(PORTLAND, Ore. - Jan. 14, 2008) Medical Teams International is a new member of Integral, an alliance of Christian faith-based global relief and development organizations with a shared commitment to work together to eradicate poverty. Based in the United Kingdom, Integral includes 14 agencies from13 countries who work in 100 of the world's poorest countries.
Other Integral members include Tear Fund/Europe, SEL France, Cedar Fund/Hong Kong, World Relief/US, Canada and Integra/Slovakia. Last year, the alliance conducted more than 1,000 humanitarian aid projects with a total value of $300 million.
"We look forward to bringing our global health experience to the Integral Alliance," says Bas Vanderzalm, president of Medical Teams International. "It's a wonderful collaboration, enabling us to accomplish more together than any one organization could achieve on its own."
Medical Teams International (formerly Northwest Medical Teams) is also a member of the Global Relief Alliance, a coalition of six faith-based international aid agencies that have collaborated on projects in Darfur, South Sudan, Pakistan and South Asia.
Collaborations are an emerging humanitarian aid trend, enabling organizations to bring their specific competency to relief projects. This new approach reduces duplication of services and provides better management of agencies' resources.
"Everybody wins through our participation in these collaborative efforts with faith-based groups," adds Vanderzalm. "Not only are we able stretch our donors' gifts so much further, we're able to have a greater impact on the health and well-being of those we serve."
Founded in 1979 as Northwest Medical Teams, Medical Teams International is a non-profit humanitarian relief and development organization that exists to demonstrate the love of Christ to people affected by disaster, conflict and poverty around the world. In its 28-year history, Medical Teams International has deployed more the 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. ]
