STAMFORD, CT, May 22 - AmeriCares, a nonprofit international relief organization, airlifted more than 15 tons of medicines and medical supplies into Geneina, West Darfur today - one of Sudan's most dangerous and hard-to-reach regions. The shipment has the potential to treat the emergency medical needs of hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the ongoing violence. The airlift, which left from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, is AmeriCares 10th emergency air shipment sent to Darfur since 2004.
AmeriCares is one of the few relief organizations flying aid directly into Darfur. Direct delivery from AmeriCares helps eliminate the potential for delivery delays or convoy attacks on supply trucks coming from Khartoum. AmeriCares delivered the much-needed medical supplies to their partner, Save the Children, and other health care organizations working in West Darfur.
"As conflict continues to rage across Darfur, the global aid community is charged to do all we can to help save lives and restore health to the refugee populations in Darfur," said Curt Welling, President & CEO of AmeriCares. "While AmeriCares and many other organizations are working tirelessly to provide relief in Myanmar and China following the recent natural disasters, we cannot forget about the ongoing assistance needed in Darfur. It is our responsibility to use the significant resources at our disposal to help end the suffering for all those in need - wherever they are, whenever they need it."
The much-needed delivery contains basic medical supplies and medicines critical for treating diseases and other conditions common to people living in camps established for people displaced by the ongoing violence. The shipment runs the gamut from antibiotics and analgesics to latex gloves, multivitamins and drugs for the treatment of diarrheal and respiratory diseases. Often, basic health issues become exaggerated for people living as refugees. On a daily basis, doctors in West Darfur treat patients with asthma, burns, severe vitamin deficiencies and acute diarrhea, hopefully preventing more serious outbreaks of disease.
"Most of the prescriptions filled by doctors across West Darfur since 2004 have been with medicines delivered by AmeriCares," said Christoph Gorder, AmeriCares vice president of emergency response. "As a critical part of the supply chain that gets life-saving drugs quickly and effectively to people most in need, AmeriCares is committed to ongoing shipments of medicines and medical supplies to Darfur - until the conflict ends and health is restored to displaced people living in this troubled region of the world."
Since 2004, AmeriCares has delivered a total of 152 tons of medicines and supplies to North, South and West Darfur. The staggering size of today's airlift is due to the generous donation of medicines and supplies from corporate partners including Shire, Hospira, Fougera and Baxter International, Inc.
Two additional airlifts are in the planning stages to North and South Darfur later this year.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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