As California Wildfires Blaze, Direct Relief Dispatches Medical Aid to Impacted Communities

Direct Relief’s Humanitarian Activity for the week of 07/29/2024 – 08/02/2024

In the past week, Direct Relief delivered 441 shipments of requested medical aid to 42 U.S. states and territories and 15 countries worldwide. Included is support for communities in California impacted by wildfires, as well as health facilities in the Caribbean and Texas affected by Hurricane Beryl.

These shipments contained 11 million defined daily doses of medication and supplies, including insulin, rare disease therapies, oncology medications, field medic packs for first responders, and more.

A week into the response, first responders continue to battle California’s largest wildfire. The Park Fire spans across four counties in Northern California: Butte, Plumas, Shasta, and Tehama Counties. The fire has spread to almost 400,000 acres and was 24 percent contained on Friday. Residents in the area have received alerts to evacuate their homes.

Direct Relief-supported organizations in the affected areas include the Butte County Public Health Department, Shingletown Medical Center, and Ampla Health. This week, Direct Relief staff delivered field medic packs to equip first responders for triage care outside of clinic walls, N95 masks, electrolytes, oral rehydration salts, and personal care items for people displaced from their homes.

This week, Direct Relief announced an additional $10 million commitment to further support healthcare services in Ukraine. The funds will be used to address urgent medical and health infrastructure needs like prosthetics and rehabilitation services, resilient power solutions, flexible primary care solutions, access to essential medications, and mental health and psychosocial support.

Since Feb. 2022, Direct Relief has committed over $42 million in financial assistance and 2,480 tons of medical aid valued at $1.3 billion to support health services in Ukraine.