens medicines; a significant quantity of waiting and patient room chairs; exam tables; and an additional 500 boxes of disposable and reusable medical supplies.
The Pan American Health Organization is supporting a portion of our cost; money raised on globalgiving will help us purchase needed materials for these and other shipments.
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