Summary Overview: Since the tsunami of December 26, 2004, Direct Relief has provided $31,521,269 in direct aid, in the form of material medical assistance and cash grant funding, to partner healthcare facilities and nonprofit organizations in affected Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Somalia.
Direct Relief has shipped 258,896 lbs. of specifically requested pharmaceuticals, nutritional products, medical supplies, and medical equipment in 44 shipments to healthcare facilities and programs, from temporary medical camps to multi-specialty hospitals. Sixteen shipments have been sent to partners in affected Indonesia, 19 shipments to Sri Lanka, 8 to India, and 1 to the affected east coast of Somalia.

These critically needed medicines, supplies, and equipment have a combined value of $25,383,885 and are sufficient to provide full courses of treatment to 3,383,911 tsunami-affected individuals.

In addition to material assistance, Direct Relief has provided $6,137,384 in direct cash grants to resident in-country and US-based nonprofit health facilities and organizations working to improve water and sanitation, repair damaged healthcare facilities, construct new clinics and community health centers, and purchase and operate mobile medical units and medical camps.

Recent Activity: Currently, Direct Relief is packing a 2,389 lbs. shipment containing antibiotics, analgesics, oral rehydration salts, and medical supplies such as sutures, IV sets, syringes, surgeon's gloves, etcetera. These medicines and supplies will be sent to International Relief and Development in Indonesia, a US-based nonprofit with which Direct Relief has worked on several projects including measures to improve water and sanitation in tsunami affected Indonesia. International Relief and Development will, in turn, distribute the contents of this shipment to two Indonesian NGOs, the Center for Humanitarian and Social Empowerment and Peduli Kesehatan Aceh Foundation, located in Sigli and Banda Aceh respectively, and the Simeuleu Hospital, located on the affected island of Simeuleu off the west coast of Sumatra.

In the week of July 22, Direct Relief provided a cash grant, in the amount of $250,000 to the Sustainable Development Foundation, an umbrella organization of Thai NGOs working to meet the needs of tsunami-affected populations in Thailand. Grant money will be used to establish a fund to which individual affected communities may make appeals for assistance for specific relief and reconstruction projects. Funds will also be used to improve information systems that collect and maintain data about tsunami survivors and highlight issues facing marginalized affected groups.

Also in the week of July 22, Direct Relief issued a $148,390 grant to the American Refugee Committee International, a US-based humanitarian organization working in Sri Lanka. Funding will be used to rehabilitate a rural hospital in affected Kuchchaveli and two rural clinics in Nilaveli and Pulmoddai, both near Trincomalee. Additional activities will include the establishment of health outposts to serve relocated populations. These outposts will operate on a weekly and bi-weekly basis and will provide primary care with an emphasis on maternal and child health.