Emergency Aid Shipment for Bangladesh Building Collapse

“Hospitals in the developing world struggle with shortages of medicines and supplies to meet even just their daily needs – they are not equipped to care for thousands of wounded survivors including many who will require multiple surgeries.”—Dr. Frank Bia, AmeriCares Medical DirectorA shipment of 3,000 pounds of emergency medicines and supplies emergency medical aid has arrived in Bangladesh to help reduce the suffering of survivors injured in the deadly building collapse.  The medical aid was air-shipped to the National Institute for Trauma and Orthopedic Rehabilitation in Savar, one of the major hospitals treating the injured. Valued at $315,000, the shipment includes large quantities of bandages, wound care products, intravenous solutions, antibiotics, pain medicines and surgical supplies needed to treat trauma patients, including those with crush injuries.“The injuries in Bangladesh are very similar to what we see after earthquakes where physicians are rushing to perform large numbers of amputations to save lives,” said AmeriCares Medical Director Dr. Frank Bia. “Hospitals in the developing world struggle with shortages of medicines and supplies to meet even just their daily needs – they are not equipped to care for thousands of wounded survivors including many who will require multiple surgeries.”The medicines and supplies were pre-positioned in AmeriCares Stamford, Conn., warehouse to enable the aid organization to respond quickly to disasters. Products donated by more than a dozen companies, including The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies and Baxter International Inc., are included on the shipment. AmeriCares is coordinating with icddr,b and APL to distribute the products.AmeriCares has provided medical relief and humanitarian aid to millions affected by natural and man-made disasters for more than 30 years, including earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia and, most recently, Hurricane Sandy in the United States.AmeriCares has been delivering aid to Bangladesh since 2002 in response to catastrophic floods and other disasters, including Cyclone Sidr in 2007. AmeriCares also supports a network of hospitals throughout the country through partnerships with icddr,b and other health care organizations in Bangladesh. To date, AmeriCares has delivered $12 million in aid to the disaster-prone nation.

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