In the year since, Direct Relief has emerged as one of the largest charitable providers of personal protective gear (PPE) and critical care medications globally, having delivered more than 82 million units of PPE, 173 million defined daily doses of vital medicines, and 36 thousand pieces of diagnostic and intensive care equipment to thousands of local organizations across 100 countries, including the U.S.

The organization has also supported health care providers with more than $50 million in direct financial assistance to sustain care and expand services that include mobile and pop-up testing sites, telehealth expansion, and greater cold chain capacity.

For an overview of Direct Relief’s activities in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, please continue reading.

Financial Summary

Covid-19 Pandemic Donations

Jan. 27, 2020 – Jan. 27, 2021

Direct Relief does not accept government funding. Its work is made possible entirely through the support of companies, organizations, foundations, and individuals.

The organization recognizes that supporters who made generous contributions of funding, services, and in-kind goods amid the pandemic did so with the specific intent that their contributions fight Covid-19 and its devastating consequences. In accepting funds as part of its Covid-19 response, Direct Relief understands that these supporters deserve to know precisely how those funds have been and will be disbursed.

Direct Relief received more than 151,000 financial contributions designated for Covid-19, totaling $125.8 million.

Some of these Covid-19-designated donations also had additional restrictions from donors requiring the funds be used for a particular region or country. All designated funds have been respected, administered, and disbursed accordingly.

How Were Funds Used

Direct Relief initiated its Covid-19 response activities using general operating funds. As Direct Relief began receiving funds donated for Covid-19, it expanded its activities and spending accordingly. The situation remains dynamic, with designated funds continuing to be accepted. Direct Relief takes great care to deploy incoming funds responsibly, efficiently, and as rapidly as possible, consistent with donors’ intent.

The following offers a snapshot of the total Covid-19 donations received over the past year:

To date, Direct Relief has spent or committed a total of $83.5 million in cash (66% of the $125.8 million received) in its pandemic response — which continues at high-pace.

Of that amount, $40.8 million has been spent or committed as direct grants to organizations on the frontlines of the pandemic, $35.6 million has been spent on purchasing essential medical items not available through donation, and $7.1 million was spent to distribute all material and financial assistance provided in response to Covid-19, as described below.

Covid-19 Response

By the numbers

Jan. 27, 2020 – Jan. 27, 2021

Grant Making

Medical Aid

Protective Gear

Medical Material Support

Direct Relief has been responding to the pandemic since its earliest days, beginning with requests for help from overstretched hospitals in Wuhan, China. From there, Direct Relief’s response quickly expanded to the United States and the rest of the world.

Since Jan. 2020, the organization has provided support to more than 3,000 partner organizations fighting Covid-19 worldwide.

As of Jan. 27, 2021, that support has included more than 29,000 medical aid shipments totaling 4.9 million pounds and valued at $1.3 billion. Medical aid has reached organizations in 55 U.S. states and territories and 100 countries.

Material support has taken several distinct forms:

• Supplies to protect frontline health workers: Direct Relief provided masks, gloves, gowns, powered air-purifying respirators, face shields, and other PPE to health care organizations globally.
• Medical resources for intensive care: As the pandemic strained hospital resources, the organization provided ventilators, oxygen concentrators, and ICU medications to help overstretched hospitals treat patients with critical cases of Covid-19.
• Ongoing support for chronic health: To minimize interruptions to essential health services, including primary and specialty care, maternal and child health services, mental health treatment, and substance use disorder interventions, Direct Relief provided a wide range of support — chronic health medications, the overdose-reversing medication naloxone, midwife kits, and more.

Direct Relief arranged for and managed the logistics, transport, and delivery of all products to health facilities – free-of-charge.

Direct Financial Assistance

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, designated contributions have allowed Direct Relief to bolster the health care system with financial assistance and support the efforts of locally run organizations with strong ties to their communities.

Thanks to corporate and individual donors’ generosity, Direct Relief has granted more than $53 million in cash worldwide since Jan. 27, 2020.

Grant recipients include health centers, clinics, and locally run organizations providing vital care, testing, and other health care services during the pandemic. These grants helped sustain strained health facilities, keep patients out of hospitals, maintain continuity of care, and fund Covid-19 testing and vaccinations.

For a list of health care facilities and organizations worldwide that have received direct funding from Direct Relief in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, click here.

Covid-19 Response

By Region

United States

• Grants Disbursed: $48.6 million
• Material Aid Provided: $284.3 million
  • Shipments: 28.8 thousand
  • PPE: 21.3 million units
  • Medications: 48.6 million Defined Daily Doses
  • ICU Kits: 178
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 1,046

Americas

• Grants Disbursed: $405 thousand
• Material Aid Provided: $341 million
  • Shipments: 260
  • PPE: 8.2 million units
  • Medications: 61.1 million Defined Daily Doses
  • ICU Kits: 84
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 1,497 units

Asia

• Grants Disbursed: $1.3 million
• Material Aid Provided: $169.6 million
  • Shipments: 234
  • PPE: 4.1 million units
  • Medications: 15.6 million defined daily doses
  • ICU Kits: 58
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 420 units

Africa

• Grants Disbursed: $1.26 million
• Material Aid Provided: $489 million
  • Shipments: 234
  • PPE: 42.4 million units
  • Medications: 27.9 million defined daily doses
  • ICU kits: 73
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 326

Europe

• Grants Disbursed: $503 thousand
• Material Aid Provided: $33.1 million
  • Shipments: 50
  • PPE: 1.4 million units
  • Medications: 1.5 million defined daily doses
  • ICU kits: 4
  • Ventilators & oxygen concentrators: 524

Applied Research and Analytics

Even before the pandemic, Direct Relief had facilitated emergency managers’ use of population movement and other data for decision-making purposes, including in Texas, California, and Michigan.

When Covid-19 hit, it was immediately apparent that this kind of data would be an essential tool for analyzing social distancing effectiveness.

In March of 2020, Direct Relief, with researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, established the Covid-19 Mobility Data Network. The network, comprised of a group of about 70 infectious disease epidemiologists and other researchers, began creating simple, usable data projects to help public health officials and policymakers understand the impacts of social distancing measures in a given area.

Officials have used the group’s research and information tools in the UK, Spain, Italy, India, Australia, Botswana, Chile, and other countries. The data used for these analyses is hosted on the UN’s Humanitarian Data Exchange, allowing governments worldwide to receive support or analyze the data themselves.

While the Covid-19 Mobility Data Network was convened because of an emergency, Direct Relief and the researchers wanted to ensure that similar data would be readily available in a clear and actionable form and on an ongoing basis for future crises, including wildfires and hurricanes.

CrisisReady, working with the World Bank, is in the initial stages of creating a global emergency response network, which will launch in March-April of 2021.

In addition, Direct Relief is funding two researchers whose essential work combines population movement data and health crisis analysis: Pamela Martinez at the University of Illinois and Amy Wesolowski at Johns Hopkins University.

Among the resources developed by Direct Relief to inform and track its pandemic response are the following:

• The Covid-19 International Vulnerability Index examines population movement data and information about case counts, hospital beds, and other vulnerability indicators to generate actionable information and analysis.
• The United States forecast map draws on anonymized data to predict the spread of Covid-19.
• The United States pandemic response tracker shows Direct Relief’s distribution of medical aid across the country.
• The international pandemic response tracker shows the organization’s global distribution.

Looking forward

The remaining funds designated for the pandemic will enable Direct Relief to continue its worldwide response, focusing on:

1. Supporting vaccination efforts

• Expanding cold-chain storage and transport at hospitals and health centers and providing coolers for mobile vaccination campaigns.
• Providing needles and syringes to administer vaccines.
• Supplying PPE to health workers giving vaccinations.
• Funding education, awareness, and outreach campaigns at health centers and hospitals, particularly in poor communities and communities of color.
• Employing digital tools and artificial intelligence to determine low vaccine uptake areas and provide that information to policymakers and public health officials.
• Funding health centers that experience reimbursement gaps after administering vaccines.
• Increasing Direct Relief’s internal capabilities to receive, store, and distribute the vaccine.
• Supporting the opening of large-scale vaccination sites with funding and supplies.
• Providing back-up power sources to health care sites at risk of power loss, which can destroy vaccines.

2. Addressing Covid-19 gaps in hardest-hit areas

• Funding health initiatives in primarily minority communities hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic.
• Providing grants to health care providers in the United States and around the world struggling to care for patients affected by Covid-19.
• Continuing to provide critical care medications, oxygen concentrators, and ventilators to hospitals worldwide caring for Covid-19 patients.
• Supplying PPE to providers unable to access these lifesaving supplies reliably.
• Establishing and funding Covid-19 treatment and isolation wards ensures that low-resource areas have the resources to care for Covid-19 patients safely.
• Providing health care support for Covid-19 patients to recover at home, freeing hospital beds for more critical cases.

3. Continuing support for people with other health care needs:

• While global health resources are diverted towards preventing and treating Covid-19, fundamental health care needs continue.
• Babies continue to be born. The number of people with chronic conditions like diabetes and cancer is only growing. And children with diabetes, hemophilia, and rare diseases still need lifesaving therapies.
• As the pandemic continues, Direct Relief will continue to provide the essential medical aid required for their care.

Thank You

Direct Relief’s extensive ability to provide a wide range of medical aid, from PPE to medications intended for critical cases of Covid-19, would not have been possible without in-kind and financial donations from dozens of pharmaceutical and medical supply companies, with air transport and logistical services provided by FedEx.

Many of these organizations work closely with Direct Relief on an ongoing basis to fund and supply humanitarian projects and programs. However, the outpouring of support from corporate partners, both new and ongoing, has been unprecedented during the Covid-19 pandemic. Direct Relief is deeply grateful for their generosity and commitment.

Included among them are:

The post Covid-19 Relief: One-Year Report on Use of Funds and Response Activity appeared first on Direct Relief.

The Direct Relief shipment includes 20 of Direct Relief’s ICU Critical Supply Modules, each with medications and supplies selected to treat up to 500 critically ill Covid-19 patients, along with 150 oxygen concentrators, five ventilators, and large quantities of personal protective equipment.

“This shipment comes at a very critical time and will have immediate impact,” Dr. Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, Yemen’s ambassador to the United States, told Direct Relief. For the people of Yemen, “it is a clear message to them that they don’t stand alone.”

In countries across the developing world, the equipment to deliver oxygen to Covid-19 patients is in critically short supply. Oxygen is among the most important needs of severely ill Covid-19 patients, who often arrive at hospitals with extremely low blood-oxygen levels.

“Many countries are now experiencing difficulties in obtaining oxygen concentrators,” World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a June 24 speech. Oxygen availability, he said, “has been an area of intense focus for WHO since the beginning of the pandemic.”

Torn by a civil war that since 2015 has displaced more than 800,000 people, Yemen by last year was already the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the United Nations warned. Authorities estimate that fewer than half the country’s health facilities are currently fully operational.

“The worst-case scenario—which is the one we’re facing now—means that the death toll from the virus could exceed the combined toll of war, disease and hunger over the last five years” in Yemen, said Lise Grande, the head of the UN’s humanitarian operations in Yemen, in an interview with CNN last month.

The shipment for Yemen departed Direct Relief’s Santa Barbara warehouse last week, scheduled to arrive this week in Dubai.

From Dubai, it will be flown into Aden, Yemen via the World Food Programme Logistics Cluster.

Direct Relief partner Yemen Aid will deliver the emergency supplies to Covid-19 treatment centers in Aden, Taiz, Lahij, and Abyan.

The post Direct Relief Delivers Critical Oxygen and ICU Medicine for Yemen’s Covid-19 Patients appeared first on Direct Relief.

On a wide, flat western Virginia field, home to the Culpeper Barnstormers radio controlled aircraft club, a bright white DJI Phantom 3 hovers in the afternoon sun like some oversized insect from the future. One of our colleagues from the NGO Action Against Hunger (ACF International), literally brand new to drone flight as of this afternoon, is at the controls. A smile spreads across his face, fingers nimbly maneuvering the joysticks. “I think I can do this no problem,” he says. “It’s much easier than I realized.” The Phantom darts up and to the left, pauses for just a moment, then dips and settles into the swooping arc of a flawless figure eight.  Chris Huston, our technical instructor from Unmanned Experts, talks him through the simple controller movements that bring the vehicle back around in a gradual descent to land at peace on the springy grass.

Maintaining Civil-Military Boundaries

One day prior I’m in front of a roomful of colleagues from NGOs, UN and US government agencies in a narrow conference space at the Culpeper Holiday Inn Express. The UAViators Humanitarian UAV Network is helping put them through the paces of humanitarian UAV operations. There’s a noticeable sense of unease. Our Unmanned Experts trainers have been blazing for the past couple of hours through some fairly dense material on flight mechanics, airframes and control systems. Much of that material, despite the undeniable underlying commonality of the physical processes with small civil drones, draws upon examples with overt military implications. Some folks in the group, Patrick and I foremost among them, express serious doubts over the relevance and the appropriateness of the military connections. It’s time to troubleshoot the situation.

Yet when we get up in front of the group to take their temperature, reframe the issues of technology within civil-military coordination and gauge the need for a course correction we get interestingly mixed responses. Yes, there is an unequivocal requirement to maintain clear lines between civil and military technologies and their applications. But the group turns out to be surprisingly more concerned about the level of complexity and implied cost than they are about the theoretical consistency of civil – military boundaries per se. Offering to re-route the discussion entirely towards humanitarian case studies instead of a deep dive to end the day on sensor payloads we’re told by the group that actually they’d prefer the sensor discussion at this point just to power through the technical framework to its conclusion. And so down we plunge during the day’s final two hours into the murky contours of photogrammetry, Lidar, multispectral and hyperspectral imagery.

Safe, Ethical, and Effective

With the following day’s humanitarian case studies, code of conduct discussion, practical photogrammetry walk-through, and hands-on flight training concluded, the arc of the event veers towards a concluding simulation exercise on the humanitarian response to the earthquake in Nepal. The students are given a challenging scenario related to mapping for assistance with damage assessment in Kathmandu along with a list of key questions and elements to consider. What types and numbers of vehicles would be required? What kinds of cost trade-offs present themselves? How can they mitigate risks before during and after the mission? What sorts of implications exist within the situation for use of the humanitarian UAV code of conduct? Can they frame the range and utility of the information products that might be produced in response to this situation?

This exact point becomes the most gratifying of the entire training for me. One of the trainees up towards the front of the room brings the scenario location into Mission Planner software and is already in the process of running the calculations on flight time.  Another group is deep in dialogue about community engagement. A third is assessing the risks involved in the cluster of nearby buildings and struggling with the issue of appropriate government permissions. Each gets up in turn to present their project proposal and each demonstrates a higher level of thoughtfulness, acuity, and analytic sophistication than many of the actual UAV operators deployed to Nepal. It seems that despite the early hiccups around civil – military distinctions we’ve done our job well to orient this group towards safe, ethical and effective drone usage for future humanitarian activities.

Nethope Summit Humanitarian UAV Training

Three days later I’m back out with the UAViators network on a windy airfield, this time on the other side of the Atlantic ocean. Jacob Peterson of Danoffice is huddled over the glow of a ruggedized tablet, prepping their fixed-wing drone, the Cumulus One, for liftoff. Although it looks like a model airplane, propeller and all, give or take the nuances of proper launching, flying the Cumulus is mostly a matter of programming within the Mission Planner software. With the vehicle comfortably aloft in the slate grey sky there’s little for the rest of us to do but wait for it to run its course and bring back its data cargo. “Bring that quadcopter back over here,” says Kevin MacRitchie of Nethope. “This is cool and everything, but it’s almost too easy. I’m actually getting a little bored.”

The UAS Test Center is located about an hour and a half outside the city of Copenhagen at the Hans Christian Andersen airport. Not too long ago the airport fell below the minimum threshold for commercial flight traffic and was at risk of being decommissioned. The government of Denmark, along with the local government in that area and the University of Southern Denmark, was able instead to repurpose the facility into a leading-edge center for research and testing of unmanned aerial systems (UAS). We’re here to team up with the university, the test center and DanOffice on a humanitarian UAV training which runs in conjunction with this years’ annual Nethope Summit.

Denmark’s UAS Test Center

Unlike in Culpeper,  probably because we’re at a formerly commercial airport in Europe, the aviation discussion this time centers entirely on civil applications. The lead technical trainer is a blustery old Dane who regales us with his glory days flying Cessnas beneath bridges and power lines for fun.

The bulk of day one centers on understanding airspace regulations and flight restrictions, how to understand an airspace map, and then a deep dive into the physics of drones. Without knowing how these things really work you’re at a serious disadvantage in terms of understanding the tradeoffs required during project planning and field operations. This type of material can be a little daunting to beginners, but the folks from the University of Southern Denmark are masters of clear exposition.  Before long even the most novice among us is speaking the language of servos and gyros, and musing on the requisite number of satellites to acquire and maintain a secure GPS lock.  By the end of the day, our colleagues from Esri and Hexagon Geospatial have pulled all of this back together into a luminous discussion of spatial data integration and image-based information products.

Following the closing simulation, the group gathers up their things and heads for the train back into chilly central Copenhagen.  I’ll be leading a session in the next couple of days on interagency collaboration in humanitarian UAV operations. The Culpeper and Copenhagen trainings offer plenty of food for thought on that front. Within a week, we’ve been joined on both sides of the Atlantic by universally enthusiastic colleagues from AAAS to FEMA to Last Mile Health to Greenpeace, the World Food Program and the International Organization for Migration among others. A new generation of aerial humanitarians is coming into being all around us, eager to work together, ready for liftoff. It’s a wonderful thing to behold.

The post Culpeper to Copenhagen: A Week in Transatlantic Humanitarian UAV Trainings appeared first on Direct Relief.

As of 11:55 a.m. local time on April 25, 2015, health indicators in Nepal were trending in the right direction. Maternal mortality had decreased in the country by 70 percent in the 17 years between 1993 and 2010. And compared to a child in 1996, a child in 2011 was twice as likely to live past the age of five.

Then, at 11:56 a.m., progress stalled. Upwards of 750,000 people lost their homes, 17,000 people suffered injuries, and 8,600 people died from what emerged as the most devastating earthquake in Nepal’s history.

Financial Summary

Direct Relief recognizes that the generous supporters who made financial contributions to Direct Relief following the earthquake in Nepal did so for the clear purpose of assisting people in Nepal.  In accepting funds for Nepal, Direct Relief understands that both those who contributed and people in Nepal for whose benefit the contributions were made deserve to know, in detail, how Direct Relief is using these funds.

Three months into the response, this report offers a summary of Direct Relief’s activities to assist people in Nepal affected by the Earthquake and support ongoing recovery efforts.

Nepal Earthquake Donations

Direct Relief has received more than 17,000 Nepal-designated financial contributions totaling $5,508,005.

100 percent of contributions received for Nepal are restricted for the exclusive use of assisting people affected by the earthquake in Nepal.

Who donated to the response?

Of the total amount of Nepal-designated contributions —

• $3,388,300 was contributed by 17,606 individuals,
• $1,834,741 was contributed by 167 businesses,
• $215,000 was contributed by 12 foundations, and
• $69,963 was contributed by 67 other organizations.

Direct Relief does not rely on any funding from government grants. 

How were donations accepted?

Of the total number of Nepal contributions, 92 percent (16,464) were made online. Online contributions totaled $2,084,605, or 38 percent of the total amount received.

Ensuring donors’ intent

Within 24 hours of the April 25 quake, Direct Relief modified its online donation page to ensure (1) that the organization’s policy regarding designated donations for the Nepal quake was prominently featured for all visitors and (2) that, before making a contribution, a person would be required to choose whether the donation was intended to be designated for Nepal or for another specified purpose or location.

This practice was adopted several years ago to avoid potential confusion about donors’ intentions, particularly following high-profile emergencies, which often spur spontaneous online financial contributions from the public wishing to help.  Direct Relief is obligated to honor the intent of donors who make contributions, and this practice ensures that donors express their intent when making a gift.

Per Direct Relief’s Privacy Policy, Direct Relief does not disclose donor information to any outside party. Direct Relief also has a policy of not sending mail to donors on behalf of other organizations.

How and for what purposes are the funds being used?

Of the total Nepal-designated donations received to date, Direct Relief has spent $2,700,365 or 49 percent on the following earthquake response activities:

• $710,699 to mobilize, transport, and deliver to health facilities more than 144 tons of specifically requested medical material valued at $28,982,827 – a ratio of $40 in medical aid for each $1 spent. This expense would be significantly higher, were it not for the emergency airlifts donated by FedEx and  in-country logistics provided free-of-charge by the World Food Program and the UN Humanitarian Air Service.
• $197,682 to purchase urgently needed, specialized medical equipment and supplies (including ventilators, digital x-ray machines, and surgical kits for orthopedic repairs)  requested by the Government of Nepal or individual facilities, and
• $1,791,984 to support – in the form of financial grants to organizations and health facilities in Nepal, outlined below — urgently needed services in the immediate term and to begin rebuilding or expanding essential services needed in the months and years ahead.
• $0.00 spent on fundraising or marketing activities.

All medical donations to Nepal are tracked and visible on Direct Relief’s Nepal Relief Aid Map. The values for medical aid donations are tracked, calculated on a daily basis, and displayed on the map. This means that the value will increase to reflect each additional shipment of medical aid into Nepal.

Earthquake Recovery Priorities

Direct Relief’s programmatic activities are devoted to immediate relief and health-focused efforts in affected areas. Consistent with Direct Relief’s organizational capabilities and resources, the remaining Nepal-designated funds will continue to support the following activities:

• Providing Medical Resources to Under-served Areas
• Supporting Long-Term Medical and Rehabilitation Services for Earthquake Survivors
• Rebuilding, Repairing, and Re-equipping Health Centers in High Risk Areas

1.  Providing Medical Resources to Under-served Areas

The outpouring of generosity following the earthquake — combined with guidance from local organizations and support from Nepal’s National Drug Administrator, Director of International Partnership for the Ministry of Health and Population, and the Director of the Department of Health Services Logistics Management Division – has enabled Direct Relief to fast-track 288,118 lbs. — more than 10 million Defined Daily Doses (DDDs) — of high-priority medications, supplies, and medical equipment to 51 recipient health facilities and organizations in Nepal.

These medical resources were donated by more than 60 health care companies and transported, in large part, aboard humanitarian charter flights donated by FedEx.

2.  Supporting Long-Term Medical and Rehabilitation Services for Earthquake Survivors

Earthquakes often cause traumatic injuries that, even if treated successfully, result in lifelong disabling conditions for the injured persons.  Direct Relief’s experience in post-disaster situations has reinforced the importance of supporting the institutions and services that provide the specialized care for such persons – and will do so for decades.  This has been a priority during the past three months, and Direct Relief believes this use of Nepal earthquake funds is important as it will provide essential long-term benefit to those left with disabling conditions from the quakes.

Direct Relief is supporting the Hospital & Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children (HRDC) and the Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre (SIRC) with medical materials and funding to sustain and expand these essential services.  These dedicated rehabilitation departments and facilities are essential to the health outcomes and quality of life for people who have sustained traumatic injuries.

The Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre (SIRC) was established in 2002 by Nepali nonprofit Spinal Injury Sangha Nepal. Spinal cord injuries (SCI) require specialized treatment and life-long management. SIRC is the only facility in Nepal that specializes exclusively in the rehabilitative care, treatment, education, and disability management of patients with spinal cord injuries.  Studies have shown that the mortality rates within the first year for patients who have sustained an SCI are dramatically reduced when access to a hospital-based rehabilitation department or national rehabilitation facility is established

Specializing in musculo-skeletal disorders, HRDC focuses its treatment and rehabilitation services on children below 18 years of age with priority given to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.  HRDC also conducts medical outreach missions throughout Nepal. These missions target children living in remote and underprivileged communities, where medical care is inaccessible.

3.  Rebuilding, Repairing, and Re-equipping Health Centers

The earthquake has severely impacted Nepal’s health infrastructure. A June 10th report on post-disaster needs by Nepal’s Health and Population Sector found that 462 of the country’s health facilities had been destroyed, while 765 were partially damaged.

In Nepal’s Dolakha District, 87 percent of healthcare facilities were damaged or destroyed, leaving 40 percent of the population without access to health services. To support the reconstruction and improvement of health infrastructure in Dolakha, Direct Relief is working  with Possible Health and the Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal (MOHP).

Meanwhile, in Dhading and Sindhupalchok districts, between 65 and 75 percent of health facilities were destroyed completely. The consequences extend beyond those who suffered injuries in the quake. In post-disaster situations, pregnant women and children are often excluded from the immediate recovery plan. A combined 16,000 women in the two districts give birth each year. Without sufficient health services, many women have no alternative but to deliver their children in makeshift shelters or unsafe conditions.

To help restore maternal and neonatal health services in Sindhulpalchok and Dhading districts, Direct Relief is supporting its longtime partner One Heart World-Wide with grants to renovate five damaged facilities into certified birthing centers, equip 35 birth centers, and build 45 health posts. The grants will also enable training for 80 skilled birth attendants and educate 1,300 community health volunteers in safe motherhood practices.

Earthquake Recovery Grants: By the Numbers

Direct Relief has granted a total of $1,791,984 to the following local groups and organizations that are providing essential services for earthquake survivors:

*Direct Relief had committed $70,000 to support One Heart’s work, but the planned activities have been superseded by the profoundly changed circumstances caused by the earthquake.  Direct Relief agreed with One Heart’s recommendation that those previously committed but not fully spent funds be redirected and used as part of the broader plan developed over the past three months for the same purposes of bolstering maternal health infrastructure in Dhading and Sindhupalchok districts. 

The post Nepal Earthquake: Where the Money Goes appeared first on Direct Relief.