Emergency Medical Aid to Help Families Fleeing Syria

STAMFORD, Conn., Aug. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AmeriCares is rushing a delivery of emergency medical aid for families fleeing the violence in Syria. An air shipment containing antibiotics, wound care supplies, pain relievers and other critically needed medical aid is expected to arrive in Jordan this week where it will be delivered to a partner organization providing medical care for 30,000 Syrian refugees who have fled for safety. The shipment also contains medicines for refugees who have diabetes, respiratory problems and other chronic health conditions. Nearly 40,000 Syrian refugees are currently registered in Jordan, although the actual refugee population is believed to be as high as 150,000. The refugee crisis has intensified in recent days with the mass exodus from Aleppo, a city that once housed a population of 2.5 million people, due to the escalation in fighting between the Syrian government and rebels.

"With tens of thousands of people flooding densely populated urban areas and tent camps in Jordan, the aid organizations on the ground are struggling to meet the demand for primary care services," said AmeriCares Director of Emergency Response Garrett Ingoglia. "This emergency aid shipment is meeting an urgent request for the most basic medical supplies. Refugees are particularly susceptible to disease and face increased health risks because disease can spread rapidly in crowded living conditions."

AmeriCares, through its Medical Outreach Program, also supplied medical aid to an Indiana physician who recently traveled to Turkey to aid Syrian refugees injured in the conflict. Dr. Ammar Ghanem, a Syrian-born intensive care unit doctor from Fort Wayne, spent three weeks working in Turkey in the spring and early summer providing medical care to Syrian refugees and patients with gunshot wounds and traumatic brain injuries crossing the borders. He used medications and supplies donated by AmeriCares to help stop bleeding in some patients, as well as to suture wounds and treat infections. 

AmeriCares has been delivering critically needed medicines and relief supplies to the Middle East for more than 25 years in response to civil conflict as well as humanitarian crises.

About AmeriCares
AmeriCares is a nonprofit global health and disaster relief organization that delivers medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in need around the world and across the United States. Since it was established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed more than $10 billion in humanitarian aid to 164 countries. For more information, visit americares.org

MEDIA CONTACT:
Leslie Gianelli (203) 658-9692
[email protected]

SOURCE AmeriCares