AmeriCares Second Emergency Airlift Arrives in Haiti

Lifesaving medicines and supplies continue to arrive; restoring health and helping survivors in Haiti and Dominican Republic

STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/  -- AmeriCares delivered its second emergency airlift for earthquake survivors to Haiti today, bringing the total amount of aid delivered by the global health and disaster relief organization to over $11 million since the Jan. 12 earthquake.

AmeriCares delivered a plane loaded with $500,000 worth of critically needed medical assistance. The flight arrived in Cap Haitien, Haiti's second largest city located on the north coast, earlier this morning. It includes pain medicines, IV solutions, antibiotics and anesthesia medicines for earthquake survivors receiving medical treatment at Hopital Sacre Coeur in the northern town of Milot.

"Haitian hospitals had little to begin with, but since the earthquake, what little they had was quickly depleted – no pain medicines for patients with trauma injuries and no anesthesia for patients who need surgery," said AmeriCares SVP of Global Program Operations Elizabeth Furst Frank. "AmeriCares is proud to deliver lifesaving medicines and supplies for earthquake survivors today and is preparing additional deliveries of medicines, water and other aid in the days, weeks and months ahead."

AmeriCares first airlift arrived in Port au Prince on January 17 carrying over $6 million in lifesaving medicines and medical supplies. An AmeriCares emergency response team is in Port au Prince working around the clock to distribute the medical assistance to hospitals and clinics throughout Haiti. To date, more than 23 hospitals, clinics and health care facilities in and around Port au Prince have received medical donations from AmeriCares.  

In addition to the two airlifts AmeriCares has delivered:

• Three shipments totaling more than $2.1 million in aid to the Dominican Republic, where it was distributed to both hospitals and clinics near the border treating the injured and trucked directly into Haiti to continue assisting earthquake survivors;
• Over $1.5 million worth of medicines and medical supplies for 17 volunteer medical teams working in Haiti through the AmeriCares Medical Outreach Program;
• Bottled water for two hospitals in Port au Prince, helping to provide safe drinking water for patients and health care workers.

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 provided emergency relief and lifesaving aid for millions affected by catastrophic disasters around the world for over 25 years. More than four years after Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. and five years after the Southeast Asian tsunami, AmeriCares continues to help rebuild communities affected by those disasters. AmeriCares has been working in Haiti since 1984, and prior to the earthquake delivered over $145 million in aid for the people of Haiti.

About AmeriCares:

AmeriCares is a nonprofit global health and disaster relief organization which delivers medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in crisis around the world and across the United States.  Since it was established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed more than $9 billion in aid. For more information, log onto www.AmeriCares.org

SOURCE AmeriCares