Press release

U.S. NGO Direct Relief International, USAID, bring $100,000 of medical supplies to Senegal

KOLDA, April 12, 2007 -- To assist USAID/Senegal in its mission of supporting the national Ministry of Health and local communities, California-based Direct Relief International has donated medical materials nearly $100,000 (50 million F CFA) including hospital beds and mattresses, IV solution sets, digital thermometers and other supplies.

The donation is targeted at Senegalese healthcare providers and community health workers. According to the 2005 Demographic and Health Survey, supported by USAID and other donors, of every 1,000 children born, 121 die before the age of five; of these, 61 die before their first birthday.

USAID/Senegal helps Senegalese healthcare providers at both the clinical level (health centers and posts) and the community level (health huts). The centers and posts perform a broad range of services including immunizations, prenatal care, family planning and treatment for common health problems. The huts are staffed by trained volunteers who do basic preventive and curative care, child growth monitoring, birth assistance and treatment of pneumonia and malaria, two of the biggest causes of child mortality in Senegal.

Direct Relief has supported USAID/Senegal since 2005, and has been active with four other partners in Senegal since 1998, shipping $613,475 (nearly 307 million F CFA) of direct aid over that period.

USAID’s health program, which focuses on the regions of Kaolack, Louga, Thiès, Ziguinchor, and as of late 2006, Kolda, aims to put quality health services within easy reach of the majority of Senegal’s population. The USAID program includes activities promoting health policy and financing, measures to combat HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, maternal and child health, family planning, community health, and social marketing.

Marking USAID’s new partnership in Kolda, the bulk of the Direct Relief supplies will be donated to support health care in that region.
 
Founded in 1948, Direct Relief International is a Santa Barbara, California-based nonprofit organization focused on improving the quality of life by bringing critically-needed medicines and supplies to local healthcare providers worldwide. Direct Relief distributed over $200 million in direct aid through medical material assistance and targeted cash grants to more than 300 healthcare facilities and organizations in 56 countries, serving 23.8 million people.

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