(PORTLAND, ORE. - Aug. 16, 2007) Medical Teams International is on standby with medicines and volunteers to respond to yesterday's earthquake in Peru. The 8.0 magnitude quake is still sending aftershocks in the southern region where nearly 500 people have been killed and thousands more are injured.
"We're waiting for an assessment from our partners in Peru to tell us what the needs are...whether it's for personnel or supplies," says Joe DiCarlo, director of emergency relief for Medical Teams International. "In a disaster like this, the local hospitals are overwhelmed by the need for care. If there is a gap in medical services, we'll respond immediately."
Seasoned volunteers with Medical Teams International have contacted the agency throughout the day and are ready to go if needed, according to DiCarlo. Medical Teams International will also equip volunteers with antibiotics, bandages and IV kits if teams are deployed.
Medical Teams International sends eight to 10 volunteer teams each year to Peru and has distributed more than $1.5 million in medicines to clinics and hospitals in the country. A volunteer team of medical surgeons is slated to go to Coya, Peru, in September. Medical Teams International has been working in the country since 2001.
Founded in 1979 as Northwest Medical Teams, Medical Teams International is a faith-based relief agency that helps people affected by disaster, conflict and poverty around the world. In its 27-year history, Medical Teams International has deployed nearly 1,700 volunteer teams and shipped more than $1 billion in antibiotics, surgical kits and lifesaving medicines to care for 35 million people in 100 countries.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
