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Haiti: Donating medicines equipment (‘What to give’ and ‘Thank you’)

January 29, 2010 - Haiti

Thank you to everyone who has donated funds, food, medicine and equipment to Real Medicine.

Everything you have given us has made it to Haiti and to those in need–I know this because I have personally driven supplies to the airport to meet doctors and logistic team members heading out. I have helped pack the suit cases, padding delicate items with cotton balls and screwing the caps on hydrogen peroxide and alcohol bottles extra tight just in case. It is all precious cargo. And it is being used to save lives.

There is still so much to do. Though some agencies are already leaving or passing the torch to others and some are making statements like:”As memories of the disaster fade…” (Aid Failure Bodes Ill for Haiti, the long and short of it is that aid has still not reached most areas, even now, 16 days later.

Aid failure? Maybe and frankly yes, but as far as we know, if you keep on trying you cannot fail. Failure is only certain when you give up. And Real Medicine does not do that. I’m not sure Martina Fuchs, our founder, knows how.

We will not leave.

Just to get the point across, here is something I stumbled upon while Facebook-spying. It is from our Director in India, Caitlin MCQuilling, who is heading RMF’s Malnutrition Eradication initiative in Madhya Pradesh:
Caitlin McQuilling: just got the best RMF compliment from a rural police officer investigating me for ‘suspicious behavior’: “all the other international NGO people come for a few days and visit and then leave, but you people, you stay here, what is your interest? you must have some other motivation, no one would stay here”

Understand that when Real Medicine makes a promise, Real Medicine keeps it. We have promised to do everything we can for the people of Haiti and we will keep it….with a little help from our friends.

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Haiti medical needs

– Most needed medical supplies [pdf 29kb]

Guidelines

– Drug donations

– Health care equipment donations [pdf 170kb]

Massive humanitarian health needs exist in Haiti following the 12 January, 2010, earthquake, and clear WHO guidelines are in place for the donations of medicines and other medical supplies to support the relief effort. WHO recommends that potential donors follow these guidelines to ensure appropriate supplies are being provided to match needs on the ground.On 27 January, WHO in Haiti also identified the types of medicines and supplies needed at that present time. These needs are identified in the following attachment.

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) Date: 28 Jan 2010

Objectives

WHO wants to avoid the supply of inappropriate medicines and equipment to Haiti and, instead, ensure essential medical supplies are identified and provided so to best support the health relief efforts underway in the country.

Medicines and medical equipment are an essential element in alleviating suffering, and international humanitarian relief efforts can greatly benefit from donations of appropriate medical supplies.

Unfortunately, disasters do not always lead to an objective assessment of emergency medical needs based on epidemiological data and past experience. Very often an emotional appeal for massive medical assistance is issued without guidance on what are the priority needs. The result is that many donations may cause problems instead of being helpful.

To address those issues, WHO has published guidelines for drug donations and guidelines for health care equipment donations.

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