As Hospital Supplies Run Low, AmeriCares Sends More Relief to Haiti

A new shipment of lifesaving medicines and medical supplies from AmeriCares arrived in Haiti this Wednesday. The latest relief delivery was part of a convoy carrying critical aid from the Dominican Republic to earthquake-ravaged Haiti. 

Hospitals and health clinics continue treating record numbers of patients despite the damage and destruction to their facilities, equipment, medicines and supplies. Thousands of survivors were injured, inundating hospitals and depleting the supplies that survived the devastating quake.

To date, over $12.5 million worth of AmeriCares medical aid has been delivered to help Haitian earthquake survivors. Help Support AmeriCares Efforts in Haiti >>

“There is no end in sight to the need for medical supplies and surgical equipment in Haiti,” reports Brian Hoyer, a member of AmeriCares emergency response team on the ground in Port-au-Prince.

To help thousands of children suffering from malnutrition and dehydration, the delivery included specialized nutritional supplements and fluids. Prenatal vitamins were also sent to help prevent birth defects and improve the health of thousands of expectant mothers.

The delivery also included antibiotics and other critical medicines to provide 16,000 treatments for people recovering from surgery or suffering from serious infections.

AmeriCares is replenishing basic, but essential hospital items including nearly 500,000 units of vital medical supplies such as bandages, gauze, catheters, tongue depressors and IV-kits.

AmeriCares has pledged $15 million in aid for the people of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, in the wake of the catastrophe. AmeriCares is preparing to deliver additional medicines, large quantities of bottled water and water purification packets, as well as baby food and hydrating fluids for children orphaned by the earthquake in the coming days and weeks.

AmeriCares has been providing humanitarian aid to Haiti, partnering with local health care organizations throughout the country. Over the years, we have delivered more than $157 million worth of medical aid and humanitarian relief to Haiti. AmeriCares helps partners serve more patients and avoid running out of basic medicines and medical supplies with regular shipments throughout the year.

AmeriCares is organizing additional aid deliveries from around the world. Aid includes:

• Bottled water trucked in from across the U.S. is being consolidated in Miami and will soon be shipped to the Dominican Republic. From there is will be transported to earthquake affected-areas throughout Haiti.
• AmeriCares is also delivering 2.3 million water purification sachets – enough to provide 45,000 families with enough safe drinking water for the difficult weeks to come. The supplies are flying in from Pakistan and Panama.
• Baby food, rehydration fluids and other supplies to help children will soon fly out from Miami to help orphanages throughout areas of Haiti rocked by the earthquake.
• From AmeriCares India, vital antibiotics and medicines critical in emergency hospital settings are being shipped out of Mumbai.
• By boat and plane, 3.5 million bottles of water are being prepared for delivery. We are in the process of filling 30 twenty-foot shipping containers filled with bottled water with the remaining water to be airlifted out of Miami.

For over 25 years, AmeriCares has responded with emergency relief and lifesaving aid to catastrophic disasters around the world that have affected millions of families including: Hurricane Katrina in the U.S., typhoons in the Philippines, the tsunami in Southeast Asia, earthquakes in China and Peru, and deadly cholera outbreaks in Zimbabwe.

Your gift to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund will help with our lifesaving response to this deadly disaster.