MILLWOOD, Md., Nov. 4, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Project HOPE announced an airlift of medicines and supplies to Haiti today as health needs persist one month after Hurricane Matthew blasted through the Caribbean nation.
Project HOPE, a global health development organization, has been working closely with Haiti's Ministry of Health and other NGOs in response to the disaster. The medicines and medical supplies will be delivered to the Cholera Treatment Center located at GHESKIO, a Haitian health care and research facility in Port-au-Prince and to the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, a 100-bed hospital in Deschapelles, in the Artibonite Valley, where previous cholera outbreaks have occurred.
"We're collaborating with the government and local partners to support Haiti's health system, which has been seriously compromised by the disaster," said Scott Crawford, Senior Director of Humanitarian Operations at Project HOPE. "We are delivering a range of much-needed medicines and supplies including antibiotics, water hydration tablets, gloves, saline solution, sponges, gauze, water purification units, and generators."
Haiti's health facilities were severely damaged or destroyed by the hurricane and there are about 3,500 suspected cholera cases. The government will begin a cholera immunization campaign next week as cholera spreads quickly once the bacteria enters the water supply. Additional medicine and medical supply donations valued at over $8 million dollars are also being processed for health facilities in coordination with the Ministry of Health.
Project HOPE has also been deploying medical volunteers to the southern region of Nippes. The HOPE medical team is providing direct patient care at the St. Therese Hospital in Miragoane and is also involved in the assessment of needs and health capacity building.
Medical volunteer deployments will continue in the coming weeks as health needs evolve. The death toll from the Category 4 storm stands at 546, according to the government and the UN says 1.4 million Haitians need help, out of 2.1 million affected by the hurricane. HOPE is coordinating its operations based on the recommendations of the Ministry of Health which is closely monitoring all regions affected by the storm.
Since the 2010 earthquake, Project HOPE has sent medical volunteers to train and assist local health care professionals in areas affected by cholera. The NGO provided health care to more than 1,000 Haitians in the aftermath of the disaster and distributed more than $60 million of donated medicines and supplies.
About Project HOPE
Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solution to health problems with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS HOPE, the world's first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now provides medical training and health education, and conducts humanitarian assistance programs in more than 30 countries. Visit our website projecthope.org and follow us on Twitter @projecthopeorg.
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