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German foreign aid is at a record high and rising.

Here is how it works.

February 02, 2017

https://www.devex.com/news/german-foreign-aid-is-at-a-record-high-and-rising-here-is-how-it-works-89366

German foreign aid is at a record high and rising. Here is how it works.

Catherine Cheney included part of Dr. Martina Fuchs’ feedback on how Germany is aiding refugees in Part 2 of her article series for Devex: "German foreign aid is at a record high and rising. Here is how it works." She highlights how the number of refugees seeking shelter in Germany is growing and the social service benefits they will receive while there.

By the end of 2016, more than two-third of refugees coming to Europe find shelter in Germany, and once…

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Click here to listen to the interview on the BBC News Website

BBC World Service interviewed RMF Nepal Program Program Coordinator, Barsha Dharel on April 24, 2016. Please follow the link above to listen to the interview. The Barsha Dharel interview, conducted by David Deng, starts around 46:20 mark. Below is a transcript of the interview.

David Deng: The devastating earthquake that shook Nepal last year has come and gone, but the aftershock is far from over. Twelve months on, the destruction that overtook the nation has left thousands desperate to find…

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Essay: The death of international development

‘Development’ has failed to deliver. The reason, Jason Hickel argues, is that development organisations have failed to address the structural drivers of poverty February 2015

via redpepper.org.uk

International development is in serious crisis. Charities are worried about the fact that public support for development is waning – that people just don’t seem to ‘buy it’ any more. According to a recent report by the development umbrella group Bond, ‘Efforts to eradicate poverty appear to many members of the public to have failed, and scepticism about the effectiveness of aid…

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A blog post from Health eVillages’ visit to Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement and Buwate Sports Academy in Uganda.

When it was finally decided that we would be visiting Uganda, it involved some preparation. We were to go on a mission to deliver devices for Angels of Hope and RMF South Sudan (which would be sent to Juba by road from Kampala). Amongst the 3 of us we carried 22 devices in total (18 to RMF South Sudan and 4 for Angels of Hope). Apart from ensuring procurement of devices and having them uploaded with content, we had to prepare…

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by Dr. Patrick Dupont

On the 5th anniversary of the 2010 earthquake which weakened already failing systems and institutions and amongst sensible but still insufficient efforts to rebuild its infrastructures, Haiti’s health care system is still failing as showed by the last health indicators.

Access to quality health care is very limited and very patchy as insufficient public health initiatives are further lessened by lack of resources amongst the rebuilding effort. In the current public health panorama, a few decentralised hospitals have risen with the help or through infrastructure funding from partnered organisations and…

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10 years ago today, on December 26th, 2004, we were celebrating the 2nd Day of Christmas, when a massive tsunami hit South Asia, and the first images of the devastation and despair started flooding TV screens. The number of fatalities kept climbing until it was hard to imagine, hard putting into perspective what this meant. I remember when the death toll hit 80,000, and I thought: we had 1,000 students in my high school, now this is 80 times my high school. Read more here, in Martina’s story.

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Thanks to IRD

Anemia Can Be Prevented in Bogo City

April 22, 2014

Update from the Main Health Office, Bogo City, Philippines

The Bogo City Health Office has limited funds for the purchase of Ferrous Sulfate tablets.  If there are supplies available, the pregnant women are the top priority, however, the availability of the iron vitamins is not sustained so there are times that those pregnant women have to buy the Ferrous Sulfate tablets on their own. Unfortunately, most of the pregnant women seeking prenatal care in our health centers are not financially capable and most of them stop taking iron vitamins during their pregnancy.

Upon the receipt of the donated bottles of Ferrous Sulfate tablets from RMF and

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Pakistan: Polio Vaccine Campaign

Workers Are a Target for Extremist Violence

April 18, 2014

By Rubina Mumtaz, BDS, MPH, Country Director, Pakistan

Update: Just today the Pakistani army has agreed to provide security to those providing polio vaccinations following a series of attacks against individuals involved in the campaign. Full Story.

Polio Campaign Pakistan is one of three countries (Nigeria and Afghanistan) in the world where Polio has yet to be eradicated. According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Pakistan stepped up its eradication efforts and numbers fell from 173 cases in 2011 to 58 in 2012. Unfortunately, with the advent of 2013, Pakistan became the most hazardous country in the world in terms of Polio where…

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When the Kenyan refugees arrived at the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in 2008, there was very little support in terms of school fees for their children, and there was no nursery school at the settlement. RMF stepped forward to establish a school support program to cover fees and supplies for Nursery, Primary and Secondary School children of the Kenyan refugee community at Kiryandongo. In the subsequent years, students from (South) Sudan, Congo, Burundi and Rwanda have been accepted into our program as well. RMF pays a portion of the tuition fees, school uniforms, school supplies, and exam fees for the…

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PANYADOLI HEALTH CENTER III

Kiryandongo Refugee Camp This Level III Health Center’s target population is about 60,000 residents in the Bweyale region, including 41,000 Ugandan IDPs, Bududa survivors, and Refugees from Kenya, Sudan, Congo, Burundi and Rwanda which are the main target population. In the past, the large influxes included that of 10,000 new Ugandan IDPs in October 2010 and another 15,000 joined the Kiryandongo Resettlement Camp at the end of May 2011.

The Panyadoli Health Center treats as many as 3,000 patients per month, for a wide variety of issues including malaria, malnutrition, maternal and…

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In the evening on February 23 RMF’s South Sudan and Uganda teams parted ways and Martina and crew drove to the Kiryandongo Refugee/ Resettlement Camp.

RMF has been serving Ugandans, Ugandan IDPs and refugees from other African nations since April 2008, when the RMF team first arrived from the US to the Mulanda Refugee Transit Centre, giving emergency assistance to the large influx of Kenyan Refugees escaping political violence in Kenya.  This emergency help was initially in the form of psychological trauma and social support, school fee subsidies, clothing, care kits and seeds for the refugees to…

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On February 22 Dr. Fuchs and crew crossed the border into Uganda and drove to Adjumani, West Nile. Sunday morning RMF’s South Sudan and Uganda team leaders met in Adjumani to assess the Adjumani District refugee situation

We met with the Settlement Commander at the Office of the Prime Minister’s Refugee Desk in Pakele and briefed him about RMF’s work in South Sudan and Uganda, where the refugee situation is becoming more and more overwhelming. RMF’s main areas of intervention would be healthcare and education.

We visited 2 of the 5…

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On February 22 Martina and crew drove from Juba to the South Sudan/Uganda border to visit Nimule Hospital and Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps on the South Sudan side, and refugee camps on the Ugandan side of the border.

NIMULE HOSPITAL

Nimule Hospital started in the early 1970s as a clinic and was upgraded to a hospital in 1983. Interventions are in 3 main areas: Healthcare, Nutrition and HIV/AIDS. The bed capacity of Nimule Hospital is 174 beds, which is very small considering it serves the entire population of Magwi County (287,000 people), travelers from…

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As part of my visit, we followed up on RMF’s work at the Pediatric Wards of Juba Teaching Hospital. As part of a Health Systems Strengthening project, RMF began upgrading the infrastructure at JTH in the spring of 2013, starting with the wards of the Pediatric Department. RMF is also supporting the procurement of furniture, medical equipment, and supplies for the Pediatric Department.

Milestones achieved include the full renovation of Pediatric Wards 5 and 7 (total bed capacity of 120 beds), development of guidelines and policies and provision of supplies for the maintenance of the renovated Pediatric Wards;…

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I just received Martina’s report from her trip to South Sudan and Uganda from February 12 to March 2. There is a lot of information and many, many photos so I’m going to split the report into several posts. Check back all this week for more coverage!

From February 12-22 Martina visited the Outpatient Department/Accident & Emergency Department at Juba Teaching Hospital to evaluate the situation and needs with Dr Mayen Achiek, Assistant Professor of Surgery, College of Medicine, Consultant Surgeon, Juba Teaching Hospital. The hospital is overcrowded as a result of the current crisis so…

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excerpt from a report by Tita Dumagsa, Tony Dumagsa and Jonathan White

On February 26th, Real Medicine Foundation received and distributed a second donation of medical supplies. International Relief & Development (IRD) generously provided the shipment as part of our ongoing Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda relief efforts.

Dr. Minerva Millor and her team, Dr. James Najarro of Bantayan Hospital, Ms. Imelda Calungsod of Bogo City Provincial Hospital, Mr. Mansueto Luche, the Hospital Administrative Director of Daan Bantayan Hospital, several midwives and 20 support workers unloaded a 40-foot container of general medical supplies, including much needed dressings, surgical kits…

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Recent fighting has driven more than 65,000 refugees from DRC into Uganda and an update from RMF’s Panyadoli Health Center in Uganda confirms "the situation continues to be desperate, especially for small children and pregnant women." RMF has provided a large supply of medicines and supplies to Bundibugyo Refugee Settlement and we have been asked to continue supplying medicine that is not being provided by other NGOs. Urgent priorities include additional shelter, water sources, communal kitchens, vaccination clinics for children under five, as well as support to existing health centers.

But there is good news despite the…

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Humanity United announced today that it will provide Real Medicine Foundation with a $50,000 grant to provide supplies, medicine and support for the Juba Teaching Hospital in South Sudan. The aid comes at a critical time for the country, with violence since mid-December displacing over 180,000 people.

To learn more about the grant the Humanity United press release has been posted below and for a recent update on the hospital click here.

Screen Shot 2013-12-30 at 3.03.23 PM

DECEMBER 30, 2013, PRESS RELEASE, SOUTH SUDAN

Humanity United Provides…

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CEO Dr. Martina Fuchs traveled to Bantayan Island to assess the medical situation  following Typhoon Haiyan (the main hospital suffered serious damage) and learned that the typhoon practically decimated the fishing industry as well; 90% of households depend on fishing. Here are a few photographs from that trip.

To Bantayan Island

 

Children, Bantayan Island

Destruction, Bantayan Island

Food Distribution for Typhoon Victims

Little Boy, Bantayan Island

Destruction, Bantayan Island

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Martina returned from the Philippines with wonderful stories about the resilience of the people and an urgency to get the hospital and livelihood projects moving. Here are a few photos from the second half of her journey.

Damaged power lines

Children in Medellin. When it starts getting dark there is no light in the streets or in the houses. The fire in the background is where people are burning debris, broken trees, etc. from Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in an effort to clean up.

Little girl in Medellin.

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Map showing Martina’s itinerary: Cebu City, north to Bogo City to Don Pedro Barangay to Nailon Barangay to San Remigio to Medellin, cross over to Bantayan island to visit Bantayan and Santa Fe, back to Cebu Island to visit Daanbantayan.

Town hall meeting with the Mayor of Bogo City and Dr. Minerva Millor.

Dr. Martina Fuchs is asked to speak at the Town Hall meeting.

Severo Verallo Memorial District Hospital in Bogo City.

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Photos from Nailon Barangay Health Station, Don Pedro Barangay Health Station and Daycare Center.

A small patient.

Dr. Minerva Millor in front of Barangay Health Station.

Nailon Barangay Health Station.

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En route to San Remigio and Medellin and a few small friends and patients along the way.

On the road to San Remigio and Medellin.

Destroyed banana trees. The locals kept saying "they go first, then the coconut trees."

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We are proud to report that donations have been tallied and our first Beauty for Real™ event was a success!

On Saturday February 16, Dr. Tanya Kormeili and Great Earth Compounding Pharmacy of West Hollywood hosted Beauty for Real™ a unique fundraiser that aimed to have people show their beauty from the inside out.  Attendees could obtain a number of cosmetic services – at a one-time discount, with proceeds going to Real Medicine – from Dr. Kormeili, a popular LA dermatologist (who has been seen on The Doctors and in media worldwide).

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For Immediate Release

Los Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles-based international nonprofit Real Medicine Foundation participated in World Humanitarian Day this Sunday, August 19th. World Humanitarian Day is an international day promoted by the United Nations to recognize those who have lost their lives – and those who continue to spend their lives – in the course of humanitarian work around the world.

The day is described as a “global celebration of people helping people.”

Real Medicine has operated on exactly this philosophy since the day it was

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“DioNicEss X” charity beer pairing dinner @ Beachwood BBQ & Brewing (6/10)

Long Beach, CA | May 15, 2012 — Tickets are selling quickly for the tenth installment of the famed “DioNicEss” food & drink pairing series, which is coming to Long Beach’s celebrated Beachwood BBQ & Brewing on June 10. To immortalize this milestone, the theme of this dinner has been dubbed “DioNicEss X: Coming of Age,” not only as a reflective look at the progression of the previous nine events, but also a play on…

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Real Medicine Foundation and the Florence Western Medical Clinic in South Los Angeles  hosted its 4th Annual Children’s Holiday Party on December 17, 2011. Each year, RMF provides toys, sports equipment, books and grocery cards for holiday dinners to meet the needs of these often-overlooked families.

Over 60 bags of gifts were given away at this Saturday’s Holiday Party for kids in South Los Angeles!-To read more about our programs at the Florence Western Medical Clinic, click here.

Photos from our event below:

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In recognition of our organization’s Malnutrition Eradication Project in India, we have been nominated as a "Charity of the Year" for the CLASSY Awards , sponsored by StayClassy  organization.  We need your help to vote for our organization so that we can progress from the list of 25 finalists to the final 10!

To vote for us, please visit this webpage: http://classyawards.stayclassy.org/classy-awards/voting , click on "Charity of the Year" and scroll down until you see Real Medicine Foundation and click on the "Vote" button.  It also allows you to vote for charities in other…

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Our partner’s in Japan,  JEN (Japanese Emergency NGO), have achieved the following since partnering with RMF:

Approximately 150,000 people were reached Primary beneficiaries: Evacuees at shelters in Ishinomaki City and evacuees located in their own house without food * stocks, and elderly persons at nursery houses

Activities:

Material Distribution:

Food and non-food items such as fuel, clothing, blankets, and hygiene products were delivered to evacuation centers and homes for the elderly, i.e. 1,000 kilos of rice and 4,000 liters of kerosene.

Sludge Removal Tools and Volunteer Dispatch:

Supported by…

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photo: Sam, Sarah, Max, Kenny G & Lyndie

We would like to thank everyone involved at the Japan Relief Fundraiser held at the Malibu Lumber Yard on Saturday for  their support, it was an amazing day filled with fun, music and charity!

This past Saturday a group of Malibu’s finest young musicians came together Saturday at the Malibu Lumber Yard for a fundraiser concert called "From Our Ocean to Theirs."

The Malibu Lumber Yard shops Tory BurchAlice + Olivia,ChocolateBox CafeIntermix

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Our partners at JEN (Japanese Emergency NGO) have teams busy on the ground in the northern tsunami affected areas providing food, shelter, water and other basic survival items to the thousands of people stranded in shelters.

photo: JEN staff prepare food for emergency shelter residents

Thanks to everyone’s donations, JEN is able to provide far more care than would have been previously possible.

JEN has been updating us with photos and updates from the field, and also posting regularly to their blog.

Most recent update from JEN of this week’s relief work:

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We are very pleased to announce that the kind folks over at Rudy’s Barber Shop www.RudysBarbershop.com, Ace Hotel www.acehotel.com, Cha Cha Lounge www.chachalounge.com and Bimbos Cantina www.bimboscantina.com have agreed to match donations to our Japan Earthquake  and Tsunami Relief dollar for dollar up to $18,000!

The challenge has started and we will be tracking the donation totals coming in on the home page of our website.

Currently, our relief efforts are focused on partnering directly with a Japanese non-profit organization, JEN…

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It is with relief and pride that we read the results of the South Sudanese referendum vote for independence from the North. Our project in Sudan , the new Juba College of Nursing and Midwifery, was directly impacted by the ability of the referendum to be carried out peacefully and with positive results for the South.

Our staff in Juba is now busy again as the first class of 40 students gets started on their second semester of Nursing and Midwifery programs.  There is still much to be done to assure the College is…

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With the launch of our Sindh Mobile Clinic Initiative, it looks like our team is going to be busy as the region is now experiencing record levels of Malnutrition due to post flood conditions, according to a recently published UNICEF report. According to an article on the British news group The Guardian (guardian.co.uk):

In Sindh province, where some villages are still under water six months after the floods, almost one quarter of children under five are malnourished while 6% are severely underfed, a Floods Assessment Needs survey has found.

"I haven’t seen malnutrition this…

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We’re kicking off the New Year with a bang!  Today, our founder and CEO Martina Fuchs, was honored with Lifetime Network’s Remarkable Woman award. The award spotlights extraordinary women who inspire and empower others to make a difference in their communities and the world.

Lifetime’s Remarkable Women are weekly vignettes featured on-air and online celebrating extraordinary women who inspire and encourage all of us to make a difference in our world.  Salutes have included unsung heroes like Josette Perard, a community advocate working on the frontlines in Haiti after its devastating earthquake and Patsy Bates, a hairdresser from Gardena, California, who won…

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In recognition of his work in forging a partnership between Real Medicine and the Nigerian Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Dr. Ufuoma Ejughemre was awarded with the President’s NYSC Honor Service award on December 6th in Abuja, Nigeria.

photo: RMF Doctor Ufuoma Ejughemre receiving award from Nigeria’s President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

Dr. Ufuoma was posted to the clinic in Gure during his Nigerian Youth Service corp 1 year medical posting.  All doctors in Nigeria participate in the NYSC’s medical volunteering program for one year before there residency at a hospital. The majority of the clinics that…

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Last 3 days to give!

December 29, 2010

If you were considering donating to a worthy cause in 2010 and taking advantage of the tax benefits of charitable donations, now is your last chance to contribute!

As we look towards new efforts and projects in 2011 it is only through your generous funding that we will be able to continue our long term development projects in some of the poorest areas on this planet.

As you know, we have set the goal of raising $100,000 by December 31st, and would greatly appreciate if you consider Real Medicine for your year-end donation.

In the spirit of Real Medicine…

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711 Greenwich Street

New York City

http://urbanzen.org/

Real Medicine Foundation is proud to announce that we have been designated as a beneficiary for the Hope Help Relief for Haiti "The Truth" fundraising event.  Our relief and long term capacity building projects in Haiti will be the sole beneficiaries of any proceeds given to RMF.

Urban Zen Foundation’s Hope Help Relief Haiti for The Truth is a multimedia art exhibition which will provide Gifts of Love to the people of Haiti.

The…

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By Patrick Dupont

Now, more than 11 months after the catastrophic events of January 12 and the devastating blows to its already impoverished socio-economic state and structures, Haiti’s population is facing many other day-to-day hardships and obstacles, and two new foes:

1. An unprecedented cholera outbreak, which started in October and has already claimed more than 2,000 lives and touched roughly 92,000 Haitians while hospitalizing more than 42,000 of them [PAHO EOC situation report # 16, December 6, 2010].

The Ministry of Health, enrolling many partners amongst the already widely…

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For Article Click Here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/12/07/haiti.elections/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_world

Follow us on TwitterFacebook or become a fundraiser for us at Causes.com

To contribute more information about our Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts,

To contribute to this initiative, please visit our website at realmedicinefoundation.org.

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As we continue to follow the Cholera outbreak in Haiti:

"The UN has appealed for nearly $164m (£102m) to fight a cholera outbreak in Haiti which has now claimed 724 lives.

UN spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said that unless funds were provided, "all our efforts can be outrun by the epidemic". (BBCNews)

BBC news reporting that while Haiti missed the brunt of the Hurricane Tomas storm, the flooding that followed the heavy rains has greatly increased the risk of a large cholera outbreak in the capital, with more than 70 cases…

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Haiti is bracing itself for Tropical Storm Tomas and the heavy rains that are due to follow.  Refugees are being advised to leave the tent camps but have nowhere to go.

From BBC news:

Haiti has been placed on high alert as a powerful storm sweeps in, threatening thousands of earthquake survivors still living in camps.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11696626

UN OHCA group’s report below:

Emergency supplies and equipment are urgently needed in preparation for Tropical Storm Tomas.

WASH, shelter, logistics and communication clusters have identified requirements in terms of equipment…

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From Google’s official blog yesterday, Google announced at the opening ceremonies of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) that they would be providing $1 million in charitable grants to support the relief efforts in Pakistan.  The announcement mentions Real Medicine along with the 8 other non-profit organizations that Google has chosen to be partners in their first round of support.  We again are very thankful and proud that Google has chosen us to be one of their partners in this ongoing relief effort in Pakistan.

As mentioned in Google’s blog:

"As part of our CGI commitment this…

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We are very proud to announce that Real Medicine Foundation has received a grant from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund for our disaster relief efforts in response to the flooding in Pakistan.

Through the Tides Foundation, Google’s charitable fund manager, we received $25,000 directed towards the immediate funding of our medical camps treating the flood affected across Pakistan. We have so far held two of these medical outreach camps and have already treated thousands of patients. With this new funding we will be able to significantly increase the number of victims treated.

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As the monsoon season in Pakistan continues to flood the country, the flooding is now sweeping from the north to the southern zones of the country. Full article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11081090

“Some 200,000 people have been evacuated in the Thatta area of Sindh province, where dozens of villages are submerged. In the north, workers have begun clearing up as the floods recede. The UN has appealed for more helicopters to reach 800,000 people who are cut off.” For more information about our Flood Relief Efforts, please visit our website.

To contribute to our Flood Relief Efforts,…

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Through the generous support of our recent donors and our amazing RMF Pakistan team and partner organization, Relief Foundation, we are proud to announce that we successfully held our first free Flood Relief Medical and Dental camp this past Sunday 22nd of August in Paindakhel, Charsada District of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Pakistan.

As soon as the camp was set up patients started arriving in great number and were waiting in long queues to be seen. The doctors examined and treated 1,767 male and female patients, providing them with medicine and other medical supplies. Around 78 serious cases…

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In addition to our permanent clinic in Balakot that has been treating an influx of new patients due to the floods, we are proud to announce that, together with one of our partners in Pakistan, Relief Foundation (RF), we are holding the first of our RMF-RF Free Medical Camps this coming Sunday, 22nd of August in the Charsadda district.

With some initial funding from a handful of donors here in the US, we were able to immediately start relief efforts through Relief Foundation in Pakistan. Of course, much, much more is needed, but this is a good…

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Continuing with the coverage of the floods in Pakistan and what this means for our clinic in Balakot, I came across a good article from the New York Times that details why it is so important for Western Countries, the US in particular, to lend a helping hand to the people of Pakistan.

NY Times article here

Time and time again, the poor and rural areas of a country like Pakistan are left behind infrastructure, economic development and health care, ,and with no one else offering a helping hand fundamentalist groups like the Taliban…

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Our new 15 minute documentary film covers both the history of Real Medicine and highlights our medical and relief work in Turkana, Kenya. This film features incredible on the ground footage of our relief efforts in Turkana, footage of our founder Dr. Martina Fuchs in action, and an interview with New York Times author Jeffrey Gettleman whose article inspired our work in Turkana.  A very special thanks to the whole RMF production team, but especially George Papuashvili, who tirelessly donated both his time and talents to producing this moving documentary for RMF.  Remember…

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Due to the continued bad weather in Pakistan and the enormous number of people affected by the widespread flooding, the human scale of the flood devastation is on an almost unimaginable scale.  UN is now estimating that the total number of people affected exceeds the Tsunami, Haiti earthquake and 2005 Kashmir earthquake all combined.

Real Medicine is very busy trying to ensure that our established health clinic in this region is able to handle the huge influx of new patients, and also fundraising to be able to provide several health care outreach camps in the areas that aren’t able…

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By Kevin Connell and Jonathan White

This series of video clips was shot by RMF’s Kevin Connell in the St. Pierre Square tent camp in Petionville, an upper-class neighborhood of Port-au-Prince.  This is a small tent camp set up in a public square but one of the largest tent camps in the city is located on a nearby golf course with an estimated 50,000 people occupying.  Voluntary settlements like these were setup in virtually every square or open space in the city after the disaster.  These clips gives you a little more insight into the living conditions…

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Real Medicine in Haiti: 6 months later and beyond

July 12, 2010 - Haiti

by Alex Areces and Jonathan White

As we pause to mark the somber six month anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti and the 230,000 lives lost, it is worth noting not only the significant achievements of the international aid community but also how dire the situation remains and the immense challenges that lie ahead.  Most of the 1.5 million Haitians that were left homeless are still living in the immense tent cities due to sheer scale of the logistical and legal challenges of rebuilding literally hundreds of buildings on mostly private property. The health care system is still in tatters, and…

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“Unprecedented amounts of money have been pledged to Haitian relief in the last few months. American households have given over $1 billion and in March, 120 countries pledged over $9 billion(!) to rebuild. The only problem is that – historically – blanketing a country in aid and money has never really worked so well. Is there a chance this time things could be different?”

In this episode This American Life seeks to understand what is happening in Haiti: why aid money seems frozen and what is needed to make sure that once released, every Haitian,…

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Audio slideshow: Life in a camp in Haiti

Recorded and photographed by Jake Price. Produced by Jake Price and Phil Coomes (bbc.com)

In January an earthquake in Haiti killed up to 230,000 people and left more than one million homeless.

As the rainy season began, photographer Jake Price travelled to a number of the many camps that house some of those left homeless and presents his impressions of those struggling to rebuild their lives.

“There is an undercurrent of vibrant life in Haiti that the waters cannot wash away. After…

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“…these little scraps of paper are like diamonds.” “…’One day at a time,’ she sings, ‘One day at a time”‘

Haiti: One Month on (BBC Video)

BBC.com

Monday, 15 February 2010

A month on from the Haiti earthquake and the government says the death toll may have reached 230,000. The relief effort has been hindered by severe damage to roads and communications and now the country is facing the start of the rainy season. In Leogane, the epicentre of the quake, west of Port-au-Prince, 90% of the buildings are in ruins…

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As Aftershocks Continue, Haiti Ponders Rebuilding

By RAY RIVERA

Published: January 28, 2010

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — More than two weeks after the earthquake that devastated much of this country’s southern half, the capital remains a city of teetering walls, dangling electrical wires and precariously balanced heaps of jagged cinder block and wrought iron, all rattled daily by aftershocks.

Bulldozers and excavators are few and far between. Even as tent cities here swell, aid groups say an estimated 10 percent of the city’s residents (a number that may…

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NYTimes.com

By DAMIEN CAVE

Published: January 25, 2010

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Maxi Extralien, a twig-thin 10-year-old in a SpongeBob pajama top, ate only a single bean from the heavy plate of food he received recently from a Haitian civic group. He had to make it last.

“My mother has 12 kids but a lot of them died,” he said, covering his meal so he could carry it to his family. “There are six of us now and my mom.”

For Maxi and countless others here in Haiti’s…

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RMF runs the Mumbai Marathon

January 19, 2010 - India

Last Sunday, January 17th 2010, six runners stepped forward to run the Mumbai Marathon on behalf of Real Medicine in an effort to help spread the word about world issues and what Real Medicine is doing to help.

Thanks to Rohit Chemburkar tags were made and handed out to runners interested in running for us. Rohit also took all the photos that you see.

This was the first official race that Real Medicine has participated in while we gear up for the LA Marathon on March 21st, 2010. As an official…

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On September 27th, at the infamous CitySip in Echo Park, Real Medicine invites you to relive your college glory days in a manner benefiting the mature adult you are today.

Like a journey into another dimension, Dionicess V transforms drinking beer and eating pizza into an accomplishment worthy of proud display on any social networking or dating site. With all proceeds going to Real Medicine not only does this night of charitable cuisine give you holier-than-thou status for at least a week, you can write it off on…

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The Ministry of Health of the Government of Southern Sudan, backed by UNICEF and other partners, has unveiled a further effort to reduce child and maternal mortality with the launch of the Accelerated Child Survival Initiative (ACSI) which aligns with current RMF initiatives in the area.

The ACSI package will focus on providing an integrated package of life-saving services including polio and measles vaccination, de-worming, provision of vitamin A supplements and anti-malarial bed nets, along with the promotion of good health practices such as breastfeeding and hand washing to women and children…

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Malnutrition getting worse in India – Madhya Pradesh

March 24, 2009 - India

by Dr. Martina Fuchs

About 60% children in Madhya Pradesh state are malnourished.

Real Medicine Foundation works in Jhabua District, Madhya Pradesh.

Lying on a bed is a tiny malnourished child. Her limbs wasted, her stomach bloated, her hair thinning and falling out. Her name is Roshni.

She stares, wide-eyed, blankly at the ceiling. Roshni is six months old. She should weigh 4.5kg. But when she is placed on a set of scales they settle at just 2.9kg.

Roshni is suffering from severe acute malnutrition, defined by the…

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Sudan

March 23, 2009

by Dr. Martina Fuchs

NYALA, Sudan — The sign outside the clinic in Otash camp reads “8-hour service daily.”

On Friday, Haider Ismael al-Amin lay in his mother’s arms, his 10-year-old body withered and weak from dehydration after a night of vomiting. But the door to the clinic was locked. After 30 minutes of waiting, his family gave up. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/world/africa/23darfur.html?_r=1

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Sope Ogunyemi mentions Real Medicine in a NPR interview about multiculturalism in the African-American community –

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98140093

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Myanmar/Burma

May 14, 2008 - Myanmar