“Our goal is to strengthen the web of care for Tibetan women and children by helping One Heart mobilize available resources and implement their high‐impact program throughout rural Qinghai,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe. “We’re pleased to take the lead funding role to support One Heart in China on this effort. We’ve worked with One Heart before, and their team has a history of implementing successful programs and saving lives.”

One Heart World-Wide is the only U.S.-based nongovernment, nonprofit organization chosen by the U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China to provide maternal and newborn care to the impoverished Yushu Region in Tibet’s Qinghai Province. As there is little or no access to transportation, medical facilities or trained health personnel, 100 out of every 100,000 pregnant women dies in childbirth and 20 out of every 1,000 newborns dies in infancy. Qinghai University Hospital provided on-site maternal care and some outreach to remote Tibetan communities for obstetrical emergencies before the earthquake. However, it is now faced with severely damaged facilities, depleted resources and few uninjured medical personnel. One Heart’s programs will address the core components of the local healthcare system that directly impact maternal and infant survival.

“Direct Relief’s support enables us to rapidly implement a program that has been proven to work in this very fragile environment,” said Arlen Samen, executive director and CEO of One Heart World-Wide. “During our ten years in Tibet, we developed a replicable, sustainable model that saved the lives of thousands of pregnant women and newborn babies. We can now begin our work in China to do the same.”

Samen founded OHW in 1998 to work with disadvantaged communities to raise awareness and teach good birth practices. In the 10 years that the One Heart program was active in Tibet, the number of women who died in childbirth annually dropped from 33 to zero. One Heart recently relocated its corporate offices to San Francisco, Calif. and manages close to $1 million in donations to support maternal-child health programs in China, Mexico, and Nepal

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Direct Relief is coordinating with Amitabha Foundation, One HEART, and Mercy Relief, which are sending emergency teams to China to assess damage and treat the injured.

Amitabha and One HEART have been providing medical aid in the region with Direct Relief’s support for several years, and Singapore-based Mercy Relief has expertise in providing emergency medical teams in Asia when disasters strike. Among other activities with these partner organizations, Direct Relief two years ago provided financing to Amitabha to outfit a surgical suite in Yushu, the location of the quake’s epicenter.

Direct Relief has informed the office of the U.S. Ambassador to China, Jon M. Huntsman Jr., of its financial commitment and ability to assist.

In addition to providing funding for emergency teams with deep experience in the region, Direct Relief also is exploring the potential for hand-carried medical supplies and in-country medical donations from partner healthcare companies with operations in China.

News updates report that 243 people are missing and 11,477 injured as search-and-rescue efforts continue. Tens of thousands of structures, including homes and schools, have been destroyed; 760 people have been killed in the quake, registered at a magnitude of 6.9 by the USGS and 7.1 by official Chinese agencies.

Direct Relief has extensive experience responding to earthquakes and the particular injuries they cause, including the Pakistan quake of 2005, the China earthquake in 2008, and the Haiti earthquake earlier this year. Direct Relief has provided extended support to the Pakistan Institute of Prosthetic and Orthotic Services (PIPOS), developing a comprehensive prosthetic and orthotic practice to benefit people disabled in the earthquake, and has committed $2 million to develop a similar program in Haiti.

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The epicenter was in Yushu in the mountainous Qinghai Province, about 150 miles northwest of Qamdo, Tibet, CNN reports. Partners in Tibet that receive medical material support include One H.E.A.R.T., a maternal-and-child health organization based in Tibet, and the Amitabha Foundation, a group that focuses on maternal, child, and general health for Tibet’s nomadic population. Direct Relief responded to the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake in China.

Direct Relief’s thoughts are with the people of China who have been affected by the earthquake. The organization will continue to monitor the situation with partners on the ground there.

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