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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Suzanne
Rothenberg
UPLIFT INTERNATIONAL
UPLIFT INTERNATIONAL
AND PROJECT HOPE DELIVER ITS FIRST SHIPMENT OF MEDICAL AID TO BANDA ACEH
REGION
Effort to help Tsunami Victims breaking through logistics gridlock
(January
11, 2005) Seattle, WA – Seattle-based UPLIFT INTERNATIONAL, in
partnership with Project HOPE and FEDEX, delivered its first shipment of
medical aid, via a US Air Force
C-130, into the Banda Aceh region
today. This shipment initiates the distribution of its $1.5 million, 12.5
ton shipment in vital medicines and medical supplies to communities hardest
hit by the deadly tsunamis. The 84
boxes were immediately taken to a secure warehouse in the Indonesian
Doctors’ Association (IDI) command center. A second shipment is planned for
tomorrow.
“Working through the Indonesian
coordinating group ensures that our supplies will be delivered to hospitals
in the right locations in Banda Aceh,” said Mark Schlansky, founder and CEO
of UPLIFT INTERNATIONAL, a U.S. NGO that has worked closely with the
Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) since 2002.
The emergency relief packages contain
surgical masks, bandages, sutures, antibiotics, anti-infection medicines and
nutritional supplements. The products were donated by corporations eager to
support the UPLIFT INTERNATIONAL -Project HOPE – FEDEX effort
to hospitals, clinics and emergency centers in greatest need.
The three organizations
have delivered needed medical shipments since 1998 in a team effort in
response to floods and other disasters in Indonesia and central Vietnam.
UPLIFT provides the on-site assessment and in-country logistics work, while
Project Hope provides the supplies and FEDEX transports the shipments.
“Coordination
with the Indonesian authorities and their medical community are the critical
elements for this operation,” said Schlansky from UPLIFT’s office in
Jakarta. “The distribution will be based on where the IDI doctors are
located. Only two of the hospitals and major clinics in Aceh remain since
the devastation of the tsunami.”
The December 26 earthquake and tsunami
swept a deadly path through South Asia. The disaster claimed 95,000 lives,
left more than 300,000 displaced and without access to basic medical care
and medical supplies, and destroyed much of the region’s infrastructure.
The emergency aid shipment was
transported from Dulles International Airport by air to Jakarta on January
6th. The airlift was donated by FedEx.
ABOUT
PROJECT HOPE
Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health
Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting
solutions 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 conducts land-based medical training and
health education programs in 34 countries across five continents. For more
information, please call 1-800-544-HOPE or visit
www.projecthope.org.
ABOUT UPLIFT INTERNATIONAL
UPLIFT INTERNATIONAL was founded in 1997
as a non-profit corporation
dedicated to improving health and human rights in developing countries
through medical, legal, education and technical assistance.
UPLIFT endeavors to create
awareness of the synergistic relationship among health of vulnerable
populations, human rights, economic stability and, ultimately, world peace.
Since
its founding in 1997, Uplift International has developed and implemented
programs in health and human rights,
humanitarian
assistance,
maternal and child
health,
telemedicine,
and
medical educational
exchanges in Southeast Asia. More information may be found at
www.upliftinternational.org.
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