An AmeriCares airlift arrived in West Darfur on May 18, delivering more than 12 tons of essential medicines and relief supplies to aid the Sudanese population living in this area of violent civil unrest.
The AmeriCares relief flight carried hundreds of thousands of life-saving medical treatments to combat respiratory infections, diarrhea and other illnesses. These will be distributed via Save the Children to health facilities and clinics throughout West Darfur, where a population of approximately 250,000 people are living in relief camps or nearby villages.
This is the latest in a series of airlifts to aid the people in Darfur. On March 29, an AmeriCares airlift delivered 35 tons of medicines and relief supplies to North and South Darfur. The first AmeriCares airlift to Sudan took place in October 2004 and delivered 36 tons of essential medicines throughout the entire Darfur region.
"Through these airlifts, AmeriCares is fulfilling a vital role in providing essential medicines to the people of Sudan who are most at risk in this crisis," said Curt Welling, president and CEO of AmeriCares.
More than 1.5 million people are internally displaced in this area due to a brutal civil war that began in early 2003. AmeriCares has been responding to the crisis in Darfur since last year, when three airlifts totaling 60 tons of relief supplies were sent to Chad, where nearly 200,000 displaced Sudanese are living in refugee camps on the border of Sudan. AmeriCares continues to provide support to this population, most recently with a donation of equipment for a hospital in the Bahai area.