PQMD Members continue to respond to ongoing crises both domestic and abroad This year saw unprecedented events around the globe, borne from both manmade circumstances and natural causes. Disease outbreak, famine, refugee crises and political unrest prompted a robust response from PQMD members this year. Natural disasters,
Read more →Finding heartbreak, delivering hope in Puerto Rico Source: CNN (CNN) The plan was to deliver hope. Mother Nature wasn’t cooperating. “I’m really worried about the rain,” Andrea Dunne-Sosa whispers to one of her Project Hope volunteers in Puerto Rico. “We’re only going to be able to get to about 15
Read more →Sierra Leone addresses potential cholera outbreak with vaccine program After mudslides killed hundreds of people in Sierra Leone in August, the country is taking steps to prevent an outbreak of cholera. The government, UNICEF and WHO requested assistance from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).
Read more →Gates Foundation Hopes to Share Lessons Learned in Polio Eradication Effort The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation requested proposals last month to help future generations use best practices found from polio eradication efforts in addressing other public health issues. Foundation staff acknowledge they have learned both dos
Read more →In the late 1800s, Johnson & Johnson made history by producing the first-ever commercial first aid kits, packed with items like cotton, bandages and adhesive plaster. But there’s another, lesser-known kit the company makes that has also helped countless people around the world: disaster modules.
Read more →Voices From Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan is hosting over two million displaced people and refugees. This includes 300,000 Syrian refugees. In the last twelve months, IHP has shipped over 1.1m treatments of long dated medicines and supplies to partners on the ground. Health services in Hassan Sham
Read more →WHO working on malaria in Nigeria After 8 years of conflict in Borno state in north-eastern Nigeria, 8500 people are infected with Malaria each week, with the WHO estimating another 3.7 million at risk. That number is expected to rise as the transmission season lasts through October.
Read more →Rapid spread of cholera in Yemen causes changes in vaccination plan and funding focus; PQMD Member Direct Relief Shipping Cholera Treatment Kits Cholera has infected 313,000 people and taken the lives of 1,700 in Yemen. The severe outbreak began in the spring. The outbreak’s spread outpaced vaccination efforts,
Read more →Sri Lanka dealing with massive outbreak of dengue fever; PQMD member Americares responding to need At least 227 people have died and thousands infected with dengue fever in Sri Lanka. More than 79,000 infections have been reported since the beginning of 2017. The outbreak comes after large
Read more →Democratic Republic of Congo Declares Ebola Outbreak Over The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared its two month Ebola outbreak over in early July. Having initially reported the disease to the World Health Organization in May, the WHO immediately activated emergency protocols. Two major factors contributed to
Read more →