Northwest Medical Teams reaches its $1 billion dollar milestone in humanitarian aid sent when it dispatches a container to the Dominican Republic on Thursday. The medical supplies, valued at $1 million, are slated to arrive in Caucedo, Dominican Republic on Feb. 7, where they will be distributed to 14 hospitals in the region.
The supplies sent tomorrow will cap a 20-year history of sending antibiotics, surgical kits, bandages and lifesaving medicines to care for more than 31 million people in 70 countries. If all of the shipped containers were stacked end to end, they would cover a length of 266 football fields or nearly 15 miles.
Media: A 20 foot container will be loaded with medical supplies and medicines from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon, Thursday, Jan. 11, at NW Medical Teams, 14150 SW Milton Ct., Tigard. For information, please call Barbara Agnew at 503.341.6620.
Major pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment manufacturers and local hospitals donate supplies to Northwest Medical Teams. These donations, along with volunteers who sort and pack the supplies, enable Northwest Medical Teams to send more than 97 percent of all contributions to people who need it most.
"This historic milestone represents hundreds of thousands of families around the world who have been touched by critically needed medicines," says Bas Vanderzalm, president of Northwest Medical Teams. "For the baby in Uganda fighting a life threatening infection or the young mother struggling with malaria in Cambodia, these medicines are the difference between life and death."
Each month, Northwest Medical Teams sends several million dollar shipments to stock hospitals and clinics in developing, war torn or disaster stricken regions. Working with local staff and partners incountry, the supplies are distributed to regions where medicines and basic medical items are nonexistent.
Additionally, equipment and surgical supplies are sent to modernize outdated surgical units and clinics, improving the quality of care that patients receive. Medical volunteers also carry in medicines and supplies when they arrive in disaster locations, allowing relief workers to begin medical care immediately.
Last year, the organization procured, processed and shipped nearly $103 million worth of donated products. In 2005, Northwest Medical Teams reported its highest year of relief supplies distributed an astounding $215 million prompted largely by the organization's response to the tsunami disaster in southeast Asia.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
