FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Peggy Atherlay
Phone: 203-658-9626
Cell: 203-524-2158
Email: patherlay@americares.org
AmeriCares, a disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization, is preparing to deliver a shipment carrying medicines and medical supplies to volunteer doctors helping survivors of Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan. The storm’s death toll is expected to exceed 500 and thousands have been impacted by the typhoon and subsequent flooding and mudslides.
Since Typhoon Morakot made landfall on August 7, AmeriCares has been reaching out to relief groups in Taiwan, mainland China and the Philippines to assess their needs and offer assistance. In Taiwan – the hardest hit - AmeriCares is working with a local aid organization to coordinate an air shipment of medicines to support their mobile medical teams.
AmeriCares medical assistance includes antibiotics to treat infections, pain medicines and wound care supplies to help treat the injured. The basic medicines and supplies are essential to the mobile medical teams’ efforts to provide health care to survivors in the remote and mountainous regions of Taiwan.
To reach survivors in desperate need, the volunteer doctors will use all-terrain vehicles, boats and motor bikes – even pack animals – to get as far into the mountains as possible. Many of the dedicated doctors and health workers will then have to walk miles to finally reach the communities that need help.
AmeriCares has delivered medical aid to Taiwan in response to catastrophic disasters. In 1999, AmeriCares send over $1 million worth of medical aid and disaster relief to Taiwan in response to a devastating earthquake that killed over 2,000 people.
About AmeriCares
AmeriCares is a nonprofit international disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization, which delivers medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in crisis around the world. Since it was established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed more than $9.0 billion in humanitarian aid to 137 countries. For more information, log onto www.AmeriCares.org.
