When: Monday, April 21, 2003,
9:00 am-12:00 pm
Where: Operation USA Warehouse,
326 C Street, Wilmington, CA 90744 (110 Fwy to C St., right at the bottom
of the exit ramp for 1 blk, left on Harry Bridges Blvd. for ¾ mile to Island
Ave, left on Island Ave for ½ block.)
For directions day of, please call: 310-835-8892
Available for Interviews:
Nancy A. Aossey, President and CEO, International Medical Corps
Richard Walden, President and CEO, Operation USA
What:
International Medical Corps (IMC), a global humanitarian relief agency, announces the shipment worth $876,000 and weighing in over 40 tons of emergency medical supplies and drugs to IMC's Rapid Response team on the ground to replenish looted and destroyed hospitals and health centers in Iraq. IMC teams are currently working with local medical staff in both northern and southern Iraq to assess the overall needs of the damaged health care system. IMC will expand its work in Iraq in the upcoming weeks and is continuing to assess the security situation on a day-by-day basis for entry into Baghdad and other regions.
The cargo is being airlifted by Los Angeles-based international relief agency Operation U.S.A. (OpUSA) via DHL Worldwide Express and will be handled in Amman, Jordan by Her Majesty Queen Noor al Hussein's foundation.
The medicines and hospital supplies are donated by Allegiance/Baxter Health Care, Leiner Nutritional Products, Becton-Dickinson, Owens & Minor, Astra Zeneca, World Vision Relief & Development Organization and other U.S. health care companies.
The press will have the opportunity to interview IMC president Nancy A. Aossey and OpUSA president Richard Walden, and to view OpUSA loading the supplies onto DHL trucks.
Contact:
Leslie Thurman, Director of Communications,
lthurman@imcworldwide.org
Jenny Uyei, Communications Officer, juyei@imcworldwide.org
Office 310-826-7800, Cell 310-908-7327
Operation USA and International Medical Corps, international humanitarian relief agencies, are collaborating in Iraq to provide medical supplies and services to those in need. Los Angeles-based Operation USA receives large amounts of supplies from US health care companies and hospitals, storing and shipping them to partner agencies around the globe. International Medical Corps implements quality, high-impact emergency health programs and capacity building initiatives in regions of conflict around the world, while partnering with Operation USA to receive and distribute medical supplies to underserved populations.