Heart to Heart International and BD, Partners in Access in bringing aid Myanmar

Heart to Heart International and BD, Partners in Access in Bringing Aid Myanmar

Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar
Heart to Heart International, BD

Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on May 2, 2008, as a category 4 storm bringing winds up to 215km/hr when it hit the Irrawaddy Delta region. 130,000 are dead or missing due to the storm. It was the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar. Many of the Delta’s 6.6 million residents were in need of medical care and relief efforts. The political situation in the country made these relief efforts challenging.

A humanitarian group utilized the Ready Relief Box™ to traverse a difficult political situation in Myanmar following the devastation of Cyclone Nargis. The government did not initially allow major shipments of humanitarian aid into the country, despite massive need in the Irrawaddy Delta. The group ordered several boxes and checked them as extra luggage. By hand-carrying the boxes into the country they were able to help thousands of people in crisis along the coast. The group said the Ready Relief Box™ was the “ideal solution” for the humanitarian challenges they faced in Myanmar.

The Ready Relief Box™ provides traveling medical teams with a “portable pharmacy” of basic medicines and medical supplies for clinical work in underserved regions of the world. It was launched in 2007 by Heart to Heart International and global medical technology company BD. The box is pre-packaged and ready to send via FedEx anywhere in the United States within 72 hours of an order. Its sturdy, ergonomic design allows it to withstand the rigors of international travel.

Nearly 90 percent (88.1%) of the communities that benefited from a medical team carrying a Ready Relief Box™ had no reliable access to basic health services, including medicines and medical supplies. Research indicates that traveling medical teams and the medical aid accompanying them were the only health services that some communities received in a year.

The Ready Relief Box™ is effect for use in the field. Focus groups helped Heart to Heart determine the design and contents of the Ready Relief Box™. These groups asked for a rugged box that contained a consistent formulary of quality medicines and was convenient and affordable to order. Most groups checked the Ready Relief Box™ as extra baggage and carried it to their clinical destination by hand.  From there, medical professionals conducted clinics and treated an average of 400-500 patients with each box.

BD provided the initial investment to launch the Ready Relief Box™ initiative. Several other philanthropic companies have joined the effort, including Abbott, Amgen, Bristol Myers-Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, and Sanofi Aventis.

Heart to Heart’s core purpose is to create a healthier world. Improving health is paramount to its global programs. The Ready Relief Box™ is no exception. In interviews with traveling medical teams that used the box during their medical mission, nearly 75 percent (74.9%) said that the patients they saw would have gone without treatment if not for the Ready Relief Box™ and these teams also said that 95-100 percent (98.4%) of the patients received better care as a result of the Ready Relief Box™. Nearly all of the teams rated the Ready Relief Box™ as “extremely helpful” or “vital” to their medical mission.

Other countries Ready Relief Boxes have been shipped to since October 2007:

AFRICA: Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia
EAST ASIA/OCEANIA: China
EUROPE/CENTRAL ASIA: Tajikistan
LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN: Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru
MIDDLE EAST/SOUTH ASIA: Gaza, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar