In 2011 AmeriCares continued to provide direct medical services through the clinics it operates both domestically and internationally. Above, an infant receives a checkup from a doctor at the AmeriCares Family Clinic in Santiago de Maria, El Salvador. The clinic, which celebrated its 8th anniversary this year, is staffed with local medical professionals and treats more than 3,000 patients a month.

Here in Connecticut, U.S., AmeriCares three free clinics, in Bridgeport, Danbury, and Norwalk, provide primary and specialty medical care to uninsured, low income area residents. With the support of hundreds of volunteers, loyal donors, and community partners, AmeriCares clinics have been serving this vulnerable population since 1994. In the photo above, volunteer nurse Judy Breekland examines a patient at the Danbury clinic.

In January 2011 AmeriCares India began delivering health care to the Andheri slums in Mumbai through a mobile medical van, providing residents with access to continuous care and disease prevention. The program, which operates six days a week and treats an average of 100 patients per day, is the only form of medical assistance most patients receive.

From wildfires in Texas to tropical storm damage in Vermont, AmeriCares responded to several disasters here in the U.S. in 2011. Among them was the deadly tornado that struck the city of Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011. Beth Reinke survived the storm in her father’s home, which was one of 8,000 destroyed that day. In the immediate aftermath, AmeriCares delivered medicines and other critical supplies to responding clinics and community organizations.

The Horn of Africa is experiencing the worst drought in over half a century, which has led to widespread famine throughout the region. AmeriCares is responding on many fronts with medical aid shipments and the establishment of a field hospital. Here, in Mogadishu, Somalia, nutritional supplements are delivered to children and vulnerable adults.

In 2011 AmeriCares launched a new partnership with Afshar Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. In order to help address Afghanistan’s staggeringly high rates of infant and maternal mortality, AmeriCares and the physicians of Afshar Hospital are developing a program to build and equip a newborn specialty care unit. Below, a grandmother welcomes her newborn granddaughter just 24 hours after Afshar Hospital surgeons delivered her by C-section. 

Throughout 2011, AmeriCares built new partnerships while expanding existing projects. These Vietnamese pre-school students participate in an AmeriCares program that is measurably improving the nutrition and health of more than 3,000 children. In close collaboration with local pre-schools, this Abbott-supported nutrition program provides poor, rural children aged 2 to 5 with daily breakfast, homemade soymilk, and vitamins to ensure healthy growth and development. In 2012, the program will expand to reach 5,000 students.

Jessica Fahrbach, a second year student at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM), examines a newborn at a mobile clinic in the Dominican Republic. VCOM was one of the volunteer groups AmeriCares Medical Outreach Program supported in 2011 with donations of medicines and medical products to provide primary care services and surgeries for those in need.

Nearly two years after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010, AmeriCares continues to work hard rebuilding the country’s medical infrastructure and enabling access to medicines and medical care. These vital services help Haitians such as malnourished Jonelle Auxilien and her mother, sitting here with AmeriCares Haiti Program Manager Dr. Makenzi Douze, at one of the 100 facilities AmeriCares supports in Haiti.

AmeriCares aid worker Kyoko Sakurai surveys the damage left behind by the powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011. AmeriCares long-term recovery initiatives focus on the restoration of health services, reconstruction of damaged facilities, and support for mental health programs.