“Every day, our medical facilities are subjected to targeted attacks by Russia,” said Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine. “Each such attack endangers the lives of patients. Ensuring uninterrupted medical care under any conditions and being prepared for different scenarios is our main task in the realities of war.”

Attacks on the power grid in the winter of 2022-23 destroyed 61% of Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity and left around 12 million people without power, according to the UNDP.

Without electrical power, hospitals can’t pump oxygen to keep patients breathing, warm newborn babies in incubators, diagnose injuries with X-rays, or track patient care through electronic medical records.

“We are working to ensure that hospitals are equipped with everything they need and can continue to operate in the event of emergency power outages or complete blackouts,” Liashko said. “In particular, Ukrainian medical institutions are now provided with more than 10,000 generators for uninterrupted power supply. They have also begun to equip medical facilities with alternative and environmentally friendly sources of electricity, including solar panels. The initial 300 [electricity] storage systems received from Direct Relief will strengthen medical institutions in 20 regions of Ukraine. I am grateful to our international partners for this assistance.”

The war has inflicted an estimated $7.5 billion of direct damage on the electrical power sector, and has cost the sector $32 billion in lost revenue, according to the World Bank’s newly published damage and needs assessment.

The World Bank estimates it will cost $40.4 billion to rebuild Ukraine’s power sector over 10 years, using “a build back better approach with policies that align its energy model with the EU energy policy and move toward a decarbonized economy.” Of the $40.4 billion, $1.75 billion has been received.

“Ukraine has been using the [battery storage systems] since the first months of the full-scale war,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development at Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation. “The systems provide backup power to hospitals, schools, emergency services and other critical infrastructure facilities. Thanks to our cooperation with Direct Relief, this year Ukraine will receive 2,000 devices as part of the Power for Health project. We continue to work on technological solutions for our country.”

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, was hit hard and relentlessly by artillery and air strikes in the opening stages of the full-scale war that began on February 24, 2022, and attacks have continued periodically over the past two years. The Kharkiv Regional Hospital serves the whole of the heavily war-damaged northeastern Kharkiv region, including its large population of internally displaced persons.

“But we never stopped working,” said Kostiantyn Loboiko, acting director of the hospital, which has 830 beds (including 130 in the maternity ward) and a staff of 2,000, including 550 doctors. “We also had births in the cellar, where we had some basic equipment.”

The greatest damage to the hospital to date occurred during three waves of missile strikes on the city on Dec. 29, which killed three people and injured 13. Around 90 of the hospital’s windows were blown out by a nearby impact, but only one person was injured at the site. “It was a miracle,” said Loboiko. 

The hospital has been developing its capacity to function autonomously since Russia first seized Crimea and supported a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine in 2014. This meant equipping the hospital with generators and its own well to ensure a water supply.

Now it is further building its resilience by adding batteries for storing electricity, purchased and donated by the Polish Government and Direct Relief, in coordination with Kharkiv-based Charity Fund Yevhen Pyvovarov. The hospital also plans to install solar panels to ensure the units work more efficiently in all seasons.

So far, eight units have been delivered to the Kharkiv hospital, with another two to four units to be added. The hospital has allocated four of those units to essential units like the emergency department, including surgery, traumatological and maternity units, and the cardiological center.

“If the Russians want to harm us, there will be a moment when the light flickers” as the batteries cut in, “and then work will continue,” said Loboiko.

In the town of Derhachi, five miles northwest of Kharkiv, two energy storage systems donated by the Polish government were installed last November at the local 100-bed hospital. These will give a further layer of energy security to the hospital, which like the Kharkiv Regional Hospital also uses generators in emergencies. “Now we can be sure that all operations will go ahead and that no patients are lost because of power outages,” said head surgeon Oleg Donchak.

Direct Relief’s battery donations to Ukraine fall at the intersection of two important programs. Direct Relief’s Power for Health initiative seeks to bring clean, renewable backup power to health facilities to ensure they can deliver critical healthcare services during power outages. The initiative has provided energy solutions for 41 healthcare facilities in California, Florida, Louisiana, and North Carolina, benefiting 1.3 million low-income patients. These projects have created an estimated $4.3 million in annual cost savings for the participating health facilities. Direct Relief has sponsored more than 100 power resiliency projects in 10 countries.

The donations are also part of Direct Relief’s extensive humanitarian medical aid program to the people of Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2022, the largest aid response in the organization’s 75-year history. Direct Relief has donated and delivered more than 1,900 tons of medical aid, with a wholesale value of $1.1 billion, to support the efforts of health workers and community organizations. The organization has also provided more than $42 million in financial assistance to groups offering essential health services, including rehabilitation services for war-injured people, psychosocial and mental health services, support of emergency, specialized, and primary care, and support for making health care mobile as people continue to move throughout the country.

“This expansive philanthropic support from Direct Relief has been possible only because of the generous contributions from of thousands of individuals, businesses, and organizations concerned about the welfare of Ukrainian people and wishing to support humanitarian health efforts,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe. “We are committed to continuing our support as expansively as we can and as resources permit.”

Ukraine and its partners have worked since the start of the war to make the country’s energy system more resilient.

“Over the spring and summer, power utilities – aided by significant grants, loans and investment from a wide range of governments, multilateral donors and the private sector – undertook the biggest energy infrastructure repair and maintenance campaign in the country’s history,” according to a January report published by the International Energy Agency. “The Ukrainian government also strengthened its air defence systems and invested in passive defence measures such as engineering fortifications to further protect energy infrastructure.”

Still, attacks on the electricity grid continue. “Tens of thousands of people were without power after a barrage of two dozen Russian drones damaged energy infrastructure in the centre of the country,” AFP reported on Feb. 2. At least 79 missiles and drones have hit residential areas of Kharkiv since Dec. 29.

The post Direct Relief Donates More Than 2,000 Battery Systems to Ukrainian Hospitals Amid Energy Grid Attacks appeared first on Direct Relief.

The population has braced for more of the same as the mercury fell to the current level of around 27 degrees Fahrenheit (-3 Celsius).

The recent holiday season in Ukraine was also overshadowed by massive Russian missile and drone attacks on cities across the country. But almost two years into the war, Direct Relief’s local partners are redoubling efforts to bring quality healthcare to the population despite power interruptions and missile attacks.

“We went through a complete blackout, we were cut off when the biggest mobile operator was hacked, but we only became stronger and more resilient,” said Yuliia Dmitrova, head of the TAPS foundation in Dnipro, one of the country’s hardest hit cities.

As well as distributing medicines to hospitals and providing dental and other services, the organization will again this year hold healing retreats for the children and widows of those lost to the fighting.

Among Direct Relief’s core partners and other NGOs receiving support, 2023 produced a broad springboard of initiatives with long-term application: prosthetics production, fitting and rehabilitation; psychosocial services for war-affected citizens; mobile health clinics for children in rural communities, and many more initiatives that will be carried over into 2024.

This was in addition to supplying medical products. Last August marked $1 billion of these delivered since the war’s start in February 2022 through Direct Relief’s partners to the people of Ukraine in the largest humanitarian aid response in the organization’s 75-year history.

Now totaling more than $1.1 billion, these resources have been invaluable in supporting the country’s healthcare system in the darkest times.

There Will Be Light – and Operations

“We know that this winter will be worse than the last,” said Katya, a specialist working with a DR-supported psychological care project in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. “The other night, we were attacked with 70 drones, and Russia will have elections,” she said after the first big attack in late November and referring to President Vladimir Putin’s predicted fifth-term victory in March. “We are getting ready.”’

Among other measures, Ukrainian technicians have been fitting health facilities with Tesla Powerwalls donated in Summer 2023 by the Polish government and delivered with logistical support from Direct Relief and its Kharkiv-based partner Charity Fund Yevhen Pyvovarov.

The 508 units – rechargeable 14 kWh lithium-ion batteries that can provide power during peak times, power outages, and at night – will work in several regions along the 620-mile (almost 1000-km) frontline. Direct Relief is now working with the Ukrainian government on further steps to keep hospitals and clinics running.

Smaller civil society initiatives also aim to fill gaps in Ukraine’s preparations this winter. One is a project by Mission Kharkiv, an NGO that primarily distributes cancer medicines for Direct Relief, to provide first aid training and blast-proof medical kits for thousands of workers at the country’s power plants.

Most had no such training during decades on the job, so a 90-minute course recently delivered to workers at a plant in the eastern city of Kharkiv was entirely new for them. Realistically, they may retain only 50% of the skills demonstrated, said trainer Darya, a lawyer at a Ukrainian bank, but this can still make a difference in a crisis.

Darya decided to qualify as a first aid trainer so she could make a personal contribution to the war effort in her spare time: “I wanted to help people in Kharkiv to learn to do things like apply a tourniquet and be able to save lives.”

There is palpable fatigue among people you meet on the streets these days, but the spirit of volunteering is still strong across Ukraine. This was apparent on the International Volunteer Day on December 5. In Kyiv, more than 5,000 people visited an exhibition venue for diverse talks, awards and displays by dozens of NGOs from all fields of activity.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky separately honored this contingent of society as “another strength of ours, our guard of those who care, our army of active Ukrainians.”

No one is slacking off – there is simply too much to lose after the trials and gains of recent months.

“Despite ongoing challenges, the humanitarian sector in Ukraine remains resilient and demonstrating unwavering commitment,” said Anton Gulidin, an advisor to Ukraine’s ombudsman for human rights and the head of NGO Friends of Ukraine Foundation, which had a stand at the event. “The sector continues to innovate, develop new projects and sustain its momentum.

The next morning, on the ‘new’ St. Nicholas’ Day – Ukraine last year moved its Christmas holidays to Western dates in a permanent break with the Russian Orthodox church – a blue-clad Ukrainian Santa visited young patients at the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Specialized Hospital in Kyiv.

The day brought surprises for children and adults alike: “I checked my mail and received good news [about] our project for mobile pediatric services for children,” said Marina Makarenko, the head of Direct Relief’s partner Charity Fund Modern Village and Town, or CFMVT. She had stopped by the event at the hospital to add some donated gifts to the pile.

The mobile clinic project, implemented last year by CFMVT together with Okhmatdyt, is being further funded by Direct Relief starting in January, ensuring that expert medical care reaches children in rural communities across a wider area of Ukraine – regardless of the weather.

The post Amid Freezing Temperatures, Ukrainian NGOs Double Down on Humanitarian Projects for 2024 appeared first on Direct Relief.

“These are Tesla Powerwalls, 508 mighty power stations and gigantic power banks that will energize schools, hospitals and kindergartens all around Ukraine,” Ukrainian Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in a video of gratitude to the project participants. “For some, that is an opportunity to study, for others – to gain strength and knowledge, to save life and live life. Thank you.”

The units were supplied jointly by Tesla, Poland’s government and National Institute of Telecommunications, Fedorov’s ministry, and Direct Relief and its partner in the city of Kharkiv, the Yevgen Pyvovarov Charity Fund. Direct Relief provided funding for the importation of the panels into Ukraine.

The Powerwall 2 is a rechargeable 13.5 kWh lithium-ion battery that can provide power during peak times, outages, and at night. The PW2 can draw solar power or recharge from the grid during off-peak hours and can be stacked in clusters of up to ten units to maximize capacity. Solar power support is not included in the shipment, which would require additional systems.

Each of the PW2 units is accompanied by a Backup Gateway 2 system, which enables energy management and monitoring for solar self-consumption (if configured), time-based control, and backup. This means that outages to the grid are automatically detected, and a seamless transition to backup power is ensured.

This will be especially valuable in the coming winter season, following last year’s breakdown of many vital services in the cold months due to Russian strikes. These so far caused more than $10 billion in damages and left over 12 million people with no or limited electricity, while also disrupting water supply and heating systems, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and World Bank report said in April.

Given the high retail market price of the Tesla units abroad – approximately $16,000 in the United States for one Powerwall and Gateway set – their provision will also help alleviate financial pressure on authorities working to maintain critical and social infrastructure in the country.

The transfer of the systems followed a complex multi-partner agreement process lasting several months.
“We started the negotiations in October after the first attacks on our critical infrastructure,” said Deputy Digital Transformation Minister Yegor Dubynskyi, adding that the first units will be supplied to hospitals and schools. “This is an efficient solution to keep running during the Russian missile terror. Thanks to [the Powerwalls], doctors will save lives, teachers will teach classes, and Ukrainian will stay in touch with their families.”

Last year, 50 Tesla Powerwalls were delivered to clinics and other infrastructure in frontline towns that suffered badly when Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24. These included Irpin and Borodyanka in the Bucha district west of Kyiv, liberated after four weeks of occupation by Russian troops moving on the capital.

The post Tesla Powerwall Shipment Fires Up Ukraine’s Energy Fight Before Winter appeared first on Direct Relief.

In the not-for-profit category, the top three spots went to Girls Who Code, DonorsChoose.Org, and Direct Relief.

Direct Relief, which also received this recognition in 2015, delivers lifesaving medical resources throughout the world to communities in need—without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay.

Recent innovations achieved by the organization  include:

• With support from AbbVie, transitioning Puerto Rico’s health centers to resilient smart grids using solar power with battery storage, to prevent interruptions in care caused by future natural disasters.
• Constructing a technology-infused 155,000-square-foot headquarters and distribution center to ensure that its humanitarian relief activities meet stringent new federal requirements related to secure storage and distribution of prescription medications and are conducted in the most efficient manner possible to meet the increased demand stemming from emergencies and in areas of chronic need.
• Engaging Tesla to build a microgrid to ensure uninterrupted operations and maintenance of critical cold-chain capacity for vaccines, insulin, and medications requiring cold storage in the event of extended loss of grid power for many months.
• Working with Facebook to use anonymized location information to determine the movement and location of people fleeing California forest fires, guiding how Direct Relief distributed N-95 breathing masks to protect the public from smoke inhalation.

The recognition came after a year defined by humanitarian crises and natural disasters of unprecedented scale during which Direct Relief responded more expansively than ever before in its 70-year history—delivering more than $1.1 billion in humanitarian assistance to locally-run healthcare providers in 100 countries, including $231 million in aid to communities in 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“Direct Relief receives no government funding and its work is fueled by the generosity, passion, and participation of people from all backgrounds and companies of all types and industries just wanting to help people who need it,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe. “This wonderful recognition is a testament to their involvement, which provides the energy and the ideas and for which we are deeply grateful.”

Direct Relief earned a four-star rating for 2018 from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator, the eighth consecutive time that Direct Relief has earned this top distinction. Of the more than 8,000 charities rated by Charity Navigator, Direct Relief is one of only 66 to receive a perfect 100 score.

Others recognizing Direct Relief recently include the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at University of Pennsylvania (2019 High Impact Giving Guide), Wallet Hub (2018’s Best Charities for Holiday Giving), Okta (2018 Oktane Award Finalist) and TheStreet (30 Charities That Won’t Waste Your Money).

This year, Fast Company’s editors and writers sought out groundbreaking businesses across 35 industries and every region. The World’s Most Innovative Companies provides both a snapshot and a road map for the future of innovation across the most dynamic sectors of the economy.

Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue (March-April 2019) is now available online at https://www.fastcompany.com/MIC, as well as in app form via iTunes and on newsstands beginning February 27th.

The post The World’s Most Innovative Nonprofits, According to Fast Company appeared first on Direct Relief.

Santa Barbara-based Direct Relief can never afford to lose power.

Its 155,000-square-foot pharmaceutical warehouse, the largest in the U.S. run by a charity, stores insulin and other drugs that need a constantly cold temperature, between 36- and 41-degrees Fahrenheit. Power is essential to maintaining that refrigeration. Such temperature-sensitive medications can spoil within hours if Direct Relief loses power. If temperatures rise even nominally, “cold chain” medicine can lose its efficacy and must be destroyed, according to law.

Worse, Direct Relief would be unable to respond to the very natural disaster that brought it offline. The group’s warehouse—2/3 the size of a Manhattan city block— is a crucial depository for emergency medicine and medical supplies needed after earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters. During the raging wildfires of 2017, Direct Relief was California’s largest source of breathing masks that protected people from the choking smoke. The organization is also responding to the deadly Camp and Woolsey Fires burning across California.

To ensure Direct Relief never loses power, Direct Relief engaged Tesla to build a microgrid that keeps the organization running and its cold-chain medicine protected even if it loses grid power for many months. The microgrid system sustainably maximizes resiliency by combining three power sources: solar panels to provide the bulk of its electricity needs; battery storage to keep the power going when the sun isn’t shining; and Direct Relief’s diesel generators as a backup. The system is run by Tesla’s smart software that is able to seamlessly switch between power sources as conditions change and send excess solar power back into the grid for others to use.

Tesla designed the microgrid system after deploying similar systems in Puerto Rico, which experienced the longest-ever blackout in U.S. history after Hurricane Maria in 2017. Health facilities lost power for weeks or months, and more than 80 percent of the island’s vaccines and other medicines that require refrigeration were destroyed as a result of power loss, according to the CDC. Tesla and Direct Relief worked together on the island in the hurricane’s aftermath to identify key health facilities, restore power, and deliver aid to residents.

Recognizing that power is a prerequisite for health, Direct Relief and Tesla continue to equip dozens of local health facilities in Puerto Rico with reliable energy sources including solar power and battery storage. The solar and battery systems are integrated with existing generators and the grid, giving each health center a smart microgrid system that can pull power from the most efficient source and prevent going dark.

Diesel generators work well for short-term power outages, but they’re unreliable and costly as a long-term solution. Some Puerto Rican clinics that had generators eventually lost power when generators broke down or fuel supplies ran out. Those that continued relying on generators during the months it took to restore electricity faced tens of thousands of dollars a month in fuel costs and unreliable results.

The organizations also deployed several mobile power units to areas of Florida and Georgia hit by the recent Hurricanes Michael and Florence.

The post To Keep Vital Medical Reserves Safe During Wildfires and Other Disasters, Direct Relief Builds a Self-Contained Power Island appeared first on Direct Relief.