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Emergency Aid and Disaster Relief
Deadly flooding in the West African nations of Burkina Faso and Senegal left over 200,000 people homeless in late September 2009. Senegal was hard hit by disease as a result of the flooding, including over 3,300 cases of potentially fatal malaria. Many families had no emergency shelter and had to live in homes surrounded by stagnant water that provides the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and water-borne diseases, To help flood survivors, AmeriCares sent more than $400,000 worth of emergency medicines and medical supplies including critical antibiotics, infection control supplies and pain and fever medicines.
Medical and Humanitarian Aid
Since 1998, AmeriCares has delivered more than $88 million worth of medical aid and humanitarian relief to Senegal. AmeriCares partners with the African American Islamic Institute, a local nongovernment organization, and provides regular shipments of medicine and medical supplies to improve primary healthcare in southern Senegal.
AmeriCares delivers medicines and medical supplies to healthcare partners, including the Shif'a al-Asqam Medical Clinic, located in the vital market town of Medina-Kaolack. This clinic uses donated medicines and supplies to serve a rural community of 100,000 men, women and children. With a focus on maternal and child health, the clinic helps hundreds of patients each month and remains in continual need of medicine and equipment.
AmeriCares also supports a network of more than 30 rural health centers that serve as primary care clinics for a population of 1 million people. In 2007 and 2008, AmeriCares distributed $15.5 million worth of medicines and medical supplies with the help of partners in Senegal. AmeriCares also supports basic health care for the elderly. Read Mr. Ndiaye's story »
In addition to providing basic health care, AmeriCares has been involved with programs supporting specialized care for blindness prevention. AmeriCares is part of an effort led by the World Health Organization (WHO) to eliminate trachoma - a highly infectious and very painful eye disease that can result in blindness. In addition to donating a valuable medication that cures the disease, AmeriCares sent surgical kits to equip surgeons with the tools necessary to perform a delicate operation to restore vision for patients afflicted with trachoma. Over 500 sight-saving surgeries have been performed in outreach camps and district health centers using the donated kits. Read "The Gift of Sight" »
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