Collaboration with the National Guard Airlifts Aid to Armenia

Providing critical medicines can save lives in countries where health care providers with limited resources face challenges in meeting the needs of vulnerable populations.  Our network of hundreds of local partners around the world and here at home help us discover new ways to provide that medical aid and strengthen health care systems. One such innovative approach brought medicines to Armenia this summer.

Early in July 2014, our partner in Armenia approached AmeriCares with an air freight opportunity through the Kansas Air National Guard. The National Guard offered free air transport to the United Armenia Fund (UAF) as part of its humanitarian assistance airlift on board a KC-135 aircraft that was leaving for Armenia in mid-August.

AmeriCares was able to quickly put together a shipment of exclusive medicines to support UAF and its local network in Armenia. The airlift, valued at $3.8 million, included cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and respiratory medicines, as well as anticonvulsants and anesthetics. These medicines enable health care providers to reach many more patients who otherwise might not be able to receive the treatments they need. 

AmeriCares has partnered with the United Armenia Fund since 1992. Over the course of our partnership, AmeriCares has sent more than 250 shipments of medicines and medical supplies worth $120 million to Armenia. This aid is distributed to hospitals, health clinics, orphanages, summer camps and other programs that support vulnerable populations in Armenia.