Power outages, widespread displacement, freezing temperatures, and ongoing hazardous weather conditions, including heavy snow and freezing rain, continue to pose a serious threat to health. In the coming weeks, a lack of access to power and wide displacement are likely to stifle access to healthcare and put already vulnerable people at risk.

Direct Relief staff spent Friday dispatching field medic packs and hygiene kits to partners preparing for emergency operations. The organization had already staged massive caches of emergency response equipment and essential medicines in vulnerable communities across the country, as it does every year.

Winter storms like this one often leave a heartbreaking immediate death toll behind, with particular dangers for those who are unhoused, low-income individuals, older adults, and medically vulnerable people.

But storms and extreme weather events are often far deadlier in the weeks and sometimes years after the original threat has passed. The excess deaths caused by loss of power, a damaged clinic, displacement, and blocked roads can kill many times the number of people originally reported.

For Direct Relief, and the organization’s partners working in affected communities across the country, the next challenge will be to avoid this “second disaster.”

How Power Outages Exacerbate Health Risks

Power outages – whether they’re from a snowstorm, hurricane, or wildfire – can pose severe risks to health. People who rely on powered medical devices and refrigerated medicine are at particularly immediate risk. Food spoils in refrigerators, which can cause gastrointestinal illness and compromise food access more generally for low-income families.

The loss of power combined with freezing temperatures will bring additional, unique risks. Frostbite and hypothermia threaten people who are unsheltered or who need to be outdoors. Cardiovascular events like heart attacks will increase in harsh weather conditions. People relying on diesel generators or other alternative heat sources are at greater risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Traffic accidents will increase in areas without powered traffic lights, or with heavy rain or snow.

Across the country, community health centers, charitable clinics, and nonprofit pharmacies attempt to fill some of these gaps during emergencies. Staff call medically vulnerable patients to assess their needs. They deliver essential medications, work to keep their doors open, and connect people without heat or food to essential resources, preventing patients’ health from spiraling out of control.

That’s why Direct Relief, through its Power for Health program, supports community providers across the U.S. with resilient power sources that allow them to maintain clinic operations even in the case of widespread electrical failures.

Displacement and Impacts on Health Vulnerabilities

People displaced by storm damage, power outages, and dangerous weather – or those forced to congregate in shelters – are more medically vulnerable. For one thing, they are more likely to experience interruptions to care, especially if they move to a location far from their regular clinic. They’re also more likely to lose access to the community ties that so many people rely on to maintain their health, whether it’s a neighbor who regularly checks in, a friend who drives them to a doctor, or a local food bank that helps them stretch their food budget.

Shelters save lives but can bring health risks of their own, including gastrointestinal or respiratory diseases that spread in close quarters, high levels of stress, a lack of access to fresh foods, and the disruption of medical routines that people with chronic conditions need to maintain their health.

Chronic Conditions Can Spiral, If Unmanaged

No matter what the disaster, impacts on chronic conditions often cause the most widespread need. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, for example, providers across Louisiana reported that lost medications and a lack of access to primary healthcare affected a far greater number of patients than even the devastating floodwaters.

Hundreds of millions of Americans have at least one chronic disease, and many of them rely on continuous, reliable care to maintain their health. Clinic or pharmacy closures and a lack of access to medication – which is often destroyed, lost, or left behind in an extreme weather situation – can cause diabetes, hypertension, or respiratory disease to spiral out of control within days or weeks.

Mental Health Impacts on Adults and Children

An approaching winter storm can trigger mental health symptoms, especially for people with previous trauma. In a country where hurricanes, wildfires, floods, extreme heat, and other weather events are growing more widespread and severe, more and more people are experiencing compounding mental health impacts. That includes children, for whom a severe weather event can cause post-traumatic stress and other mental health problems that impact long-term flourishing.

Direct Relief’s Response to U.S. Winter Storms

On Friday, medical support departed for healthcare providers in Texas and Maryland, preparing to respond to the massive storm. Soap, shampoo, and dental supplies for people sheltering from the storm were dispatched to Harris County, Texas. Providers in Texas and Maryland also received field medic packs, containing emergency medical supplies for triage care.

Direct Relief is in communication with the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics and the National Association of Community Health Centers. Both organizations help member clinics and state primary care associations prepare for, and respond to, extreme weather events and other disasters, in addition to their ongoing work.

The organization has also been in communication with the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management and North Carolina Emergency Management.

Direct Relief will continue to support on-the-ground providers and emergency responders as the scale of need becomes known.

The post How the Aftermath of a Massive U.S. Winter Storm Threatens Health for Millions appeared first on Direct Relief.

Medications and supplies shipped this week included treatments for chronic conditions, oncology and specialty therapies, protective equipment, and more.

Medical Aid Shipped as U.S. Braces for Winter Weather

A powerful winter storm is forecast to impact a large portion of the U.S., bringing heavy snow, freezing rain, and dangerously cold temperatures from the Southern Plains through the Midwest and into parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Winter storm watches are in effect across more than 30 states, and several states have issued emergency declarations to support preparedness and response efforts.

The storm may create dangerous travel conditions and widespread power outages, which can disrupt access to heating, medical equipment, and essential services—especially for vulnerable populations.

On Friday, medical support departed for health providers in Texas and Maryland as they braced for storm impacts. Personal care products, including soap, shampoo, and dental supplies, departed to support potential shelter needs in Harris County, Texas. Field medic packs, which contain emergency medical supplies for triage care, were also shipped to Texas, as well as Mobile Medical Care in Maryland.

Direct Relief is also in communication with the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics and the National Association of Community Health Centers, both of which are engaging their member clinics and state primary care associations and sharing information on available Direct Relief resources to support local response efforts. Direct Relief has also been in communication with the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management and North Carolina Emergency Management.

Given the potential for widespread and prolonged impacts, Direct Relief will continue to respond to medical needs as they become known.

Medical Aid Shipment Departs for Ukraine

This week, multiple shipments of essential medical aid departed for local organizations in Ukraine supporting health services in the country.

The shipments included medications for chronic disease management, mental health, and infectious disease treatment. These essential medications and supplies will equip health workers and support patient care amid continued disruptions to healthcare access

Monitoring Flooding and Public Health Risks in Mozambique

Severe storms and weeks of torrential rainfall have caused widespread flooding across southern Africa, particularly in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. As of January 20, more than 200 deaths have been reported, and hundreds of thousands have been affected or displaced — including over 350,000 in Mozambique alone. Flooding has damaged homes and infrastructure, disrupting health services.

These conditions are increasing public health risks, including the potential for waterborne disease outbreaks such as cholera, with displaced communities most at risk. Continued rainfall and infrastructure damage are complicating response efforts and are expected to extend recovery timelines, including in areas still recovering from significant flooding in 2025.

Direct Relief is in communication with the International Organization for Migration Mozambique about potential medical needs. Direct Relief will continue monitoring the situation across Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The organization has responded to emergencies in the region in the past, including flooding and storm damage in Mozambique following Cyclone Idai in 2019.

Operational Snapshot

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 299 shipments containing 564,457 million doses of medication this past week to organizations, including the following:

Around the World

Globally, Direct Relief shipped over 17.5 million defined daily doses of medication, totaling 93,817 lbs., to countries including the following:

The post Emergency Supplies Depart Ahead of Major U.S. Winter Storm appeared first on Direct Relief.

At Profamilias, a San Juan healthcare organization that provides sexual and reproductive healthcare, gynecology, and prenatal services, as well as chronic disease treatment and vaccinations, their two facilities have long had generators, but “mostly the generator was used to keep the pharmacy running and the medications refrigerated,” he explained. A number of contraceptive methods require medical refrigeration storage to remain effective, as do the vaccines the clinics offer.

And during hurricanes, those medications were in danger: “Employees had to take certain products home and keep them refrigerated because there was no way to store them at the facility,” Domínguez said.

But now that Profamilias’s clinics are powered by solar installations, Domínguez told Direct Relief staff, outages don’t affect clinical care.

Since 2017, Direct Relief has funded 52 power resiliency projects across Puerto Rico, including 15 solar installations in community clinics and two fire stations, as well as resilient power for 35 wells, located in communities without access to municipal water sources.

After 2017’s cataclysmic Hurricane Maria, which cut off power to parts of the island for more than a year, clinics and hospitals began rearranging staff members’ shifts to maximize time with backup generators. Hospitals had to cut down or halt their outpatient services so they could prioritize critical care in intensive-care units and operating rooms, because generators simply couldn’t keep up with the need. Patients with powered medical devices or temperature-sensitive medications struggled to manage serious conditions.

In the years since Maria, power outages have continued to severely impact Puerto Ricans’ health. Repeated earthquakes and tropical storms have continued to damage infrastructure and destabilize access to healthcare.

“During Hurricane Maria, it was much more difficult,” Domínguez recalled. “People had to buy medications wherever they could, at whatever price. It was no longer the low-cost service we offer because we couldn’t purchase the medications, as we had no way of storing them. For any medications a clinic had on offer, “the employees had to take them home, then bring them back to the office to keep them refrigerated.”

Even in the aftermath of Maria, clinicians struggled with an unreliable grid, and a lack of medicine made patient care more challenging.

But these issues have disappeared with a resilient power system, Domínguez said.

“Not only because of hurricanes but also because of the electrical system we have, it has been a huge impact,” he explained. “Now, medications can be properly stored, and patients will receive the highest quality products, since it allows us to work continuously. The clinics also don’t experience interruptions.”

“It Gets Very Complicated”

Since long before Hurricane Maria, providers across Puerto Rico have worked to address high levels of medical need with often-limited resources, and not enough doctors or staff to meet patient needs. But the catastrophic 2017 storm made that work more complicated. An estimated 4,600 people were killed in the aftermath of the storm, in about one-third of cases, because of delayed access to healthcare.

In the intervening years, clinic closures, ruined medications, and unreliable infrastructure have kept patients from receiving care, harmed access to medications, and driven some providers – often disheartened by the limitations on care they were able to provide in difficult circumstances – away from the island.

La Fondita de Jesús, a nonprofit clinic and mobile healthcare provider, has a Direct Relief-funded mobile medical unit with solar power, but its clinic is dependent on the local electrical grid.

“It’s very challenging,” said Dr. Josue Segarra Lucena, La Fondita’s primary care physician. Because the clinic serves some of Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable people, such as its significant homeless population and residents in remote communities with limited access to care, interruptions to care can be particularly high-risk.

“The main barrier is ultimately that services get interrupted,” Dr. Segarra explained. “Treatments or appointments get canceled or rescheduled…When there’s no power, they have to relocate the clinical services.”

For patients already struggling to access healthcare and transportation, these are serious barriers.

Clinicians often compensate by working out of La Fondita’s mobile unit, which is more expensive and difficult to operate, but which allows them to travel to patients.

“It gets very complicated,” Dr. Segarra said.

“It’s a Long Time This Has Been Happening”

For as long as he’s been working with patients, Dr. Luis F. Gutiérrez Padin has confronted Puerto Rico’s unreliable electricity and frequent power outages – and their impacts on patients.

“It’s a long time this has been happening and it has long-term consequences for the health of people,” said Dr. Gutiérrez, a medical staff member at Corporación de Servicios de Salud Primaria y Desarrollo Socioeconómico El Otoao, or COSSAO, a nonprofit primary clinic based in Utuado.

Since 2024, COSSAO has had a reliable, sustainable source of electricity: a solar power installation, which allows providers to keep seeing patients while also powering medical refrigeration and other vital systems. Having a resilient power source – even when the grid isn’t functioning properly – allows Dr. Gutiérrez and his colleagues to continue providing care, ensuring that patients aren’t forced to wait for essential consultations or treatments.

Direct Relief provided more than $560,000 in funding for infrastructure repairs, electrical systems, and expansions to COSSAO. These repairs and upgrades made it possible for them to install a resilient power system on their own.

As a physician with a separate private practice – in a medical office where he’s unable to install solar panels or a backup generator – Dr. Gutiérrez is keenly aware of the difference. “It causes further delays in treatment” when the power goes out at his private practice, he said. 

The post In Puerto Rico’s Community Clinics, Resilient Power Bolsters Healthcare and Access to Treatment appeared first on Direct Relief.

Residents who tried to purchase health insurance through the public marketplace in November and December found higher premiums and unaffordable options. A charitable clinic in the state is seeing more patients seeking care.

Mosaic Health Center, formerly known as Clarkston Community Health Center, is a charitable clinic in DeKalb County, Georgia. Jeremy Cole, executive director of Mosaic, said the clinic had received calls for new patient appointments during the last two months of 2025, and those calls have continued into the new year. The clinic only serves uninsured patients, and as healthcare and medication costs rise, the clinic is using creative approaches to continue serving the community. They’re rallying for volunteers, leveraging local partnerships, and in late January, the clinic will extend daily hours to meet with patients in the evenings.

“We’re bracing for more,” Cole said.

The charitable clinic opened in 2015 and serves the county’s adult population. Most patients are experiencing chronic conditions, which include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diagnosed diabetes, or a combination of the three, requiring daily medication assistance.

“We’re really focused on folks who don’t have any health insurance, and therefore access to medication is very challenging,” Cole said.

In a June 2025 report from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, nearly 200,000 uninsured, low-income residents were estimated to be without health insurance. In DeKalb County, where the health clinic is located, a June 2025 county report shared that 13% of its residents were uninsured.

That uninsured rate is expected to increase exponentially, with subsidies ending on insurance available to purchase, which could cause premiums to rise.

Cole said that the clinic is using the strength of its partnerships to prepare to serve more people. The executive director said that local government has supported the clinic when federal dollars dropped.

“Shout out to the county for recognizing (the need),” Cole said during a phone call with Direct Relief.

Mosaic has also partnered with the local nonprofit Project Open Hand on a nutrition program for its diabetic patients. Cole shared that the first cohort had 14 registrants who spoke six different languages. The participants learned ways to prepare affordable, nutritious meals and were given free produce for six months.

“It’s common sense, but it’s so much cheaper to treat somebody on the front end of a disease, rather than to wait until they’re really sick,” he said.

Cole hopes to start a paramedicine model for patients with transportation and mobility issues, rally more volunteers, and hire additional medical assistants in 2026 to manage the influx of patients.

Dallas Smith has served as a volunteer pharmacist at the clinic for five years. The former Peace Corps member said he learned ‘the value and incredibleness’ of being part of a community, and when he moved to the Atlanta area, he wanted to contribute.  

“I love being able to communicate with and interact with patients over a five-year period—that’s a long time to know someone,” Smith said. “(I’ve seen) them learn and grow, and some have been able to get full-time jobs and leave the clinic. Some are still with us, thriving as their blood pressure decreases, or they’re able to control their A1C. It’s just been really, really incredible.”

The clinic continues to fill a gap for medications and care, but challenges with affordability remain. Smith said that some vital medications, like blood thinners, are no longer covered by insurance and have become more expensive to procure.

“Medications like metformin and amlodipine and some of your basic hypertension or diabetes medications, they aren’t the most expensive, but patients who don’t have a lot of room to work with in terms of their budget, that adds up,” said Smith. “Even if it’s only $30 to $40 a month, that could be spent on food for their kids.”

The clinic has partnered with corporate and nonprofit organizations in medication assistance programs. Their patients have access to flu vaccines but have a more difficult time finding free or reduced costs vaccines for hepatitis and pneumonia.

Smith shared that he became frustrated when over 50 patients registered for a free Covid-19 vaccine, only to be told that the donation would no longer be available. The clinic tried to purchase vaccines on it’s own, but they couldn’t help everyone.

“There’s a huge gap, and it’s getting worse and worse and worse with everything going on,” said Smith. “I think we’re trying to find creative ways to address it, but it’s very hard because they’re still so expensive.”

Since 2017, Direct Relief has provided more than $920,000 in medical aid to Mosaic Health Center to support patient care.

The post Georgia Health Clinic Meets Growing Demand for Care, Medications appeared first on Direct Relief.

A new year invites reflection. What should we carry forward? What needs to change? And what kind of leadership does this moment require of us?

As we step into 2026, I keep coming back to one issue that deserves deeper attention: rural primary healthcare. Not just the work of hospitals, but the essential role of community health centers, free and charitable clinics, and nonprofit organizations. These groups are quietly, steadfastly serving patients, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, in areas where longstanding barriers to access continue to grow.

Last week, I spent time with frontline health providers in Hawai‘i, many of whom were born and raised there and continue to live this reality every day. Few, if any, alternatives for healthcare exist in many communities across the islands – especially for Native Hawaiians. What I heard went far beyond staffing shortages or infrastructure challenges. Again and again, the conversation returned to the commitment, resolve, and creativity it takes to build primary healthcare systems that work when operating conditions are challenging.

Hawai‘i as a Lens on Rural Health Care

Across rural areas, distance defines what care can be accessed in ways many people never have to consider, from long drives for routine appointments to limited specialty services. Nearly 20 percent of Americans live in rural areas, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers, and these communities face persistent provider shortages, hospital closures, and significantly greater travel distances to receive care. Since 2005, nearly 150 rural hospitals have closed, turning access into a daily struggle for millions of families.

In these settings, primary care providers often become far more than a “family doctor.” They serve as the care coordinator and, in many cases, the closest thing to a specialist their patients can access. Community health centers and free clinics step in to fill these gaps as best they can, managing complex conditions, navigating referrals, and stretching limited resources to keep people connected to care. They provide culturally appropriate care that respects their patients’ unique heritage, language, and ancestral diet or medicine.

I also met nonprofit partners who step in when existing services are under strain, or patient needs are unable to be met by traditional systems. Organizations like Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawai‘i, working to ensure families have access to prenatal care, education, and support during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. These gap-filling organizations play a critical role, especially in communities where options are limited and needs are high.

The providers and staff I met in Hawai‘i go far beyond job descriptions, not because it is easy, but because their patients depend on them.

That is why primary care matters so deeply. It is the foundation of everything else. Strong primary care keeps people healthier, catches problems earlier, and reduces the need for emergency and specialty care that may be hours away.

What I saw on the islands mirrors similar health challenges experienced in rural communities, from Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta to rural Alaska, Tribal lands, and pockets of the Midwest. The communities are unique, but the practical constraints are remarkably similar. Clinician shortages, missed appointments due to lack of transportation, and high levels of noncommunicable disease are common.

On the Big Island, some communities have no pharmacy within 80 or 90 miles. Broadband internet is unreliable. Electricity – which in Hawai‘i costs far more than in any other state – regularly goes out, resulting in clinic shut-downs, spoiled vaccines, and cancelled appointments. Healthcare pauses not because people stop caring, but because systems fail them.

One physician described making urgent transport decisions in the middle of storms, weighing whether a pregnant patient could safely stay or needed to be airlifted to another island. Expectant mothers with complications often must board inter-island transfer flights alone, leaving partners and children behind and hoping everything will be okay. These are not abstract decisions. They are deeply human ones that stay with you.

The Workforce Reality

NACHC reports that approximately 70 percent of rural communities are federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas, with an estimated shortfall of 20,000 primary medical, dental, and mental health providers nationwide.

Hawai‘i faces a chronic shortage of physicians due in part to its unique geography – specialists cannot easily be shared across the islands – and pay scales that are not commensurate with the very high cost of living. The gap between need and capacity continues to widen, placing even more pressure on the providers who remain.

How Communities Are Responding

What stayed with me most from my time in Hawai‘i was the dedication and response of health staff and providers.

I met teams bringing healthcare into schools so parents don’t have to miss work. Mobile health units delivering care to the most remote valleys. Outreach teams showing up week after week for people experiencing homelessness. Providers who know families across generations and who continue to build trust one visit at a time.

One moment in particular stood out. A child struggling in their elementary school classroom was screened through a school-based clinic. A hearing issue was identified. Following treatment, the student’s grades immediately improved, and behavior shifted. A future opened, simply because providers met the child where they already were.

This is what effective systems look like. Practical. Preventive. Deeply rooted in community.

Growing Our Own, Strengthening Communities

Another theme surfaced everywhere I went. Workforce pipelines matter.

Leaders are building pathways for local students to become community health workers, medical assistants, nurses, and social workers, creating opportunities to train where they live. Care is most effective when delivered by people who belong to the communities they serve, individuals who share lived experiences, speak the same language, and understand patients’ realities firsthand.

NACHC notes that rural community health centers are actively training the next generation of providers, including more than 3,200 physicians, 2,000 nurses, and 1,600 medical assistants through programs like the ones we heard about on Oahu. Traveling providers can provide temporary capacity but growing your own builds a future. This is not just workforce development. It is long-term system design.

What Leadership Looks Like Now

What I saw in Hawai‘i reinforced my belief that no single organization can solve these challenges alone.

What guides our work at Direct Relief is a simple belief: it’s the people closest to the challenge who know the solutions best. Our role is to support their leadership, strengthen the systems they depend on, and show up as partners who are in it for the long haul.

That includes investing in power resiliency. Across Hawai‘i, Direct Relief is helping fund solar and battery backup systems at clinics and health centers so care does not stop when the grid goes down. For patients who rely on refrigerated medications, oxygen, dialysis, or prenatal monitoring, uninterrupted power is not a convenience. It is a lifeline. These systems allow providers to keep doors open, vaccines cold, and care moving forward, even during outages and storms.

This visit will continue to stay with me because it reflects the kind of leadership I believe in. Leadership that is steady, deeply engaged for the long term, and focused on solving real problems. Leadership that does not wait for perfect conditions, but moves forward with what is available, guided by purpose and partnership.

The future of rural healthcare will not be shaped by one organization or one policy. It will be shaped by thousands of leaders, clinicians, and community members who choose, day after day, to serve and care for one another.

-Amy

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The post Leading at the Frontlines of Rural Healthcare appeared first on Direct Relief.

Medications and supplies shipped this week included treatments for chronic conditions, medicines to treat infectious diseases, oncology care, personal protective equipment, and more.

Chronic Disease Treatments Depart for Haiti

Amid ongoing conflict and the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, access to lifesaving care in Haiti remains under severe strain, particularly for people living with chronic illness who rely on routine treatment.

In response to an urgent request from Fondation Haïtienne de Diabète et de Maladies Cardio-Vasculaires, or FHADIMAC, Direct Relief shipped essential medicines and medical supplies to support patients and frontline healthcare providers. FHADIMAC is Haiti’s leading referral center for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, supporting clinics nationwide from its sites in Port-au-Prince and Jérémie.

The shipment includes insulin injection devices, antibiotics, cardiovascular medicines, and treatments for Type 2 diabetes.

Medical Aid Arrives in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region

Direct Relief has delivered its first shipment of essential medicines to Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where health services continue to recover following years of conflict.

The shipment was made possible through collaboration with the International Council of Nurses, the Ethiopian Nurses Association, and the Tigray Regional Health Bureau. Direct Relief provided essential medications to support cancer care, infectious disease treatment, pain management, anesthesia, and other urgent clinical services. 

A formal handover ceremony took place on January 12, attended by leadership from the Ethiopian Nurses Association, hospital staff, regional health authorities, and local media. The medicines are now being used at Ayder Hospital and will also support onward distribution to additional healthcare facilities across the region. 

Operational Snapshot

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 455 shipments containing 1.5 million doses of medication this past week to organizations, including the following:

Around the World

Globally, Direct Relief shipped over 5.4 million defined daily doses of medication, totaling 49,326 lbs., to countries including the following:

IN THE NEWS

Altadena Library Hosts Teen Wellness Workshop as Community Continues Eaton Fire Recovery – Pasadena Weekendr 

Miami Heat to host Jamaica Night in support of hurricane recovery efforts – CNW Network 

Trevor Noah named host of 2026 Grammy Awards – The Music Universe 

The post Direct Relief Support Departs for 14 Countries, 44 U.S. States and Territories appeared first on Direct Relief.

“Direct Relief has benefited immeasurably from Mark Linehan’s steady hand and vision, particularly during a pivotal era of physical and operational expansion,” said Amy Weaver, CEO of Direct Relief. “As we look to the future, Harry McMahon’s breadth of experience, strategic insight and financial acumen will be invaluable assets. We are fortunate to have such high-caliber leadership to help guide Direct Relief’s work.”

McMahon brings extensive global leadership to the role. He previously served as Executive Vice Chairman of Bank of America and Vice Chairman and Head of Global Corporate Finance at Merrill Lynch, where he also ran Investment Banking for the firm’s Western Region for 25 years. He currently serves on the Board of Parsons Corporation and is a trustee at Claremont McKenna College, where he previously served as Board Chair for eight years. He holds a BA and an Honorary Doctorate from Claremont McKenna College and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School.

The leadership transition comes at a time of significant growth and demand for Direct Relief’s humanitarian operations. A leader in providing medical humanitarian aid to those in need, Direct Relief is ranked fifth on Forbes’ list of America’s Top 100 Charities and has earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator, for 15 consecutive years.

This trajectory of growth accelerated significantly during Linehan’s tenure on the Board. Direct Relief received support totaling $18 billion—comprising more than $17 billion in donated medical products and over $1 billion in cash—during his time with the organization. Linehan also led the development of the organization’s 155,000-square-foot headquarters pro bono, completing the project on time and on budget.

“Serving on this Board for the past decade has been the privilege of a lifetime,” said Linehan. “From the construction of our headquarters to the expansion of our global reach, I have witnessed this organization rise to meet every challenge. I step down knowing Direct Relief is stronger than ever and in the most capable hands with Harry McMahon at the helm.”

McMahon assumes the role effective immediately.

“Direct Relief represents a rare convergence of compassionate mission and operational excellence,” said McMahon. “To serve as Chair is a privilege and a profound responsibility, particularly at a time when the world requires agile, efficient humanitarian response more than ever. I look forward to building on Mark’s exceptional legacy and working with the Board to ensure our impact scales to meet these global challenges.”

The post Direct Relief Appoints Harry McMahon Chair of Board of Directors appeared first on Direct Relief.

Bauder, who currently works at a U.S. military treatment facility in San Diego, is part of a Penn Center for Global Health team that has spent almost three years working inside Ukrainian hospitals overwhelmed by patients with blast injuries from artillery, missiles, and land mines. With support from Direct Relief, the team has focused on saving limbs after these traumas, which requires highly specialized surgery techniques that were not widely available in-country at scale before the war.

“It’s hard to overstate the need,” Bauder said. “It’s far worse than what most people understand. I’ve been back multiple times, and it hasn’t gotten better. If anything, it might be getting worse.”

The crisis he describes began almost as soon as the war did. Shortly after the invasion, Ukraine’s health care system was overwhelmed by casualty numbers it was never designed to handle.

Less than two months after the war began, Penn launched near daily telemedicine consultations with Ukrainian doctors.

“There were surgeons doing heroic work,” said Kierstyn Claycomb, program manager of Ukraine initiatives at the Penn Center for Global Health, who has traveled on the medical missions. “But they were struggling with orthopedics. They didn’t have the training to be able to close soft tissues, so they were amputating.”

The calls soon revealed a deeper problem present throughout the country. Ukrainian surgeons lacked widespread training in orthoplastic surgery, an integrated approach combining orthopedic and plastic reconstruction. Virtual guidance helped, but it soon became clear that remote support alone was not enough.

“There’s no substitute for being in the operating room together,” Claycomb said.

After learning about a particularly difficult case from surgeons in Ukraine’s Zakarpattia Oblast, who had been introduced to them by a physician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Bauder, Kovach, and Dr. Benjamin “Kyle” Potter traveled to Ukraine on their first medical mission in March 2023. They worked on the pediatric case and performed additional surgeries alongside local teams in the children’s hospital and across western Ukraine.

The missions have since focused on hospitals in Vinnytsia, Uzhhorod, and Mukachevo. On the adult reconstruction side alone, the team has now completed seven in-country missions, performing roughly 100 complex cases, many requiring surgeries lasting six to 14 hours.

A central, advanced technique is the use of “flaps,” which transfer living tissue, including muscle, skin, and blood vessels, from one part of the body to another to restore blood flow and protect bone. Flaps can often mean the difference between amputation and saving a limb, as they reduce infection and give damaged limbs a chance to heal.

Beyond performing the surgeries directly, a central focus of the program has been training local surgeons in-country as well as in Germany and Philadelphia.

Program data show that this training model has produced a clear multiplier effect. Penn has trained at least 46 local surgeons across Ukraine, including one who has performed over 1,150 flap procedures himself.

Penn’s missions also extend to material support. From late 2024 through 2025, Penn procured and delivered microsurgical instrument sets, micro sutures, vessel couplers, handheld Dopplers, micro sagittal saws, portable imaging devices, and custom-fitted surgical loupes to hospitals in Vinnytsia, Odesa, and Uzhhorod. These tools allow advanced reconstruction in settings where operating microscopes and specialized equipment are otherwise unavailable.

Bauder said his decision to go was shaped by timing, conviction, and clarity.

“I’m at a stage of life where no one is dependent on me,” he said. “The work is interesting to me… It is very easy from an ethical standpoint, and you feel like you’re doing as much good as you can with the skills that you have,” he said.

What keeps bringing him back, he said, is the transformation he sees in patients who have spent months immobilized in hospital beds.

“There’s a look, the hopelessness, when someone has been lying there for months with no plan,” Bauder said. “You see the thousand-yard stare. Then you do the surgery, and you see the light come back.”

One patient, a carpenter injured in a phosphorus bomb attack, underwent three reconstructive surgeries after doctors initially feared amputation was inevitable. Months later, the team received a video showing him back on his farm, loading equipment onto a tractor using arms that had once been at risk of being lost.

“When you see that,” Claycomb said, “you understand the scale of the impact, not just for that person, but for everyone who depends on them.”

That long-term vision includes plans for dedicated orthoplastic centers where orthopedic and plastic surgeons work together under one roof. The estimated cost to build such a facility is $15 million to $20 million, with an annual operating budget of about $600,000. Visiting international surgeons volunteer their time, while Ukrainian physicians are compensated locally.

Even if the fighting were to stop tomorrow, Bauder said, the medical need would persist for decades.

“There will be reconstruction for years, war injuries, cancer, trauma,” he said. “This is about building something that lasts.”

For Bauder, the choice to keep returning feels uncomplicated.

“There are a lot of shortcomings in U.S. medicine, and many of those shortcomings don’t exist in Ukraine. It feels like medicine in its purest form,” he said.

Direct Relief provided $1 million to support the Penn Center for Global Health and efforts to increase surgical capacity in Ukraine.

The post ‘Medicine in Its Purest Form’: Saving Limbs in Ukraine’s Hospitals appeared first on Direct Relief.

Medications and supplies shipped this week included treatments for chronic conditions, infectious diseases, surgical and clinical care supplies, cold-chain storage equipment, and more.

2025 Year in Review

Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2025, Direct Relief delivered 29.9K shipments to 2,778 partner organizations in 54 U.S. states and territories and 93 countries. These shipments contained 320.2 million defined daily doses of medication, valued at $2 billion (wholesale), totaling approximately 4.7 million pounds.

These metrics reflect the scope of Direct Relief’s operational activity throughout 2025. As the organization enters 2026, Direct Relief remains committed to meeting ongoing and emerging humanitarian needs worldwide.

Emergency Medical Aid Dispatched to Displaced Communities in South Sudan

This week, Direct Relief dispatched an emergency medical shipment to support displaced communities in South Sudan, where ongoing conflict has forced thousands of families from their homes and severely limited access to essential care.

The shipment will support Transformation of the World in Christ, a partner providing medical and humanitarian services to internally displaced people and refugees across Twic County and Warrap State. Many of those displaced have fled from other parts of South Sudan, including the Sudan border, with Twic County serving as a critical place of refuge. 

These supplies include personal care items for displaced people, insect repellent, solar lights, and other essential medical items to help prevent infection and support clinics serving six IDP camps.

The shipment builds on Direct Relief’s ongoing deliveries to health providers working to sustain care amid complex and evolving challenges.

Cold-Chain Equipment Supports Breast Cancer Care in Ghana

Breast Care International — a longstanding partner of Direct Relief working to expand early detection, treatment, and breast cancer care across Ghana — recently received five refrigerators and five universal power supplies that will enhance the organization’s ability to safely store life-saving medicines and better serve patients.

BCI’s mission focuses on breast health education, screening, counseling, and treatment support to reduce breast cancer mortality and improve the quality of life for women at risk across the country.

Direct Relief has supported BCI and its network of health facilities for more than a decade, contributing over $154 million in medical resources since 2014, and will continue to support efforts to strengthen access to essential care across Ghana.

Medical and Hurricane Relief Supplies Delivered in Southern Haiti

Direct Relief partner Hope for Haiti delivered hurricane relief supplies and other donated medical supplies in southern Haiti, including a rapid distribution to one of its healthcare partners, Nova Hope for Haiti. The delivery was supported through Direct Relief’s ongoing gift-in-kind partnership, which helps strengthen access to essential medicines and medical supplies for healthcare providers across the country.

The distribution was built on prepositioned emergency supplies that allowed partners to respond quickly following Hurricane Melissa. “Having all of these healthcare hurricane kits prepositioned really allowed us to act immediately after Hurricane Melissa,” said Linda Thelemaque, Hope for Haiti’s Chief Program Officer.

The delivery is part of Direct Relief’s ongoing partnership with Hope for Haiti to support healthcare access in Haiti through local partners.

Operational Snapshot

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 539 shipments containing 1.1 million doses of medication this past week to organizations, including the following:

Around the World

Globally, Direct Relief shipped over 1.5 million defined daily doses of medication, totaling 24,826 lbs., to countries including the following:

IN THE NEWS

Direct Relief’s New CEO Commands the Spotlight – Montecito Journal

SoCal Wildfires: How You Can Help – ABC7

More than $15 million Directed Toward Fire Relief One Year After Los Angeles Wildfires, as Musicares Continues Long-Term Recovery Efforts – RecordingAcademy.com

MusiCares Details $15 Million Distributed for Los Angeles Fire Relief – Variety

5 Best Humanitarian Charities to Donate to in 2026 – Sapa-Usa.org

The post Medical Aid Supports Displaced Communities in South Sudan, Strengthens Care in Ghana and Haiti, and More appeared first on Direct Relief.

The supplies were delivered via All Hands and Hearts to a health facility in Gaza run by International Medical Corps.

The requested materials include medications used to:

• provide anesthesia to support safe surgery;
• help prevent organ transplant rejection with immunosuppressant therapy;
• relieve acute breathing symptoms by quickly opening airways in asthma and COPD.
• relieve pain and inflammation from arthritis and related conditions;
• support mental health care;
• treat serious bacterial infections with injectable antibiotics;
• help manage chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease; and
• prevent and treat dehydration with oral rehydration solutions.

The medicines were donated to Direct Relief by Teva Pharmaceuticals and several other manufacturers.

Additional supplies, including bandages and skin-care items, were donated by 3M and Unilever’s Vaseline brand.

Direct Relief is continuing to mobilize additional shipments of urgently needed medicines and medical supplies for Gaza and will provide updates as the situation evolves.

The post Nearly Six Tons of Medicines and Supplies from Direct Relief Arrive in Gaza appeared first on Direct Relief.

Speaking to Direct Relief on her way to a mobile clinic in Sri Lanka’s rural north, Fernando-Rubera, a nurse practitioner and founder of the nonprofit organization Alabaster International, described a path of medical aid that her team cut across Chilaw, Puttalam, Mullaitivu, and other hard-hit communities over an eight-day journey.

“We often go where others won’t or can’t go…to rural or inaccessible areas,” Fernando-Rubera explained. “That’s our ethos: to go where others may not be working.”

Fernando-Rubera was born in Sri Lanka but has been living in Kenya for years, working in conflict and disaster settings across sub-Saharan Africa.

Traveling with her fellow providers by bus to these northern communities, most of them cut off from humanitarian intervention by the sheer scale of the physical damage, Fernando-Rubera described patients who had lost everything living in flooded, damaged housing. Many of them were older adults who had struggled to survive Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war, which ended in 2009.

Setting up a medical camp in one heavily battered village, she recalled, an older man was the first to arrive.

“He was desperate to be seen,” she explained.

The nearby clinic where this patient usually received treatment for heart disease was flooded out, its doctors displaced themselves or scattered to supervise medical clinics elsewhere.

“He’s had multiple heart attacks and is terrified he will have another,” Fernando-Rubera explained.

During his examination, the patient began to sob. He explained that he’d stood neck deep in the floodwaters with no one to help him. “I live alone and thought I was going to die,” he told Alabaster International’s providers. “My house is still flooded and the rains don’t stop. The mattress I sleep on is still wet.”

For Alabaster International, invited by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health to participate in a widespread response to Cyclone Ditwah, this mission was their first time working on home turf.

“Our own families have been affected, as well as many families who didn’t have the same privilege or resources,” Fernando-Rubera said.

She described caring for children in orphanages whose few possessions had been swept away. People who described watching loved ones and pets lost to the floodwaters. Older adults who’d struggled for decades to survive a civil war, and now weren’t mobile enough to reach a distribution site or mobile clinic.

For those patients, she said, “we went boots on the ground with our backpacks from home to home.”

Those backpacks were supplied by Direct Relief, which outfitted Alabaster International’s team of providers, working side-by-side with local physicians, with five field medic packs, 10,000 water purification tablets, and 3,500 sachets of oral rehydration solution, to prevent water-borne illnesses and mitigate their effects where they’d already occurred.

“We didn’t have time to get donations or buy supplies,” Fernando-Rubera said. Being able to work quickly with Direct Relief’s emergency response team to outfit providers made it possible to respond more quickly and thoroughly.

“I can’t really explain in words how important and critical it’s been” to have the packs, she told the organization. Many patients urgently needed treatment for wound care and other physical trauma; for severe skin conditions caused from being washed away or wading through floodwaters; or for chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and kidney disease.

The backpacks “allow us to really give comprehensive care; we can respond to all the needs a patient is presenting with.”

Moreover, field medic packs – a recognizable medical aid item – have provided credibility where it was badly needed. Fernando-Rubera said many Sri Lankans are skeptical of outside help, as humanitarian workers sometimes promise aid or medical care that then isn’t given.

“Having that credibility has given us access where we wouldn’t have had access,” she explained. When the team arrives, wearing field medic packs, “people in the community see that we are medical providers.”

In addition, Fernando-Rubera said all the tablets and sachets were quickly claimed and urgently needed, both by communities and regional health providers.

Her team reached about 360 patients through medical camps and home visits. Older patients were evaluated for malnutrition, and people who needed more extensive care were referred to hospitals. Providers taught the communities where they worked about how to prevent water-borne illness, keep wounds sanitary as they healed, and manage chronic diseases amid the difficult conditions.

When the team walked through the streets of a village or town, she said, they were frequently flagged down by people with a sick or immobile family member at home. One woman approached the team at a medical camp, asking them to visit her mother, who was confined to bed and had severe bedsores. Both mother and daughter had been washed away from their home in the floods – the older woman with very limited mobility. “It’s pretty much a miracle she survived,” Fernando-Rubera said. “Natural disasters really impact the most vulnerable, and oftentimes that is the elderly or children.”

There is still tremendous need in the communities where Alabaster International visited, Fernando-Rubera said. Many families have lost their livelihoods and all their crops, and urgently need food and nutrition support. And mental healthcare will be an ongoing need: “Having lived through the war, having lived through the economic collapse a few years ago, and now having lived through a tsunami-like experience,” symptoms of post-traumatic stress and other mental health conditions are widespread.

But responding to Cyclone Ditwah has given Alabaster International’s team a sense of how they can do the most good in Sri Lanka going forward.

“There’s not really a paradigm here yet for mobile medicine,” such as the medical camps and home visits the team routinely provides in the countries where they work, Fernando-Rubera said. “It’s an opportunity for us…that’s really how we do most of our healthcare.”

The post Cyclone Ditwah Killed Hundreds and Blocked Sri Lankans from Aid. A Medical Team Reached Them. appeared first on Direct Relief.

Direct Relief was privileged to support local health providers and organizations working in the aftermath of these major disasters, and also during non-emergency times when resources are scarce and needs are high.

Below are a few of those moments, captured from around the world by a combination of talented photographers working with Direct Relief as well as from the organizations themselves.

Reentry kits, which contained protective gear for residents returning to burn areas, were provided by Direct Relief at neighborhood checkpoints in Altadena, California, on Jan. 19, 2025. (Photo by Mason Poole and Zack Hughes for Direct Relief)

On January 19, 280 reentry kits were delivered to the Los Angeles Fire Department at Frank Hotchkins Memorial Training Center. The kits were immediately loaded and sent to the Palisades Fire ICP. (Annie Vu/Direct Relief)

Air quality from wildfires continued to disproportionately impact vulnerable people, including agricultural workers exposed to the elements. Direct Relief staff delivered N95 respirators to the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project, or MICOP, on Jan. 23, 2025, to protect farm workers. (Photos by Andrew Schoneberger for Direct Relief)

Tatyana Voitovich, and her son, Yaroslav, on the first day of his treatment for cystic fibrosis with Trikafta at the Clinical Centre of Children’s Healthcare in Lviv. The cystic fibrosis treatment donation program is one of several rare disease donation programs developed by Direct Relief in partnership with pharmaceutical donors that connect patients with life-saving therapies. (Nick Allen/Direct Relief)

A woman tends to her 11-day-old baby, born the day after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that reverberated through Myanmar and Southeast Asia in March 2025. Direct Relief supported organizations providing care for people displaced by the quake, including this family sheltering in the grounds of Yadanar Guu Pagoda in Amarapura, Myanmar. (Photo by Kaung Myat for CPI)

The Siddhasthali Rural Community Hospital, founded by Mountain Heart Nepal and supported by Direct Relief, provides critical healthcare to rural and marginalized communities throughout the region. Here, health workers provided dental care to a patient at the hospital, which is powered by a resilient power system funded by Direct Relief. (Courtesy photo)

In response to devastating floods in the Texas Hill Country in July 2025, Direct Relief worked to equip first responder groups, including Texas Search and Rescue, or TEXSAR, conducting search and recovery missions. (Shannon Hickerson for Direct Relief)

A medical provider helps a patient at the Boanim Health Center in Ghana. Direct Relief has provided the health center with medical aid, including prescription medications, to support health services to the community. (Photo by David Uttley for Direct Relief)

Field medic packs, designed for triage care outside of clinic walls, are distributed to federal emergency responders in Mexico as part of emergency preparedness efforts in the country. (Direct Relief photo)

Medical aid from Direct Relief is distributed across health facilities in Haiti by local organizations, including Hope for Haiti, pictured here. (Courtesy photo)

Members of a Medical Impact brigade treat injuries and replace lost medications for communities in Veracruz, a state in Mexico, in October 2025, after the area was inundated with severe flash flooding in the aftermath of heavy rains. Direct Relief supported Medical Impact’s response with an emergency grant, field medic packs, and emergency medicines. (Courtesy photo)

Direct Relief donated field medic packs equipped federal first responders in Istanbul, Turkey, responding to wildfires in the country earlier this year. (Courtesy photo)

After Hurricane Melissa carved a destructive path through western Jamaica, Direct Relief supported emergency response with multiple airflifts of medication to support health needs throughout the country. (Photo by Bimarian Films for Direct Relief)

A health provider in Jamaica uses medical equipment from a Direct Relief-donated field medic pack to take a patient’s vital signs. (Photo by Bimarian Films for Direct Relief)

The post 2025: The Year in Photos appeared first on Direct Relief.

At the height of the crises, nearly 200,000 residents were evacuated, while countless more faced hazardous air quality, widespread power outages, water quality concerns, and elevated stress and anxiety.

Official records indicate the two largest wildfires—the Palisades and Eaton Fires—killed 31 people, though emerging research suggests the true human toll is significantly larger, with excess mortality driven by the health consequences of smoke inhalation, disrupted care, and other indirect factors.

Even before the first spark, Direct Relief was monitoring the situation following the issuance of High Wind and Fire Weather Watches across L.A. County. When the fires broke out, Direct Relief quickly mobilized, activating emergency response teams; extending offers of assistance to long-standing clinical, government, and nonprofit partners; and delivering critically needed relief items, such as N95 respirators, field medic packs for first responders, hygiene items for displaced households, and prescription medications for health providers addressing surges in respiratory complications and other illnesses.

As the response evolved, so too did Direct Relief’s approach, shifting from immediate relief to sustained investments in healthcare access, mental health support, housing stability, direct assistance, and community-led recovery throughout Los Angeles County.

Nearly one year later, recovery efforts continue, with many households still experiencing displacement, housing instability, and mounting financial strain. A recent survey of fire-impacted communities by Department of Angels found that many households are depleting savings and incurring debt, forcing one in five survey households earning less than $100,000 annually to cut back on food, and one in six to cut back on medical care.

In total, Direct Relief has delivered more than $18 million in aid to communities throughout Los Angeles County since the fires began. That includes $6.4 million in material medical aid to 45 healthcare facilities and 28 government or community agencies in L.A. County over the past year, and $12.3 million in grants to 68 L.A. County organizations in the same period.

With the continued support of thousands of generous donors, Direct Relief remains committed to working alongside local, community-based organizations to identify and address ongoing needs and support long-term recovery.

At a Glance

One Year of Support

Emergency Response: The First 90 Days

As the fires spread, Direct Relief mobilized support for people affected by the rapid evacuations, hazardous air quality, and disruptions to care. In close coordination with first responders, public health authorities, and frontline health facilities, Direct Relief prioritized the rapid delivery of essential medications, medical supplies, and other relief items, as well as the delivery of emergency operating grants to organizations responding to acute needs.

Immediate support included:

• More than 320 shipments of essential medications, medical supplies, and relief items. Antibiotics; diagnostic equipment to test for respiratory viruses, such as flu and COVID-19; hepatitis A, B, and Tdap vaccines; hygiene products; infant formula; nutritional shakes; and medications to manage diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, respiratory diseases, and other chronic conditions were all provided.
• More than 288,000 3M-donated N95 respirators distributed directly to residents, in collaboration with public health departments, incident command centers, Gap Inc., the YMCA, and numerous health centers and clinics across L.A.
• Nearly 16,000 sets of personal protective gear to allow residents to safely renter their communities, distributed by the L.A. Fire Department, L.A. County Department of Public Health, the City of Pasadena, and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.
• $4.4 million in grants to support search-and-rescue teams conducting rescues in wildfire zones, providers offering emergency health services through mobile clinics and onsite services, and other groups meeting the most urgent needs in their communities.

Community Stabilization and Early Recovery: Months Three to 12

Following the initial response phase, Direct Relief worked with local partners to expand support for community stabilization and early recovery, continuing to supply local nonprofit healthcare providers across L.A. County with millions of dollars’ worth of essential medicines and medical supplies, while directing financial resources to health facilities and community-based organizations leading recovery efforts.

In total, Direct Relief provided $7.9 million in additional funding for mental health services, school-based recovery, housing stability, mobile medical clinics and other health access initiatives, and to help build preparedness for future emergencies. Funding prioritized organizations serving children, older adults, frontline workers, and people facing elevated health risks due to chronic health conditions, prolonged displacement, economic hardship, or other barriers to care.

on the ground

Stories from the Response

“With help from The Change Reaction and Direct Relief, they received support for clothing, furniture, rental relief, and transportation — restoring stability, dignity, and the ability to focus on their health and recovery.”

– The Change Reaction

“Louis*, a retired postal worker, and his wife Celia* lost their Altadena home of nearly 40 years in the Eaton Fire — a devastating blow to the life they built raising two sons. While insurance covered hotel stays and some temporary housing, the remaining funds were reserved for rebuilding, leaving them without essentials. They also lost their car, making it difficult and costly to attend medical appointments,” The Change Reaction told Direct Relief.

Recognizing the extensive financial burdens placed on those who lost their homes, businesses, or livelihoods during the fires, Direct Relief awarded The Change Reaction, a community-based nonprofit that provides financial support to individuals and families during difficult life events, with $500,000 to support their wildfire response and recovery efforts. With Direct Relief’s support, the organization has provided rental assistance, furniture, clothing, and other direct assistance to help stabilize more than 100 people affected by the fires to date.

* Names have been changed to protect individuals’ privacy.

“In L.A., as in every disaster, there are individuals and organizations that play a vital role in holding communities together — leaders, frontline workers, community connectors, and service providers.”

– Hummingly

“These supporters face unique risks. Prolonged pressure, heavy workloads, and repeated exposure to trauma can lead to burnout, decision fatigue, and emotional exhaustion. When their capacity is diminished, the flow-on effects are profound: service delivery slows, decision-making suffers, and the pace of community recovery is hindered. In some cases, turnover or withdrawal of these key people can leave lasting gaps in local support systems,” a Hummingly representative explained.

Direct Relief provided $50,000 to enable nonprofit partner Hummingly to deliver a series of Sustaining the Supporters workshops for leaders, frontline workers, and community organizations engaged in the wildfire recovery efforts, many of whom lost their own homes during the fires. These workshops equip participants with practical, evidence-based tools to sustain their wellbeing and effectiveness, ensuring they can continue providing essential assistance to the people and communities who need it most.

“It was a relief to learn…that I am not alone in my feelings around exhaustion, forgetfulness, and self-neglect while I support others.”

– Sustaining the Supporters participant 

looking forward

Supporting Long-Term Recovery & Resilience

Though many communities across L.A. continue to navigate challenges related to housing stability, health access, and economic recovery, there are hopeful signs that recovery is well underway. Health and mental health services are being restored, businesses are reopening, and families and neighborhoods are starting to rebuild.

As California’s wildfire season increasingly becomes a year-round threat, Direct Relief remains committed to supporting L.A.’s ongoing recovery while strengthening preparedness for future crises. Through sustained investments in health systems, community-based recovery, and resilience-building efforts, Direct Relief is committed to the well-being of L.A. County residents, ensuring communities are able to recover fully and that they emerge stronger, healthier, and more resilient.

With Gratitude for Your Support

Direct Relief’s response was made possible due to the generous support of many thousands of corporations, foundations, healthcare companies, individuals, and other organizations that collectively mobilized millions of dollars in financial support and in-kind medical donations for the people of L.A.

These contributions enabled Direct Relief to act quickly and effectively, delivering essential medicines and relief items, as well as financial assistance, to the healthcare providers and community-based organizations at the forefront of the response and recovery.

The post The L.A. Wildfires: Looking Back on a Year of Response appeared first on Direct Relief.

“She got away and got to our clinic,” explained Jane Drichta, executive director of the nonprofit Midwives for Haiti, which cares for pregnant women at seven community clinics and a maternity home in the country’s north.

Midwives transported the now-homeless woman to Kay Manman Yo, the organization’s maternal waiting home, for the remainder of her pregnancy.

As violent instability continues to rage in Haiti, pregnant women are severely affected. Malnutrition, preeclampsia, severe iron deficiencies, and other maternal health issues caused by insufficient access to care, food, and medicine are rife. Many women travel on foot, pregnant and with children, out of gang-controlled areas in the south at horrific risk.

But even in more stable areas, where midwives often risk their lives to care for patients and even treat patients at their own expense in their off-hours, a lack of nutrition and available medicine have created a dangerous situation for Haiti’s pregnant women.

To counter the lack of necessary maternal health medications and supplies, Direct Relief supports maternal health providers across Haiti with Midwife Kits – specialized caches of the equipment, supplies, and medications needed for safe delivery. The organization provided 113 full kits and 228 replenishment kits to partners in 2024, and is providing an additional 132 full kits and 150 replenishment kits during this season’s cycle. Each of these kits, endorsed by the International Confederation of Midwives, contains the medical items needed to carry out 50 facility-based safe births.

In addition, Direct Relief will provide Haitian partners with 20 Perinatal Health Kits this season, enough to treat up to 4,000 cases of pregnancy complications: pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, preterm labor, neonatal infection or sepsis, and neonatal respiratory distress. 

The midwife kits “are used absolutely everywhere,” by about 40 midwives and other maternal health clinicians at Midwives for Haiti, Drichta said.

“Worse and worse and worse”

The organization has an 18-month training program, taught entirely by Haitian professionals, that produces 30% of the country’s total skilled birth attendants.

“Midwifery is not as complicated as, say, cardiothoracic surgery,” Drichta explained. Many women feel called to midwifery by the need they see in their own community, and Drichta constantly frets that midwives ignore the safety protocols she’s placed on travel and working hours because they know how urgently they are needed.

But Drichta, who has worked in public health for 23 years, amid startling violence – such as caring for Yazidi women and children in Iraq – says the situation in Haiti is the worst she’s ever seen.

“As it’s gotten worse and worse and worse, I’ve found myself relying on a lot of the things I learned in Iraq and elsewhere,” she said. “It was all apparently preparing me for Haiti.”

Many of the women who flee north have experienced severe trauma and unthinkable violence. For the young woman who came to a Midwives for Haiti clinic in November with nowhere to stay, this wasn’t her first pregnancy. In 2024, gangs had broken into her home in Port-au-Prince and shot her nine-month-old baby in the head before her eyes.

“In a country where women do not traditionally get tattoos, she has her first baby’s name inked right over her heart,” Drichta noted.

This winter, the ongoing violence was compounded by Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm that killed 43 people in Haiti alone and displaced many thousands, although precise numbers are unavailable because of the country’s unrest. Women from the south, as well as Haitian women deported from the Dominican Republic, fled north, many of them in urgent need of maternal health care.

Tezita Negussie, the Haiti country director at the Haitian healthcare NGO Konbit Sante, explained that the lack of medication and supplies places an ongoing burden on physicians and midwives.

“One of the most needed sets of materials is what you offer,” she told Direct Relief. “It’s critical.”

Konbit Sante has placed Direct Relief midwife kits at four partner facilities, including Hôpital Universitaire Justinien, a teaching hospital in the northern city of Cap-Haïtien.

Jenn Schenk, executive director at Second Mile Haiti, said a lack of nutrition and available treatment have led to more pregnant women with severe iron deficiencies or preclampsia. Because magnesium sulfate – used to prevent the onset of eclampsia and available in the Direct Relief midwife kits – is hard to come by, midwives at Second Mile Haiti have noted that providers sometimes wait until after a woman has started having seizures to treat her with the medication.

“This results in serious complications,” Schenk noted.

Second Mile Haiti has begun to treat higher-risk pregnancies at its two facilities, which see about 700 deliveries per year. Low iron levels and malnutrition are widespread: “Probably 25% of our patients are malnourished,” she said.

Malnourished patients are treated with therapeutic food, and women with low iron levels begin receiving injections straightaway to prevent complications.

In a country where travel is dangerous and difficult, even in relatively safe areas like Cap-Haïtien, where one of Second Mile Haiti’s facilities is located, Schenk said it’s essential to have everything pregnant patients need on hand, to prevent women from going without care.

“As it becomes increasingly difficult for both providers and patients to find medications elsewhere, the ability to receive comprehensive care in a single visit matters more than ever,” she explained.

Hope amid danger

Despite the urgent needs, Schenk said she’s determined to provide more than basic services. It’s essential that Second Mile Haiti facilities feel safe and restful – a place where women living in dangerous circumstances, often caring for multiple children already, can find respite.

At the Cap-Haïtien facility, which sits on half an acre of land and provides ample places for women to sleep and eat, “I walk around the facility and I see women full-on snoring,” Schenk said. She’s delighted to see it.

“I always think, ‘When does this woman ever get to take a nap during the day?’” she observed.

For Drichta, the hardship and tragedy she observes every day are tempered by the tremendous impact of skilled midwifery care, and by the sense of safety and new beginning many pregnant women find at Midwives for Haiti.

She recalled the day a woman sought shelter at the maternal waiting home in the middle of a staff meeting with dozens of midwives: “She walks in, completely flat affect,” with three-week-old twins in her arms and a seven-year-old walking alongside.

“She had fled Port-au-Prince on foot…her husband was shot dead and they left him by the side of the road,” Drichta remembered. The midwives “just surrounded her” with care.

Today, that woman is the house mother at the maternal waiting home, a pivotal staff member.

The challenges the midwives and their patients face are numerous. Many babies are born too early to survive, and many can’t receive medical oxygen in time to save their lives. Women are dying of hemorrhage in higher numbers, despite skilled care. The head midwife at Midwives for Haiti was kidnapped two years ago, a period that Drichta called “the worst three months of my life.”

For clinicians at Midwives for Haiti, medical donations are a continual source of hope. When the midwives receive the medicines and supplies they need, the care they provide is extraordinary, Drichta said.

She also noted that the communities where Midwives for Haiti offers care keep growing in number – often because midwives notice urgent needs in their own villages and quietly provide care in their off-hours, only to find their patient numbers growing greater than they can handle. What was once informal care, offered on a Saturday, becomes a full-fledged community clinic.

“Sometimes, in Haiti,” Drichta mused, “it’s easy to lose sight of what is possible.”

The post Amid Haiti’s Turmoil, Midwives Offer Skilled Care, Safe Deliveries, and Ongoing Hope appeared first on Direct Relief.

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disease affecting the lungs and digestive system. In Lebanon, access to treatment is limited, leaving families to face overwhelming financial and emotional burdens. Many patients endure frequent hospitalizations — sometimes several times every month — just to manage daily symptoms.

In 2024, Anera, in partnership with Direct Relief, launched a life-changing program to make essential cystic fibrosis treatment available in Lebanon. The initiative has brought hope and life-saving treatment to patients who previously had little chance of accessing this critical care.

For Rita, a 29-year-old woman from Douris Village in Bekaa, the hospital was a constant part of her life:

“The hospital was part of my childhood. I used to visit multiple times every month. My lungs were constantly infected, and everyday tasks like walking or even breathing became a battle.”

“During my search for a cure, I discovered a medication in the United States that could change everything — but it was far beyond what my family could afford,” Rita continued. “My father had passed away, and my mother was caring for me and my sister, who also has cystic fibrosis. It felt impossible to access this life-saving treatment.”

After months of intensive coordination with the Ministry of Public Health, the Minister himself, specialist physicians, and the American University of Beirut Medical Center, Anera, through the support of Direct Relief, was finally able to secure this medication for Lebanon at the national level. Crucially, it is now available for the long term, ensuring sustained access for patients who rely on it.

“Seven hours after taking the medication, my body started clearing mucus like never before. In just a few days, I could breathe normally, my appetite returned, and I regained strength.”

“From visiting the hospital multiple times every month, I now need only one visit a year. My sister and I call it ‘the miracle drug.’ This medicine gave me a new breath and a chance to finally pursue my dream of studying media.”

Since the program’s launch, many cystic fibrosis patients in Lebanon have experienced improved health and renewed hope for the future. Since the program’s launch in December 2024, it has brought together all identified cystic fibrosis patients in Lebanon and supported the establishment of the country’s first cystic fibrosis registry.

This registry aims not only to document all known patients but also to reach those who have not yet been informed about the project. As a result, many cystic fibrosis patients have experienced improved health outcomes and a renewed sense of hope for the future.

“To all cystic fibrosis patients, my message is simple: do not give up. Do not let sadness consume you. Your family and community can be your strength. Be strong … You are not alone.”

The post Transforming the Lives of Cystic Fibrosis Patients in Lebanon appeared first on Direct Relief.

“There’s nothing terrible about losing a leg, you just have to get used to it,” the 27-year-old officer from Odesa said stoically of his recovery after intense combat in eastern Ukraine. But for Oleksiy and other military and civilian war casualties, such injuries are invariably life-changing.

According to unofficial sources, there were between 50,000 and 100,000 amputations among Ukraine’s population since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, with many patients losing more than one limb.

In collaboration with three specialist organizations, Direct Relief has made prosthetics and rehabilitation a central pillar of its Ukraine response, providing funding to strengthen local resources – clinics, training programs, and workshops – rather than simply shipping finished prosthetic devices.

Latest milestones include a $1 million grant for the creation of a dedicated university attached to the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center in Lviv, and the co-funded construction by the Minnesota-based Protez Foundation of its third prosthetics clinic in Ukraine.

In October, a group of leaders from UNBROKEN, Protez Foundation, and the Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco visited Direct Relief’s headquarters in Santa Barbara, along with several children and young adults who had received prosthetics after losing limbs in the war.

Later that month, Direct Relief also supported Protez in hosting its third annual amputee rehabilitation summit in Kyiv, bringing together medical specialists, service providers, and manufacturers, as well as individual beneficiaries.

This helped create “a truly collaborative environment that connects multiple rehabilitation centers across Ukraine,” said Yura Aroshidze, CEO and co-founder of the organization, together with Ukrainian prosthetic surgeon Yakov Gradinar.

On the Road Back to Active Life

Since 2022, lines of support to the partners helped several thousand people take their first post-injury steps or regain upper limb dexterity after receiving prosthetics, and regain their direction in life after the physical and mental trauma.

“At the beginning, it was…” said Oleh, a civilian from the eastern city of Bakhmut, grasping for words to describe the trauma of losing his leg in an explosion by his home in 2023. He was evacuated and underwent amputation before receiving a full-leg prosthetic at the UNBROKEN center. “Now it is getting a little easier … I know I must live, work, and build a family.”

The end goal is to build up Direct Relief’s partner organizations’ capacities and sustainability so they can help thousands more amputees like Oleh rebuild independence and purpose well into the future.
The third member of the trio is the Kyiv-based U+ System, set up by Ukrainian surgeon Oleksandra Mostepan, who herself operated on many of the organization’s patients.

“Since its founding in 2023, U+ System has provided assistance to over 3,000 people, both veterans and civilians affected by the war,” said Mostepan, who was working in a hospital in Monte Carlo when the war broke out and quickly returned home to help.

The organization’s patients included more than 1,000 individuals who received limb prostheses and another 2,000 who completed physical, auditory, or psychological rehabilitation programs: “These are not just numbers – they represent personal stories of people who have returned to active life, sports, work, and family,” said the surgeon.

Some who lost limbs and were treated by Mostepan, like former soldier Oleksandr Kushnerenko, went on to become prosthetists themselves, finding a new calling amid the turmoil that overtook their lives and their country.

Badly injured in the leg and arm by an exploding tank round in 2022, Oleksandr since helped fit prosthetics for more than 100 male and female amputees. Showing the same determination as the major from Odesa, his advice for others facing life after amputation is: “Keep moving and don’t get fixated on the thought that you lost a limb.”

Breaking New Ground

Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy manages the bulk of the amputee patients through state clinics. But Direct Relief’s partners are taking a growing number and setting new benchmarks of excellence.
“We are treating cases that have not been managed before, either in Ukraine or the U.S.,” said Aroshidze of Protez Foundation. “Protez has a focus on addressing complex, high-level amputations, both upper and lower extremity, and especially those resulting from tourniquet injuries.”

By October 2025, it had fitted more than 2,000 prosthetic limbs among just over 1,000 patients. “By combining the expertise of American specialists with the knowledge and dedication of our Ukrainian team, we are able to help these most challenging cases and raise the standard of care in Ukraine and around the world,” said Aroshidze.

Together with the Interior Ministry and with support from Direct Relief, the foundation this year broke ground for a new clinic outside the Ukrainian capital that will provide comprehensive prosthetics services when it starts operating in 2026. While enlarging Protez’s own capacity, this also reflects Direct Relief’s goal of supplementing and enhancing state programs.

But recovery does not end with the fitting of artificial limbs. Mental trauma management and rehabilitation are essential for many patients. The partners provide extensive psycho-social services – none more so than UNBROKEN, which has a large mental health center with a range of therapies for neural conditions, from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to trauma-related concussion and epilepsy.
This required new paths of groundbreaking research and treatment that can be applied beyond the end of the war in Ukraine and for the common good, said the center’s director, Oleh Berezyuk.

“We are doing this not because of the additional knowledge, we are doing this because of our survival instinct,” he said. “We must do this to survive. Of course, if we do, we will be happy to share our tactics and our knowledge with others.”

Looking Ahead

As the fighting continues in Ukraine, the number of amputees keeps rising. However, with continued external support, the partners can help drive the development of the overall prosthetics sector, sharing advancements in technology and therapeutic care inside and outside of Ukraine.

To this end, Protez Foundation is developing a horizontal platform that brings together specialists in various disciplines, from physical therapists, occupational therapists, prosthetists, and surgeons, to share their cumulative strength and experience in amputee care.

U+ System is focusing on a holistic approach with a broad regional span, starting with the opening this summer of a large new center in Kyiv, where all services are provided under one roof.

“U+ System was designed as an integrated structure where prosthetics, hearing care, physical, psychological, and social rehabilitation function not as separate services, but as a single, coordinated recovery process,” said Mostepan.

The year also saw the launch of outreach programs to make rehabilitation accessible to people in their local communities, without the need to travel to the capital. For all three partners, a crucial element in the recovery process is the broader public acceptance of war amputees, rather than them being marginalized and excluded, as often happened in past conflicts that affected Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.

At UNBROKEN, patients have regular sports and social activities, including excursions to do archery, horse riding, and bowling. As well as being fun group activities to build confidence and stamina, the outings simply make the patients visible: “Our society needs to see them, understand that this is a [person] with a prosthesis, and accept them as part of that society,” said Solomiya Yakubechko, the head of administration at UNBROKEN.

The post Ukrainian Organizations Focused on Prosthetics Hit Their Stride as Demand Grows appeared first on Direct Relief.

During disasters and public health emergencies, Direct Relief supports communities by delivering critical medical aid, strengthening healthcare infrastructure, and helping maintain continuity of care when local systems are under strain. This partnership extends that work by improving how communities access information about available health services and relief resources in real time.  

The partnership will support the build-out of an enhanced evacuation shelters and services feature within the Watch Duty mobile app. Through this feature, Direct Relief will be able to share real-time information on evacuation centers, health services, community aid distributions, and other critical resources directly with affected communities. Making this information easier to find will help people identify available assistance as conditions change during disasters and emergencies.  

Watch Duty recently expanded its coverage from 22 states to all 50 states, extending real-time emergency alerting to communities nationwide. That nationwide reach mirrors Direct Relief’s disaster response footprint, which spans every state and supports healthcare providers and communities before, during, and after emergencies  

Watch Duty has also added nationwide power outage information to its platform, offering visibility into where outages are occurring and how long they are expected to last. With this capability, Direct Relief will be able to both inform its emergency response and use the platform to communicate directly with communities—highlighting healthcare facilities and community sites supported by Direct Relief’s resilient power work in areas affected by outages.  

Direct Relief will use the Watch Duty platform to share timely updates on community health resources, evacuation and relief services, and resilience programming. Integrating this information into a trusted, widely used alerting platform will help communities stay informed and better navigate rapidly changing conditions during emergencies.  

Watch Duty’s real-time alerts are powered by a combination of experienced staff, a robust technical infrastructure, and strong partnerships, alongside a dedicated group of trained volunteers. Together, these forces work around the clock to monitor conditions, verify information, and ensure communities have continuous access to timely, reliable emergency information—24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Together, Direct Relief and Watch Duty are strengthening how communities access critical information during emergencies—connecting people to health services, relief resources, and support when it matters most. By pairing trusted emergency alerting with Direct Relief’s long-standing role in disaster response and health system support, the partnership helps ensure communities are better informed, better prepared, and better supported during moments of disruption. 

The post Direct Relief and Watch Duty Partner on Expanding Access to Emergency Information appeared first on Direct Relief.

For more than 150 years, Vaseline has been committed to caring for everybody’s skin, guided by the belief that skin health is a right, not a privilege. The Vaseline Healing Project, which has reached 27 million people worldwide over the past decade, turns this belief into reality by providing resources like financial support, products, and training to nonprofit health clinics and disaster response teams – helping make skin health accessible for all. That’s why, for communities facing the greatest barriers, Vaseline believes Healing Starts Here – with every act of care that restores dignity, hope, and long-term skin health.

“From dermatological missions in refugee camps to communities recovering from natural disasters, Vaseline is on a mission to bring skin health to places where it’s being overlooked,” said Kathleen Dunlop, Chief Marketing Officer, Beauty & Wellbeing, Unilever North America. “We’re proud to work with trusted clinics in these communities and our long-term partner, Direct Relie,f to help all people get access to the skin health they deserve in the places they live. That’s what Healing Starts Here is all about.”

Each clinic’s mobile medical unit provides primary care, on-site dermatology, mental health support, and lifesaving cancer screenings to put care within reach and ensure people are seen by medical professionals.

• In Los Angeles, the grant funds Venice Family Clinic’s mobile medical unit to expand outreach to residents experiencing homelessness and to communities still healing from this year’s devastating wildfires.

• In New Orleans, where transportation gaps, dermatology deserts, and longstanding inequities persist, the grant supports Baptist Community Health Services’ mobile medical unit as it expands access across the Ninth Ward, continuing to rebuild since Hurricane Katrina.

“Mobile care delivers impact where it’s needed most,” said Maris Steward, Program Manager at Direct Relief. “Vaseline is supporting local clinic partners to ensure critical health services are being delivered to people who need it most.”

“For many in New Orleans, the transportation gaps that have persisted since Hurricane Katrina continue to make it challenging for many residents to access health care,” said Philip Brodst, CEO, Baptist Community Health Services. “With our mobile medical unit, we’re able to bring essential care directly to neighborhoods that have faced ongoing barriers, ensuring that people receive the health services they need, when they need it, right where they live.”

“As a member of the street medicine team at Venice Family Clinic, I see every day how critical it is to meet people where they are—on the streets, in shelters, and in neighborhoods that have been overlooked for far too long,” said Emem Brown , MSPAS, MPH, PA-C, Physician Assistant at Venice Family Clinic. “Support for our mobile medical unit means we can deliver comprehensive care directly to those who need it most, breaking down barriers and helping restore dignity in the process.”

Last night, Vaseline convened 50 dermatologists, advocates, creators and community leaders in Los Angeles for a preview of the mobile medical unit partnership and a panel, moderated by Shirley Raines of Beauty2theStreetz, on how mobile care can reduce barriers and expand access for people who need it most.

“As someone who shows up every week on Skid Row, I see firsthand how powerful it is when people are met with dignity and care—right where they are,” said Shirley Raines, founder of Beauty2theStreetz. “These mobile medical units are more than just clinics on wheels; they’re a lifeline for people who are too often overlooked. By bringing health, healing, and hope directly to our streets, this partnership is helping restore not just skin, but a sense of humanity and possibility.”

The Mobile Medical Units program is the latest effort in Vaseline’s mission to make skin health more accessible. Now celebrating its 10-year anniversary, the Vaseline Healing Project has reached 27 million people worldwide over the past decade by expanding access to care, providing education for dermatologists and consumers, and donating products – including 10 million Vaseline products to Direct Relief for communities with urgent skin health needs. Looking ahead, the Vaseline Healing Project aims to reach 33 million people globally by 2030, continuing to drive impact through these efforts in partnership with organizations like Direct Relief, HUED and VisualDx. For more information, go to https://www.vaseline.com/us/en/healing-project.html

The post Vaseline and Direct Relief Donate $100,000 to Support Mobile Medical Units, Expanding Skin Health Access in Los Angeles and New Orleans appeared first on Direct Relief.

The Laura Rodriguez Medical Assistant Institute, or LRMAI, is an education and training program of Family Health Centers of San Diego, which provides primary health care and more across the county. Many of the trainees have been patients at the health center, and can help deliver culturally relevant, high-quality health and supportive services to the diverse populations served. 

The health center is among the 10 largest in the U.S., serving over 160,000 patients a year and more than 1 million visits annually. The organization operates 49 sites throughout San Diego County, including primary care, behavioral health, outpatient substance use disorder treatment, dental and vision services, a mobile counseling center, and a safety-net pharmacy.

The training program aims to reduce the shortage of medical assistants across the health care industry by improving educational access and opportunities for those that health centers serve.

“By 2030, we are going to be facing a nursing shortage nationally of about 63,000 nurses,” said Pauline Lucatero, LRMAI’s Chief Academic Administrator. Lucatero is also Vice President of Community Affairs for the Family Health Centers of San Diego and a registered nurse.

Since 2023, 119 students have graduated from the program, and three-quarters of those graduates have been hired by the health center. Students go through more than 700 hours of training on both administrative and clinical medical assisting in the classroom, skills lab, and extern site settings.

The clinical externship is eight weeks long and gives the students the opportunity to put what they have learned into practice. After completion of the program, students take a certification exam, and graduates are then prepared to fill entry-level positions as clinical or administrative medical assistants.

“I love that this program provides quality education and opens up doors… I hope this is just the beginning for them,” she said of the graduates.

Anthony Vasquez, a graduate of the LRMAI program, said that at the start of the program, he wondered whether he should be there at all. “I thought to myself, ‘What business do I have in the medical field?’ he recalled.

With the support of his instructors, he continued and is now working as a medical assistant at the health center.

“In such a short amount of time, you could be making such a difference in the lives of people,” he said of the program. “I get to help others, and I am so proud of that.”

Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity, via the AbbVie Foundation, provided funds to support the Laura Rodriguez Medical Assistant Institute.

The post Training the Next Generation of Health Care Workers appeared first on Direct Relief.

Medications and supplies shipped this week included diabetes treatments, pain relief medications, personal protective equipment, nutritional supplements, and more.

Medical Aid Arrives in Flooded Pacific Northwest

An atmospheric river brought days of heavy rainfall to Washington State and parts of the Pacific Northwest, triggering significant flooding, evacuations, and a statewide state of emergency in Washington.

Direct Relief responded ahead of a second round of storms by shipping 15 field medic packs to equip first responders and 95 kits filled with personal care items for displaced people to community health center and tribal partners in affected areas of Washington as well as to Libby, Montana. All supplies arrived by Monday, December 15, and additional support to community health centers across five counties in Washington state is being prepared.

Direct Relief is coordinating with Sea Mar Community Health Centers and the Northwest Regional Primary Care Association to assess ongoing impacts to the region and identify any additional needs resulting from the storms and ongoing flooding.

Direct Relief Hosts Pothawira International at Headquarters

Last week, Direct Relief hosted Dr. Anne Alaniz, founder of Pothawira International, and Dr. Joanie Mayer Hope to discuss ongoing support for healthcare initiatives in Salima, Malawi. 

Pothawira International serves the community through education, economic sustainability projects, and healthcare programs focused on women and children. The organization operates a clinic serving approximately 200 patients daily, a birthing center that completed over 500 deliveries in 2024, an orphanage, a primary school, and a sustainability farm. A new surgical center with four operating rooms is currently under construction. 

Since 2023, Direct Relief has provided Pothawira with more than $6 million in medical aid, including midwifery kits, essential medications, and surgical supplies to support patient care in Malawi. “We have already increased our birthing delivery capacity because of these donations and opened more access since this has significantly lowered our overhead costs for deliveries,” said Dr. Alaniz. 

Supporting Displaced Communities in South Sudan

Direct Relief continues to support health and nutrition needs in South Sudan, where conflict-driven displacement has left many families facing severe food insecurity and limited access to care.

This month, Direct Relief shipped therapeutic nutrition products donated by Abbott to partners supporting internally displaced families in northern South Sudan. The distribution is underway through Transformation of the World in Christ, which is providing support to communities hosting people who have fled ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan. 

Supplies are being distributed at multiple sites, including the Ajak-Kuac IDP/Refugee Camp and a clinic in Gogrial West County, to help address malnutrition among children.  

Operational Snapshot

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 584 shipments containing 5 million doses of medication this past week to organizations, including the following:

Around the World

Globally, Direct Relief shipped over 3.1 million defined daily doses of medication, totaling 75,184 lbs., to countries including the following:

YEAR-TO-DATE

Since January 1, 2025, Direct Relief has delivered 28.9K shipments to 2,725 partner organizations in 54 U.S. states and territories and 90 countries. These shipments contained 315.2 million defined daily doses of medication, valued at $2 billion wholesale, totaling 4.2 million lbs.

IN THE NEWS

How Salesforce’s former CFO is scaling a humanitarian giant | Devex 

Devex Newswire: From Salesforce to Direct Relief, one leader’s journey | Devex 

Santa Barbara-based international aid group receives national recognition from Time Magazine | KCLU 

Carnival Cruise Line sends more supplies to Jamaica for Hurricane Melissa relief efforts 

Photo | Carnival, Direct Relief and Miami HEAT load hurricane relief supplies onto Carnival Horizon | Carnival Cruise Line 

Health Minister Tufton Deploys Mobile Clinic Donated by Direct Relief 

Direct Relief, partners deliver over US$3m in medical supplies to Jamaica | Lead Stories | Jamaica Gleaner 

Carnival-led initiative delivers medical relief to Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa | News | Jamaica Gleaner 

Call of Duty is getting a microtransaction nobody can get mad at: A unique premium skin whose proceeds will go to LA wildfire relief 

Carnival Horizon Sets Sail with Additional Hurricane Relief Supplies for Jamaica | Carnival Cruise Line 

Carnival, Direct Relief, Miami Heat send more relief supplies 

Direct Relief Named TIME Magazine’s Dreamer of the Year | LBBOnline 

Direct Relief Ships 68 Tons of Medical Aid to Jamaica Following Hurricane Melissa 

RWJBarnabas Health Returns to Puerto Rico to Provide Continued Medical Services 

Carnival Cruise Line Sends More Supplies to Jamaica for Hurricane Melissa Relief Efforts | TravelPulse 

Carnival, Miami HEAT back major medical relief effort for Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa – CNW Network 

Hurricane Relief Hits Jamaica As Carnival Horizon Delivers Essential Aid To The Island – Travel And Tour World 

Five Tons of Aid Are Sailing Toward Jamaica — Here’s Why It Matters 

Forbes 2025 Top Charities: Direct Relief Ranks #5 with 100% Efficiency Rating 

Miami Heat, Carnival Cruise Line to ship $1M in supplies for Melissa-impacted Jamaicans – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale 

Direct Relief recognised for contribution to Save Our Boys and Girls Foundation – Jamaica Observer 

The post Responding to Flooding in the Pacific Northwest, Supporting Displaced Communities in South Sudan, and More appeared first on Direct Relief.

Today’s delivery is part of a larger, coordinated response that departed Miami over the weekend of December 13 and 14, when Direct Relief mobilized 144 pallets—68 tons—of essential medicines and medical supplies bound for Jamaica by air and sea.

These shipments were made possible through the generous support of the Miami HEAT, Carnival Corporation, and the Micky & Madeleine Arison Family Foundation, whose $1 million joint donation enabled the transport of emergency medical aid and continued health-system support.

The shipment’s arrival in Ocho Rios was welcomed by Government of Jamaica officials, Ministry of Health and tourism leaders, along with representatives from Carnival and Direct Relief.

“What is happening here is another demonstration of humanity,” said Dr. Christopher Tufton, Jamaica’s Minister of Health. “Entities driven by the cause to help others have come together to support the recovery taking place across several of our most impacted parishes. On behalf of the Government of Jamaica and the people we serve, I want to say thank you to Carnival Cruise Line, Direct Relief, and the Miami HEAT. This has truly been a collaborative effort.”

Direct Relief’s Support of Jamaica

Since 2008, Direct Relief has provided more than $76 million in medical aid to support Jamaica’s healthcare system, working closely with government partners, hospitals, and clinics across the country. This long-standing support includes essential medicines and medical supplies for routine care, as well as emergency assistance during hurricanes and other disasters.

In recent years, Direct Relief’s work in Jamaica has increasingly focused on strengthening preparedness and health-system resilience, including investments in backup power, cold-chain protection, and emergency response capacity—helping ensure care can continue when storms and other disruptions impact normal operations.

The post Carnival Horizon Delivers Direct Relief Medical Aid to Jamaica appeared first on Direct Relief.

As we close out another year and look toward 2026, I find myself reflecting on what leadership really means in times of disruption, opportunity, and relentless change.

This past year has reminded me — more than ever — that leadership isn’t just about strategy or vision on paper. It’s about listening first, acting with intention, and bringing teams together around collective purpose. That’s true whether you’re steering a tech company through growth, navigating a humanitarian response, or guiding a nonprofit to expand its impact.

1) Start with Listening — It Grounded Me

When I transitioned into my current role, I spent the first months on a listening tour. I met with colleagues here at home, partners abroad, and voices in communities we serve. Before setting strategy, I wanted to understand:

• What challenges our team faces

• What partners truly need

• What success looks like to people on the frontline

This deep listening didn’t slow us down — it accelerated alignment and trust across teams and geographies. I reflect more on this experience in this interview with Devex Senior Editor Catherine Cheney.

2) Embrace Fresh Thinking — From Within and Beyond

As external realities shift — shrinking budgets in traditional aid, evolving private-sector engagement, and new technology frontiers — leaders must remain curious and adaptable.

Leadership isn’t a fixed role; it’s a continuous learning journey.

This year, let’s commit to:

• Evaluating how we lead with honesty

• Inviting new ideas from all corners of our organizations

• Prioritizing experimentation over perfection

3) Ground Decisions in Shared Purpose

The end of a year often brings focus — a narrowing of options that clarifies what truly matters. I was inspired by this piece recently published by Fast Company, which discusses how leaders can harness this momentum intentionally: by defining clear priorities rooted in purpose and by aligning teams around those missions.

For Direct Relief, that means improving systems that help get critical resources where they’re needed most — faster, more equitably, and with partners who share the same urgency.

4) Lead with Humility and Heart

At its core, leadership is deeply human. It requires:

• Emotional intelligence

• Willingness to accept feedback

• Commitment to the people you serve and those you lead

This isn’t soft talk — it’s strategic. Teams aligned around trust and shared values are resilient in uncertainty and innovative in execution – as discussed in this research published by Cornell University.

5) Look Ahead with Courage

2026 will bring its share of challenges, some we can see coming and others we’ll only recognize later. What matters most is staying anchored in our core values as leaders and organizations, even as we adapt to change together.

Let’s lead not just with ambition, but with clarity, empathy, and commitment — not only to the goals we set for the new year, but to the people whose lives we touch along the way.

Here’s to a year of purposeful leadership and impact.

With gratitude,
Amy

The post What Leadership Requires of Us Now appeared first on Direct Relief.

As catastrophic disasters unfolded this year, everyday needs also expanded, in the U.S., but also globally, as international support from long-relied-upon sources disappeared.

In response, Direct Relief has ramped up support and will continue to do so. But the organization’s strength relies on the heroic health providers working around the world, often in extreme settings at great personal cost.

Doctors caring for evacuees in a church parking lot after nearby clinics were burned to the ground. Health providers in Haiti reporting to work despite the sound of gunfire. Midwives helping women who travel for miles to give birth safely

These are the people Direct Relief is honored to support. When they have the tools they need, their work saves lives.

Here are a few of their stories.

When a Parking Lot Becomes a Clinic, Patients Connect with Medicines Near Burn Zone

When wildfires erupted in Los Angeles in January 2025, displaced evacuees found themselves needing critical medical care. Health providers like Dr. Evelyn Wong swung into action, quickly establishing a mobile clinic in a church parking lot, directly across the street from the burn zone in Altadena.

From health providers giving emergency care to people evacuated at the Pasadena Convention Center to those providing medical outreach to unhoused people, Dr. Wong was just one of many medical practitioners who stepped up for people in need during the fires.

 Read more.

After a Childhood Spent Struggling with Diabetes, a Rwandan Doctor Teaches Children to Thrive with the Diagnosis

For Dr. Aime Manzi, connecting children with Type 1 diabetes and their families with support is personal. The 27-year-old physician is passionate about helping others manage their health because he remembers feeling hopeless as a young person with Type 1 himself.

Today, he works for the Direct Relief-supported Rwanda Diabetes Association, the organization that supported him with free insulin and monitoring supplies for his own diabetes, reported Talya Meyers. Those efforts are reaching hundreds of children and young people with the tools and education they need to stay in school and live full and rewarding lives.

Read more.

Through Expanded Mental Health Services, Free Clinics Provide “a Light at the End of the Tunnel”

For Mary O’Dell, a counselor at St. Michael’s Medical Clinic in Anniston, Alabama, expanding mental health services is just the start of addressing what patients need, Olivia Lewis reported.

The free clinic began offering counseling and therapy sessions to low-income and unhoused people at the start of the year. With funding from the Community Routes: Access to Mental Health Care program, the clinic has been able to expand services that would otherwise be out of reach.

“So many feel like there are mental health services provided that will fit an issue or provide a solution, but it’s just touching it,” said O’Dell, who works at the free clinic. “We’re just starting to provide a service that has not been there for clients who have just been neglected for a long time.”

Read more.

For Pregnant Women in the Philippines, a Birthing Center Lit by Solar Power is a Beacon of Comfort and Safety

In a rural area of the Philippines, the lights from a clinic radiate into the darkness, providing a guide for women seeking a safe place to give birth. It’s a beacon of comfort where they’ll receive high-quality, gentle care in a well-maintained facility, reported Talya Meyers.

“Some give birth as soon as they enter the gate,” said Teresa Maniego, COO at the maternity clinic. “Some of them would reach the parking lot.”

Reliable electricity is hard to come by, but a solar installation funded by Direct Relief’s Power for Health initiative, the clinic can be seen from far away at night, simply because it’s brightly lit up.

Even for people who aren’t pregnant, like weary travelers, the clinic feels like a place of safety.

“People will stop in front of the clinic, and take a rest, because there’s just light,” Maniego said. “It’s just such an amazing thing: At Bahai Arugaan, there’s always light. People feel safe stopping here.”

Read more.

Transformative Cystic Fibrosis Treatment Offers Hope to Ukrainian Patients

Yaroslava Koshel is one of hundreds of Ukrainians living with cystic fibrosis, or CF, and the 23-year-old can think about long-term plans for her life, now that she’s able to manage her disease, reported Nick Allen.

CF is a genetic disease that damages the lungs, digestive system, and other organs, and medication called Trikafta helps many people manage their symptoms and extend life.

“Trikafta has given me the possibility to live for many more years,” said Yaroslava, who began taking the medicine in October 2023 through a CF pilot donation program led by Boston-based pharmaceutical company Vertex, Direct Relief, and three Ukrainian hospitals, including two of the country’s largest children’s hospitals. The program currently operates in 12 countries, including Ukraine, with plans to expand.

Read more.

Strengthening Ghana’s Fight Against Breast Cancer

Breast cancer awareness, education, and treatment have been out of reach for many women in Ghana. But Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai is working to get cancer interventions to patients sooner, dramatically increasing survival rates.

In 2002, Addai founded Breast Care International, or BCI, to break the silence surrounding breast cancer in Ghana. She assembled nurses, doctors, and volunteers to fan out into markets, parks, and villages in some of the most remote parts of the country, offering clinical breast screenings and education.

Over time, she expanded awareness campaigns into schools, churches, and on radio programs, reaching thousands, Noah Smith reported. Now, thousands of women can access breast cancer screening, education, and treatment because of her efforts.

Read more.

Despite Challenges in Haiti, Local Groups Work Together to Keep Health Services Going

L’union fait la force” or “Unity is strength.” It’s Haiti’s national motto, and one that Jessica Laguerre emphasized on a phone call with Direct Relief in September 2025, Olivia Lewis reported.

Laguerre is the chief operating officer of Hospital Albert Schweitzer in central Haiti, and said the power of the country lies in the collaboration of its people.

As security issues persist in the Caribbean nation, health workers in the country are getting creative to make sure they can still provide care. Sharing information about road closures and distributing smaller, more targeted shipments are part of the mix.

“I think the situation is extremely challenging, but it’s pushing all actors on the ground to see what they can do and address the needs that are constantly shifting,” Laguerre said.

Read more.

‘The Nose Knows.’ Search Dogs Train To Save Lives

The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation plays a critical role in training dogs and their handlers to respond to emergencies across California and the world.

Search dogs are often among the first to respond after a disaster, moving through rubble to find survivors. Guided by handlers, the trained animals use their powerful sense of smell to detect human scent. Rescuers depend on them to identify where to dig to save lives and to rule out areas without survivors or human remains, helping direct search and rescue efforts to the most critical locations, Noah Smith reported.

Direct Relief provided the National Search Dog Foundation with $25,000 to support its work to strengthen California’s disaster readiness by training new search dogs and handlers to locate survivors and respond effectively to emergencies.

Read more.

The post Good Things Happened in 2025 appeared first on Direct Relief.

The grant supports Direct Relief’s efforts to apply data science and artificial intelligence in service of public health and disaster response, improving the organization’s ability to forecast demand for essential medicines and medical supplies before, during, and after crises. By leveraging machine learning models informed by real-world health, logistics, and disaster data, the system will enhance planning, reduce delays, and help ensure that critically needed medical resources reach the communities most at risk.

This investment is part of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation’s $75.8 million global commitment to advancing AI for public purposes, announced this week across 149 grants in 13 countries. The Foundation supports organizations using technology to strengthen public institutions, expand human agency, and address urgent global challenges—including crisis response, health equity, and climate resilience.

“The power of artificial intelligence for humanitarian response lies in enabling us integrate and rapidly analyze large-scale and highly variable data to benefit communities in crisis in ways that would otherwise remain cost-prohibitive and technically challenging,” said Andrew Schroeder, VP of Research and Analysis. “With this type of funding, we’ll be able to identify, validate, and respond to critical medical needs in more forward-looking ways, which also align with Direct Relief’s core values of trust and efficiency.”

Direct Relief has long used data and analytics to guide its humanitarian operations, including managing one of the world’s largest privately funded medical supply chains for emergency response and ongoing health-system support. The forecasting system supported by this grant will build on that foundation, strengthening decision-making while reinforcing safeguards around transparency, accountability, and public benefit. For example, the needs of patients and communities for respiratory protection, which Direct Relief has been collecting data on for many years through its logistical operations, can be aligned with anticipatory signals on changing social vulnerabilities and the risks of wildfire smoke and other airborne pollutants to deepen preparedness efforts and expedite medical aid shipments.

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation has invested more than $500 million over the past decade in organizations advancing technology for social good, with a focus on ensuring that AI systems serve communities and democratic institutions rather than concentrating power.

This grant reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that emerging technologies are applied responsibly—and that innovation in humanitarian response ultimately serves people, patients, and communities when they need it most.

The post Direct Relief Awarded $250,000 Grant to Advance AI-Driven Humanitarian Health Forecasting appeared first on Direct Relief.

Redmond brings to Direct Relief decades of humanitarian relief and development experience, primarily focused on developing programs and teams that help build resilience, relieve suffering, and transform lives. He served as Chief Executive of Relief International between 2022 and 2025, where he led a global team of more than 7,000 staff and local volunteers working in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, providing humanitarian aid to communities affected by conflict and disaster.

Prior to Relief International, Redmond worked for 22 years at Mercy Corps in roles including Program Director for Azerbaijan, Country Director for Eritrea and Indonesia, Regional Director for Southeast Asia, and finally for 12 years as Senior Vice President of Programs, where he managed and oversaw all Mercy Corps programs globally. Craig was a pivotal leader in growing the organization and leading teams to breakthrough innovations in technology, financial inclusion, food security, and venture development. He has also worked with UNHCR, UNDP, and with the Peace Corps in a hospital in Kyrgyzstan.

Amy Weaver, Chief Executive Officer of Direct Relief, said, “Craig Redmond has led large-scale humanitarian operations for decades and brings the kind of grounded, field-informed perspective that aligns so well with Direct Relief’s mission. With Craig joining the Direct Relief team, I’m incredibly energized for the years ahead.”

With Redmond joining Direct Relief, Byron Scott, MD, MBA, moves from his role as President and Chief Operating Officer to the new position of Chief Health Officer (effective January 1, 2026), where he will advise across all health and medical issues and oversee Direct Relief’s grantmaking activities, Power for Health, and the Fund for Health Equity. Dr. Scott served as Direct Relief’s interim CEO between January and May 2025.

“All of us at Direct Relief are grateful to Dr. Scott for his years of steadfast leadership on our board of directors, and as our COO and interim CEO, and for the deep insight, guidance, and unfailing moral compass he will continue to bring to the organization in his new role as Chief Health Officer,” Weaver said.

Redmond’s appointment marks the second major leadership addition by Amy Weaver since she assumed the role of CEO in May. Jennifer Lotito, former President and Chief Operating Officer at (RED), joined Direct Relief in October as Chief External Affairs Officer, overseeing global communications, fundraising, partnerships, brand, and creative.

Redmond said, “It is hard to imagine a more pressing moment in history than now for the critical work that Direct Relief and our partners do every day across the U.S. and around the world. I am humbled by this incredible opportunity, and look forward to getting to know our operations, the team, and our partners as we work together to deliver essential support to millions.”

Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, Direct Relief provides large-scale medical assistance to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty, disaster, and conflict. Recognized by Forbes as #5 on its list of America’s Top 100 Charities, honored with the 2025 Seoul Peace Prize, and recipient of 15 consecutive four-star ratings from Charity Navigator, Direct Relief is known for its logistics-driven humanitarian operations and longstanding commitment to transparency and operational excellence. 

The post Craig Redmond Joins Direct Relief as Chief Operating Officer  appeared first on Direct Relief.

The effort was carried out in partnership with Carnival Corporation & plc, the Miami HEAT, and the Micky & Madeleine Arison Family Foundation, who collectively provided $1 million in support of Direct Relief’s Hurricane Melissa response. Together, the coordinated operation shipped 144 pallets — 68 tons — of critically needed medicines and medical supplies to Jamaica through a combination of air and sea transport, representing one of the largest private humanitarian responses supporting the country’s post-storm recovery.

On Saturday, December 13, Direct Relief’s dedicated airlift departed Miami International Airport and landed in Kingston, Jamaica, transporting urgently needed medical supplies requested by health authorities to help replenish strained inventories at hospitals and clinics serving storm-affected communities. The response continued Sunday, December 14, when additional medical aid departed Miami aboard the Carnival Horizon, which is scheduled to arrive in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, on December 18. Miami HEAT Legend Alonzo Mourning joined to assist in the loading of the pallets.

“After a disaster of this magnitude, people need to know that care will be there when they need it,” said Amy Weaver, CEO of Direct Relief. “Because of the longstanding partnership and commitment of Carnival Corporation, the Miami HEAT, and the Micky & Madeleine Arison Family Foundation, we’re able to get essential medical support to communities across Jamaica as they continue to recover.”

“This partnership demonstrates the strength of coming together to help those in need,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Carnival is proud to work alongside Direct Relief and the Miami HEAT to deliver these essential supplies to Jamaica.”

“The devastation of Hurricane Melissa was incredible and will be felt in Jamaica for years to come,” said Eric Woolworth, president of business operations for the Miami HEAT. “Along with Direct Relief and Carnival, it’s our hope that the supplies we send will help start the road to recovery.”

The shipments included a broad range of essential medicines and medical supplies, including treatments for chronic disease, emergency care, and routine clinical services — resources that are critical as healthcare providers continue caring for patients while navigating infrastructure damage and supply disruptions caused by the storm.

Direct Relief has worked in a longstanding partnership with Jamaica since 1988 and has provided more than $76 million in medicines and medical supplies to the country since 2008. The organization continues to coordinate closely with the Jamaican Ministry of Health and Wellness and local healthcare partners to ensure aid reaches facilities serving the most urgent needs, supporting both immediate response efforts and longer-term health-system recovery.

This weekend’s shipments build on Direct Relief’s sustained Hurricane Melissa response and reflect the organization’s commitment to standing with communities before, during, and after disasters, strengthening access to care and resilience well beyond the initial emergency phase.

Direct Relief thanks the following donors whose product contributions supported emergency relief shipments to Jamaica: Abbott (nutritionals), Lupin (pharmaceuticals), Solventum (wound care supplies and consumables), Teva (pharmaceuticals), Unilever (Liquid IV hydration packets and Vaseline skincare products for hygiene kits), and 3M (N95 respirators).

The post Direct Relief Ships 68 Tons of Medical Aid to Jamaica Following Hurricane Melissa appeared first on Direct Relief.

Forbes awarded Direct Relief a 100% rating for fundraising efficiency, highlighting the organization’s minimal fundraising costs relative to private donations, and a 99% score for charitable commitment, reflecting the proportion of expenses allocated directly to its charitable mission.

2025 Top 10 Charities

Globally, Direct Relief is ranked as the second-largest charity in the “International Needs” category.

While Forbes noted that cuts in U.S. government funding have forced many international organizations to scale back operations, Direct Relief’s policy of declining to take government funding has enabled the organization to expand its global response efforts in 2025.

2025 Top International Charities

Beyond its Forbes ranking, Charity Navigator, the nation’s leading nonprofit evaluator, awarded Direct Relief an overall 100% charity rating for 2025, marking its 15th consecutive Four-Star rating. This distinction underscores the organization’s commitment to excellence, accountability, and measurable impact.

In addition, Charity Navigator named Direct Relief one of the Best Humanitarian Relief Charities for 2025, highlighting responses to Hurricane Melissa, the Los Angeles fires, and the humanitarian crises in Sudan and Ukraine. The designation recognizes organizations Charity Navigator deems “extraordinarily effective at what they do.”

Humanitarian Impact in 2025

In 2025, Direct Relief made significant strides in advancing its global humanitarian mission, including:

• Delivering Lifesaving Medicines: In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, Direct Relief distributed 308 million defined daily doses of medicine to more than 2,636 healthcare facilities across 91 countries and all 50 U.S. states. In total, Direct Relief donated pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and supplies with a wholesale value of $1.9 billion and provided $69 million in grants to healthcare providers around the world.

• Hurricane Responses: Following Hurricane Melissa, Direct Relief dispatched a 757 charter plane carrying 16 tons of medicine and medical supplies to Jamaica, adding to the large quantities of medical supplies already prepositioned in the region prior to landfall, which helped ensure health providers were equipped immediately after the storm.

• Los Angeles Wildfire Response: Direct Relief’s response began within hours of the first spark, with an initial focus on lifesaving support, including deploying prescription medications to shelters, field medic backpacks to first responders, and more than 140,000 N95 respirators to protect residents and emergency personnel from smoke.

• Aid to Ukraine:  Direct Relief has surpassed more than $2 billion in medical and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since the war began in 2022, making it one of the largest private philanthropic supporters of the country’s health system.

• Largest Charitable Medicine Program in the U.S.: To help address the lack of affordable prescription medicine in the United States, Direct Relief provides needed medications to nonprofit health centers and clinics that collectively serve about one in 11 people in the country. In its 2025 fiscal year, Direct Relief’s assistance to the U.S. exceeded $300 million.

• Supporting Healthy Mothers: Direct Relief supports health organizations worldwide that provide critically needed maternal and neonatal services throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care. In its 2025 fiscal year, Direct Relief’s support of midwives helped enable more than 45,000 safe births in 17 countries.

Stewardship and Financial Transparency

Direct Relief is committed to maximizing the impact of every donation, ensuring funds are used responsibly and effectively to support those in need:

• 100% Allocation of Donor-Designated Funds: Every contribution earmarked for specific programs or emergencies is applied exclusively to those purposes, giving donors full assurance that their intent is honored.

• Independently Funded Operations:  Direct Relief operates solely on private charitable contributions, declining government funding to maintain independence and focus on its mission.

• Leveraging In-Kind Contributions: Strategic partnerships with businesses and organizations amplify the impact of donations. Contributions of medicine and medical supplies, valued at their wholesale cost, constitute the majority of Direct Relief’s revenue, allowing cash donations to reach further and support more people.

Additional Nonprofit Recognition

In 2025, Direct Relief received additional independent recognition for humanitarian impact, transparency, and financial stewardship, including:

• TIME Dreamer of the Year: The distinction, presented annually by TIME Magazine in collaboration with American Family Insurance, celebrates individuals and organizations who protect, restore, and champion their communities in the face of adversity.
• Seoul Peace Prize: One of the world’s most distinguished honors for humanitarian achievement, awarded in recognition of Direct Relief’s role in advancing global health and supporting communities affected by disasters and conflict.
• Platinum Transparency Seal from Candid: Signaling the highest level of openness about finances, programs, and results, and enabling donors to see clearly how resources are used.
• A+ Rating from CharityWatch: Along with inclusion on its list of top charities, reflecting exceptional program efficiency, low overhead, and disciplined use of donor funds.

The post Forbes 2025 Top Charities: Direct Relief Ranks #5 with 100% Efficiency Rating appeared first on Direct Relief.

Medications and supplies shipped this week included rare disease treatments, personal protective equipment, nutritional products, antibiotics, and more.

Supporting Marburg Virus Response in Ethiopia

An outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease, a highly dangerous hemorrhagic fever in the same family of viruses as Ebola, has killed at least eight people in southern Ethiopia – the country’s first outbreak.

Thirteen cases have been identified thus far, including the eight deaths.

Because MVD has no approved treatment or vaccine, doctors focus on early supportive care, including rehydration and management of symptoms, to improve the chances of survival. Preventing contamination, screening patients, and preserving lab specimens for viral DNA testing are also vital to controlling the spread of infectious diseases like MVD, and the World Health Organization has a team working with the health system in the country.

Direct Relief is preparing a shipment of over three tons of medical aid for Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health. Officials have requested personal protective equipment, essential medicines, and other medical supplies. The organization continues to monitor the outbreak, in contact with the Ministry of Health and the Oromia Physicians Association.

Four medical ultra-deep freezers provided by Direct Relief, stationed at hospitals in the Ethiopian cities of Jinka and Hawassa, are playing a vital role in helping officials trace the deadly disease. Because MVD has no vaccine and is highly contagious, careful screening – testing all potentially affected patients – contact tracing, and other containment measures are especially vital.

The freezers, five in total, arrived in the country about five weeks ago.

“The timing was perfect,” said Joseph Zeleke, who owns a medical equipment company in California and coordinates many charitable medical donations to his native Ethiopia, working closely with the country’s health system.

“There’s a huge need for medical equipment” at Ethiopian health facilities, he explained.

Zeleke previously played an active role in coordinating humanitarian aid to the Tigray Region during the Northern Ethiopia Conflict, which killed hundreds of thousands of civilians as well as soldiers between 2020 and 2022. At the time, violence and instability made it extremely difficult to transport medicine and supplies to the most affected areas.

“Now our focus is on the Marburg virus,” he said.

Currently, hospitals are testing more than 100 patients a day, Zeleke explained – a significant responsibility that requires providers to keep samples stable for PCR testing and carefully maintain any positive specimens for genetic testing.

“It basically helps preserve the viral material so the labs can run accurate diagnostics throughout the outbreak,” explained Dr. Jeffrey Samuel, a Doctor of Pharmacy and Direct Relief’s Africa regional director.

Operational Snapshot

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 700 shipments containing 2.6 million doses of medication this past week to organizations, including the following:

Around the World

Globally, Direct Relief shipped over 3.5 million defined daily doses of medication, totaling 46,865 lbs., to countries including the following:

YEAR-TO-DATE

Since January 1, 2025, Direct Relief has delivered 28.3K shipments to 2,706 partner organizations in 54 U.S. states and territories and 90 countries. These shipments contained 301 million defined daily doses of medication, valued at $1.9 billion wholesale, totaling 4 million lbs.

IN THE NEWS

Direct Relief Named TIME’s Dreamer of the Year – TIME

Direct Relief Earns Top Charity Rating for 2025 – KEYT

Direct Relief Recognized for Contribution to Save Our Boys and Girls Foundation – The Jamaica Observer

Why Improving Power Resilience in Healthcare is a Matter of Life and Death – Enlit

The post Medical Aid Departs for 19 Countries, Support Prepped for Marburg Virus Response, and More appeared first on Direct Relief.

“Direct Relief’s response to the Los Angeles wildfires and its ongoing commitment to community recovery embody what it means to serve with purpose,” said TIME CEO Jessica Sibley. “We are honored to recognize them as the 2025 TIME Dreamer of the Year and to partner with American Family Insurance in celebrating organizations that strengthen resilience for the future.”

Immediately following the fires that swept through Los Angeles beginning January 7, 2025, Direct Relief moved to support the health systems and response agencies most strained by the disaster. In total, Direct Relief has provided $17.7 million in medical and financial support across Los Angeles County since January 7, 2025, reflecting its commitment to both immediate response and long-term community recovery.

This support included critically needed medicines and emergency supplies for healthcare partners serving evacuees, medical resources for first responders operating at regional command centers, and community pick-up points for N95 masks and personal essentials during prolonged smoke conditions. Direct Relief also issued emergency operating funds to first responder agencies addressing urgent needs in the earliest days of the crisis, and continued funding in the months that followed to support rental assistance, trauma-informed mental health services, and operations at community healthcare organizations managing increased demand and infrastructure strain.

“Direct Relief is honored to receive this recognition for our role in supporting communities across Los Angeles before, during, and after the devastating fires last January,” said Amy Weaver, CEO of Direct Relief. “At every stage, our work has been strengthened by the first responders who moved people to safety with only moments to spare, the healthcare providers who cared for everything from acute injuries to chronic conditions, and the many community partners whose commitment has powered this effort. Above all, it reflects the resilience of the people of Los Angeles, who continue to recover and rebuild with steadiness and resolve. Direct Relief is honored to stand with them, ensuring that the needs of the community continue to guide our work for as long as needed.”

Following the initial response phase, Direct Relief expanded its support to long-term stabilization efforts, including behavioral health programming, school-based recovery resources, and continued support for clinics addressing chronic conditions intensified by smoke and displacement. Funding prioritized organizations serving children, older adults, frontline workers, and medically vulnerable residents throughout extended recovery timelines.

In addition to its work in Los Angeles, Direct Relief operates the world’s largest private humanitarian medical aid program, delivering donated medicines, medical supplies, and emergency resources to health facilities in all 50 U.S. states and more than 90 countries. Over the past year, the organization has provided more than $2 billion in medical aid globally, supporting responses to wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, respiratory emergencies, and conflict-related displacement.

Direct Relief has received 100 percent ratings from Charity Navigator for transparency and financial efficiency for 15 consecutive years.

American Family Insurance and TIME’s award-winning branded content division, TIME Studios, created a digital highlight spotlighting Direct Relief and its work here.

The post Direct Relief Named TIME 2025 Dreamer of the Year appeared first on Direct Relief.

Mobile health services had to be established throughout the country to treat urgent cases without access to this physical infrastructure in many cases. Assessments were launched relatively quickly to determine the scale of impact and to determine a plan for repairs, but many lower-level facilities, such as pharmacies and dialysis centers, were forced into substantial waits before their places in the priority queue. Delays throughout this process limited the specific understanding of the need for replacement capacity in the health system.

One potential answer to this problem came from above the planet.

Satellite images paired with artificial intelligence models supported humanitarian health assessments in significant new ways. According to findings from a new paper by researchers from Direct Relief and Stanford University published in PLOS Digital Health, these new approaches hold significant promise for rapid and remotely sensed understanding of the impact of disasters on health systems, but many questions still need to be answered in order to make them accurate and fully trusted by response agencies.

Two of the most prominent models in use during the 2023 earthquake response came from Microsoft AI for Good and from Google. Researchers compared how these different AI models determined what buildings were affected, the extent to which rooftop damage could determine the overall damage to the structure, and the quantification of damage using different methods.

While the models agreed in several areas, they also disagreed in significant ways. Particularly when overlaid with the locations of hospitals and health facilities outside the most heavily damaged zones, the models often produced varying estimations of the degree to which facilities may have suffered structural impacts from the earthquakes. Errors in the locations of facilities themselves added an additional layer of complexity.

Andrew Schroeder, Vice President of Research and Analysis at Direct Relief and one of the authors of the paper, said the models differ in how damage is defined. However, the model’s potential is promising, he said, as it could identify population access to emergency medical supplies like pharmacies and doctor offices.

“It’s very impressive in terms of speed and scale. The ability to run a full assessment of impacts on a health system in the wake of a disaster like this might be one of the most important breakthroughs needed in humanitarian health response.”

Schroeder stressed, however, that more work is needed to make these models into core elements of humanitarian analytics. “In the future,” he said, “if we’re able to control for a number of the sources of error and conflicting interpretation that we identified in this research, for instance by creating a common or interoperable calculation for damage extent, we could aim to have a full-scale assessments of the change in the healthcare capacity of an affected area potentially within 42 to 78 hours after an event, without having to put assessors on the ground.” He stressed that error correction is key to building trust in models, without which decision-making in crisis situations cannot use these types of novel approaches.

Speed after disasters saves lives. With some of the improvements outlined in this new research, AI-based health systems damage assessments might dramatically enhance the ability of Direct Relief and many others to minimize the costs to people of the damage to our built environment.

The post After Disaster, AI Models Support Rapid Understanding of Health Facility Damage appeared first on Direct Relief.

Community Health Centers across the country are working to reach patients with critical screening services, an effort that extends far beyond their facility walls as they cover long distances to ensure the residents of their states have access to essential health services—no matter where they live.

Reaching patients where they are also requires nimble use of limited resources and cultivation of creative partnerships. Nevada’s mobile mammography unit (the “Mammovan”) demonstrates how health centers will continue to cross barriers to care to serve new patients—and save lives.

Mobile Mammography Services Reach Throughout Rural Nevada

Brenda Robinson in Nevada had lived with a lump in her breast for two years before she finally got access to care.

A previous doctor had dismissed her concerns about a lump in her breast, telling her it was probably an infection. She was unsure how to proceed—until she saw a promotion for Nevada Health Centers’ Mammovan on her TV screen.

“It was right there on my side of town,” Robinson recalled in a video released by Nevada Health Centers. “I didn’t have any excuses anymore. And they didn’t even require insurance, although I had it.”

She climbed aboard one Saturday. By Tuesday, Rhonda Johnson, the Mammovan program manager, had called her back with her results and connected her to follow-up care. Her diagnosis was stage two breast cancer that had already spread to her lymph nodes. Brenda began chemotherapy treatment immediately.

Remembering the compassionate way Johnson “never stopped calling to check on” her, Robinson said, “That kind of community—it’s been a blessing.”

Nevada Health Centers launched the Mammovan 25 years ago as an innovative way to solve the challenge of how to deliver breast cancer screenings across a vast, sparsely populated state where women often live hours from the nearest medical facility.

The Mammovan travels across the state from Las Vegas to Reno, a seven-hour trip, and on to Elko, another four hours, crisscrossing deserts and mountains to reach women in rural communities, Native American populations, and those experiencing homelessness who might otherwise never get screened.

“We want every woman 40 and older to have access to breast cancer screening, no matter her income, insurance status, or zip code,” said Lisa Dettling, Nevada Health Centers’ Executive Vice President of Ancillary Services, who has directed mobile operations for more than a decade.

Meeting People Where They Are

The impact of the initiative means nearly 3,000 women screened annually who likely wouldn’t be otherwise. For Brenda, her caseworker, Sharlo stayed in touch for years, transforming what began as small talk about astrology into steady support through cancer treatment and recovery. Donor support has been critical, says Dettling, allowing Nevada Health Centers to staff the Mammovan full-time and accept all patients regardless of insurance—something not all mobile mammography programs can do.

Leveraging widespread community backing for breast cancer screenings, Nevada Health Centers’ Mammovan has worked to cultivate multiple funding sources to ensure the program’s long-term survival, including state support, philanthropic contributions, partnerships with charities, and the fundraising campaign connected to Nevada’s pink ribbon license plates, which generates a donation of $25 per license plate purchase and $21 per renewal and raises roughly $100,000 yearly.

Beyond mammograms, the Mammovan team provides patient education and navigation services, helping women connect to follow-up care when needed. Two full-time caseworkers follow up with patients needing additional tests, navigating the financial concerns that often loom larger than the diagnosis itself. This integration of screening, education, and care coordination reflects health centers’ commitment to meeting people where they are—both literally and in their health journeys.

“You get this result, and the first thought isn’t ‘I have cancer,’ it is ‘how am I going to pay for this,’” said Rhonda, who manages the Mammovan. “We don’t want them to put off additional testing and run in fear.”

The team has also partnered strategically with sports organizations, churches, beauty salons, and other community organizations to increase screen rates among Black women, whose breast cancer mortality rates are disproportionately high. Those partnerships have helped boost screening rates among Black women from 6 to 11 percent.

“When we meet women where they already are—places they trust—that’s when the real change happens,” Dettling said.

Early detection can drastically improve outcomes, and the Mammovan’s 25-year legacy stands as proof that innovative partnerships save lives when care goes mobile.

Over the years, Nevada Health Centers has built on its success in delivering mobile care with the addition of four mobile units, each with their own mission and service area, that help to fill urgent needs for health services such as pediatric dental care and medical care for homeless and trafficked youth.

The post The Mammovan That Saves Lives: How Nevada Health Centers Bring Care to Every Corner of the State appeared first on Direct Relief.

The experience stayed with her throughout her path to becoming a physician, as did the knowledge of what a community needs after a storm. Those memories returned when she landed in Jamaica in late November, stepping into another island’s recovery after Hurricane Melissa.

Johnrose-Brown is a family physician in Florida and the co-founder of Medical Professionals on a Mission, a nonprofit that focuses on post-disaster health care in the Caribbean. She watched Hurricane Melissa approach for days. Early projections suggested the storm might strike Kingston, Jamaica’s largest city and capital. As the track shifted west, her team entered what she called “limbo” while waiting to see how the storm would develop and where it would hit.

Once landfall occurred, she and her team moved quickly, sourcing supplies, planning logistics – and asking for time off work. Each of MPOM’s volunteer healthcare providers has a full-time job, which also factors into the group’s responses.

“We need everything to fall in place for us to launch a medical mission,” Johnrose-Brown said.

MPOM aims to deploy within seven to 10 days after a hurricane. As Johnrose-Brown explained, after about 10 days, primary care needs rise sharply. Patients often cannot refill medications, chronic conditions can become uncontrolled, and wounds can become infected. Further hampering access to care, local clinics may be damaged. \

MPOM is also able to provide health care after that timeframe should local conditions require it, which is typically the case following major hurricanes and natural disasters.

“The role of medical professionals in response to disasters extends well beyond the first one to two weeks,” she said.

Medical Professionals on a Mission formed after Hurricane Maria in 2017, when doctors from across the Caribbean organized a self-funded, volunteer mission to Dominica. Johnrose-Brown was motivated both by a desire to serve, which is what led her to become a doctor, and to give back to the Caribbean.

“I felt, being a doctor, I could provide a much-needed service, not just temporarily, but long term, and that I could provide this service, as a private doctor and as a volunteer. At any point in time, I’m able to change a life,” she said.

With this outlook, after Hurricane Maria, and then Dorian and Melissa, Johnrose-Brown was moved to action.

“I felt I had to do something and go; I have to get involved,” she said, recalling her thinking following the storms. “I’m big about giving back to the Caribbean because I’m from Dominica, went to medical school in Jamaica, and did my internship in Nassau.”

The Jamaica mission took place from Nov. 20 to Nov. 24, 2025, and the team included six medical professionals and two support staff. In the rural community of Lambs River, about two hours from Montego Bay, the storm severely damaged the local clinic.

The group erected tents on the grounds and treated patients there. Johnrose-Brown said she treated wounds and helped stabilize patients whose chronic conditions became worse post-storm, among other ailments.

A case that stuck with her was a man who had an untreated wound, which had become severely infected. Though unable to treat it in the field due to limited supplies and infrastructure, Johnrose-Brown was able to refer him to a hospital so he could receive comprehensive care.

In Savannah-la-Mar, the regional hospital remained operational despite damage to some areas. Her team delivered medical supplies and medications and visited the pediatric ward.

“I was happy and surprised to see the hospital was still functioning, including the pediatric ward,” she said.

Johnrose-Brown said the surrounding town was “bustling” as residents carried on daily routines, yet shuttered storefronts and limited employment highlighted concerns about rebuilding.

Across western Jamaica, the storm left a clear physical pattern. Homes built from wood were “completely damaged,” Johnrose-Brown said. Zinc roofs were widely torn off. Structures built from concrete and those with concrete roofs held up far better. She hopes future rebuilding efforts consider this difference.

Despite the challenges, she described a strong sense of hope. Local residents shared food, generators, Wi-Fi access, and charging stations. They supported one another and welcomed the mobile clinic. “Hope is the main message I get from being there,” she said.

Her team is now working with health officials in western Jamaica to assess continued needs and to build a medical partnership that extends beyond the first phase of recovery.

MPOM’s work in Dominica offers a model for the type of support they hope to provide, including post-disaster care, clinical training, refurbishment of health centers, and the creation of a simulation lab for the nursing schools.

“We don’t just fly in to deliver supplies and then fly out. We want long-term projects,” she said.

Direct Relief provided Medical Professionals on a Mission with $275,000 in financial support to establish a Caribbean response team for disasters, including Hurricane Melissa.

The post Hurricane Response Is Personal for Medical Group Providing Care in Jamaica appeared first on Direct Relief.

Medications and supplies shipped this week included diabetes medications, antibiotics, medical devices, cold-chain equipment, and more.

Mobile Medical Teams Reach Frontline Communities in Ukraine

Medical teams in Ukraine from the organization, FRIDA, conducted four multidisciplinary missions over the past month, reaching some of the country’s hardest-hit and underserved communities.

The mobile health missions operated in areas as close as five miles from conflict areas, where shelling remains frequent and access to basic services like gas and water remains limited. In each village, residents lined up with their families — many traveling from neighboring communities — to receive care that has been unavailable for months or longer. 

Across the missions, clinicians provided mobile gynecology, dentistry, and a wide range of diagnostic services, delivering more than 3,484 medical interventions, including ultrasounds and other critical screening tests for health conditions. Several patients were identified for urgent follow-up care.  

Direct Relief provided critical medications and supplies to support the medical outreach, including antibiotics, chronic disease management medications, and more.

Medical Aid Continues for Flooded Areas of Mexico

Severe flooding and landslides triggered by Hurricane Priscilla devastated parts of Puebla and Hidalgo earlier this year, isolating mountain communities and disrupting access to essential care. Washed-out roads, damaged infrastructure, and continued rainfall have slowed recovery, leaving responders working with limited resources in hard-to-reach areas. 

In support of these efforts, Direct Relief, in collaboration with the nonprofit, Medical Impact, has deployed field medic packs to first responders and volunteer medical teams operating in the hardest-hit communities, including Huauchinango in the Sierra Norte of Puebla and villages across the Otomí-Tepehua region of Hidalgo.

The packs contain trauma supplies, essential medicines, and diagnostic tools that enable responders to stabilize patients where clinics remain inaccessible. Additional assistance has included more than one million units of medical and hygiene supplies, diagnostic items for affected health facilities, and flexible emergency funding for local partners.  

Direct Relief continues to coordinate with local authorities and protection agencies to provide requested medical supplies and support ongoing needs.

Operational Snapshot

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 398 shipments containing 1.6 million doses of medication this past week to organizations, including the following:

Around the World

Globally, Direct Relief shipped over 2.1 million defined daily doses of medication, totaling 35,611 lbs., to countries including the following:

YEAR-TO-DATE

Since January 1, 2025, Direct Relief has delivered 27.5K shipments to 2,689 partner organizations in 54 U.S. states and territories and 88 countries. These shipments contained 295.5 million defined daily doses of medication, valued at $1.9 billion wholesale, totaling 3.9 million lbs.

IN THE NEWS

ICYMI: Nonprofit Social Strategies From WCK, Planned Parenthood and More 

Highlighting four awesome nonprofits for Giving Tuesday | Adobe Blog 

One Year of Hope – Anera 

Henry J. Austin Health Center receives Health Equity Fund grant | Trenton Downtowner | communitynews.org 

New Age | RMCH gets Tk 36cr biologic injections from US charity 

RMCH gets life-saving injections worth Tk 36 crore free | Others 

Metallica’s Charity — How the Four Members Are Giving Back 

PAHO ramps up support to Caribbean health systems one month after Hurricane Melissa – PAHO/WHO | Pan American Health Organization 

The post Frontline Medical Care Reaches Patients in Ukraine, Emergency Aid Delivered to Mexico appeared first on Direct Relief.

Just over 80 miles from Los Angeles, Victorville embodies the stark contrasts of the High Desert, often shifting between extreme heat and extreme cold. Even on the edge of the Mojave Desert in the Victor Valley, the local city hall sits at an elevation of 2,950 feet. 

Despite the seeming proximity to the state’s largest city, the geography remains remote, a reality evident on the formidable Cajon Pass. Across the arid region, resources can be spread thin, creating challenges in providing services for the most at-risk populations.

Population Growth + Workforce

Since 2000, the population of Victorville has nearly doubled due to the promise of homeownership and a vibrant community. 

But there’s another story here, too.

Alongside the rapid population growth, the city has seen a sharp rise in homelessness. As a result, the local government entered a public-nonprofit partnership that is rewriting its path forward.

A Community Looking for Innovative Solutions

When William Lamas was growing up in Victorville in the 1990s, he recalls a small-town atmosphere where you could raise a family, and everyone knew their neighbors. The fast rise in population over the past 25 years, however, has brought challenges, too, explained Lamas, who now serves as the City of Victorville’s homelessness solutions manager.

The problems aren’t just local. As the most populous state in the country, California represents nearly 30% of individuals experiencing homelessness nationwide and around 50% of the country’s unsheltered population, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (AHAR).

11.5%

Victorville population increase from 2020 to 2023

#2

City in San Bernadino County experiencing homelessness

Looking at the broader picture, more than half of Americans currently live paycheck to paycheck, making the situation in Victorville relatable. “For our city, one of the biggest barriers was the lack of resources,” said Lamas. Fortunately, innovative solutions were in sight.

Bridging the Gaps in Health Care and Housing

Co-founded by Dr. Shawn Smith and Dr. Brian Mogaka Nyamwange (also known as Dr. Bowtie), Symba is a faith-based nonprofit in Victorville that has forged a joint effort with the city to provide compassionate, community-driven care to underserved individuals.

The collaboration, which is supported by the Pfizer Foundation and Direct Relief, aims to support innovative approaches to treatment and could serve as a model for other communities.

“What makes Symba unique is we blend the housing and treatment-based approaches together to address homelessness,” Smith said, “We believe a medical, mental health, and housing model will support those in need.” 

Through a separate grant funded by other partners, including the California Department of Housing and Community Development, Victorville was also able to build the Wellness Center, which opened in December 2023, on 4.5 acres of municipal land to directly address housing insecurity. 

Operating as a low-barrier emergency shelter, the Wellness Center provides 110 non-congregate housing units accompanied by support services, recuperative care, and access to Symba’s on-site medical clinic.

The facility also tackles real-world needs, such as allowing pet owners to stay with their four-legged companions and keeping families together so that male and female parents don’t have to separate. 

The Stories Behind the Statistics

Individuals and families from all walks of life can experience homelessness. “When you have conversations with people, they think that homelessness is a very extreme outcome, when in reality it’s more common than people give it credit for,” Smith said. “We see people who have worked their whole life, who have been able to pay their bills, not making ends meet.”

Homelessness can follow a financial setback or a personal crisis, such as losing a job, a partner passing away or a costly accident. It can be temporary or chronic depending on the circumstances. 

Understanding Homelessness

Individuals with serious mental illnesses, substance use disorders, and certain developmental or physical disabilities are often at an increased risk for experiencing homelessness.

Chronic homelessness is defined as experiencing homelessness for at least a year or for four or more separate occasions over three years.

Working as an enhanced care manager and care coordinator at Symba, Yolanda Salinas encourages people to avoid being judgmental. “Everyone has a life. Everyone has a story,” she said. 

She knows firsthand the positive impact her work can have. Once a young mother struggling with substance use, she found stability with the help of a case manager. With that help, she turned her life around – eventually putting her son through private school and buying a home in Victorville, where she now works.

Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness with the Circle of Life

Chronic homelessness and chronic illnesses can often go hand in hand, making the connection between health care and housing even more crucial in Victorville.  

“Being able to stabilize in a safe space is what determines someone’s story,” said Dr. Bowtie, who grew up watching his parents host friends and relatives in need of a place to stay. 

Later at university in Loma Linda, a locale famous for being the only Blue Zone in the United States, he met Smith. They envisioned a free, charitable clinic that would bring their expertise to Victorville, a community in need about 45 miles away.

“Symba is a play on the Swahili word, simba, meaning lion,” he said. “The S stands for ‘service’ and the A stands for ‘advocacy,’ so between service and advocacy, we hope to be champions of the circle of life and create a space for individuals to continue their stories.”

By enabling individuals to rebuild their lives, the city is working to roar forward with newfound strength. 

To learn more about Symba and the Victorville Wellness Center, visit The Pfizer Foundation Story on USA Today.

Learn More

The post A High Desert City Finds Innovative Solutions to Homelessness appeared first on Direct Relief.

As we approach the end of the year and enter the season of giving, I want to take a moment to express my deep gratitude to each of you — our partners, staff, donors, volunteers, and supporters. When I stepped into the CEO role in May, I was profoundly thankful for the decades of dedication that shaped Direct Relief into the organization it is today. That sense of stewardship has only grown stronger over these past months.

This season invites reflection — not just on what we’ve accomplished, but on why we do this work. At its core, Direct Relief exists to ensure fairness — that people have access to the same chance at health and life, regardless of where they live. It’s a belief that began early in my life, shaped by parents who always made service a priority, and reinforced through years of volunteer work and nonprofit engagement. It is that same belief that guides me now.

Expanding Direct Relief’s Global Impact

This past month, Direct Relief launched its European entity in Frankfurt, Germany — a meaningful milestone as the organization expands the reach and efficiency of its pharmaceutical partnerships across Europe. The Founding Forum brought together representatives from more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies and humanitarian partners, as well as government officials and local leaders. Their presence underscored the importance of this moment and the urgency of bolstering access to medicines globally.

At the same time, Direct Relief’s engagement in Asia deepened through growing collaboration with Peace Winds Japan — a group with exceptional expertise in emergency response. Their annual disaster simulation exercise was a vivid demonstration of preparedness in action, and the groundwork now underway will strengthen search-and-rescue capacity and medical response networks across the region.

Responding with Speed and Purpose

When Hurricane Melissa struck the Caribbean, Direct Relief mobilized quickly. Planning began even before landfall, and within days Direct Relief emergency response teams were on the ground with field medic backpacks and critical supplies. On November 8, the organization chartered a Boeing 757 carrying more than 16 tons of medical supplies — over $1 million worth of requested medicines and equipment.

Leading With Purpose and Accountability

Some of you may have read the recent profile published in the Montecito Journal’s Giving List, which reflects on my journey from corporate leadership into humanitarian work. While the transition may appear dramatic on the surface, in many ways it has felt like a continuation of what has mattered most to me: community, service, and the belief that resources — whether financial, operational, or organizational — should be used in service of others.

One lesson I’ve carried forward from the corporate world is the importance of transparency and accountability. Just as SEC filings and investor disclosures drive discipline and clarity, I believe nonprofits benefit when they hold themselves to similarly high standards. That approach has guided Direct Relief for decades — and the results speak for themselves.

This year, Charity Navigator again awarded Direct Relief a 100% rating and the organization’s 15th consecutive Four-Star designation — a distinction held by just four organizations in the country. It’s a recognition not simply of financial efficiency, but of trust — the most essential currency in humanitarian work.

The Giving Moment Is Now

There is a line from the interview with The Giving List’s Steven Libowitz that bears repeating:
If people have been waiting for the moment when their giving can have the most influence — that moment is now.

Global challenges are growing faster than public funding can address them. That creates both an opportunity and a responsibility — for nonprofits ready to scale and for individuals looking to make contributions with meaningful impact.

Whether through major philanthropy or a modest donation, whether through volunteering or simply sharing this work with someone else — it matters. All of it matters.

Ending the Year with Hope and Resolve

In these closing weeks of the year, I hope this community finds time for connection, reflection, and generosity of spirit. I believe the real measure of our work — and our lives — is not simply what we do, but whether we did all we could with what we were given.

I’m honored to be on this journey with you, and deeply grateful for all that you make possible.

Warmly,
Amy

The post A Season of Gratitude, Responsibility, and Shared Purpose appeared first on Direct Relief.

The disease, which develops from continuous human papillomavirus infections, is preventable through the HPV vaccine. However, access to the vaccine is limited or not available in some countries. Ongoing barriers like misinformation, limited geographic and economic mobility, and cultural beliefs have made it difficult to inform women and girls of health risks. Across many low- and middle-income countries, where access to care is expensive and constrained, health advocates and providers are creating pathways to health literacy and cancer prevention for hard-to-reach populations.

 If successful, they could decrease rates of human papillomavirus, breast cancer, and cervical cancer.

But first, health providers have to work to overcome misinformation and educate caregivers, said Lawreen Sakini, social enterprise lead at Reproductive Health Network Kenya, or RHNK.

The organization provides comprehensive reproductive and sexual health information to communities across Kenya. In partnerships with 43 counties, RHNK has had community-focused initiatives across Kenya for the last 15 years. In 2023, they joined the Africa Action Network to dispel misinformation on HPV, provide the vaccine, and ultimately decrease rates of cervical cancer.

In some Kenyan communities, it’s culturally inappropriate for young people to be sexually active and for anyone to discuss young people doing so, which can complicate conversations around receiving the vaccine.

According to Sakini, parents are often misinformed about the risk of cancer, but are willing to engage in conversation to ask questions.

“The first thing is to inform them on ‘what is HPV?’,” said Sakini. “’What does HPV mean and what can HPV lead to?’”

RHNK trains young people to become community health promoters to meet residents where they are and talk about the issue. Dozens of these young people have helped bridge the gap in health literacy among their Nairobi and Kakamega residents. They meet with young people one-on-one, in small group settings, and with their parents.

They’ve created an awareness of the issue and are de-stigmatizing HPV to encourage consent for the vaccine and ultimately prevent cervical cancer later in life.

“There was a lot of stigma around getting HPV information, let alone the vaccine,” she said. “People would look at (the kids) like, ‘you’re so young, why are you having sex?’”

In Bangladesh, health providers face similar challenges and a need to raise health literacy around the issue of cervical cancer.

“[Bangladesh is] also a very conservative society,” said Dr. Iftikhar Mahmood of HOPE Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh. “Even though they have the problem, they don’t talk to their relatives or partners, and they don’t come to the doctors.”

HOPE operates a field hospital within the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar. While not the only medical site within the largest refugee camp in the world, they offer targeted women’s health needs from mammograms, pap smears, colposcopy, and diagnosis of obstetric fistula, which refugees wouldn’t be able to access elsewhere.  

Bangladesh recently began to offer the HPV vaccine to girls aged 10 to 14 through a trial program, but it’s not available to refugees. The stigma around HPV has also prevented refugees from going to the hospital for screenings. The language barriers, mobility restrictions, and limited trained personnel who can access and work within the field hospital, have made it increasingly difficult to effect positive change.

Dr. Mahmood said that since their patients don’t have access to the vaccine, HOPE midwives and gynecologists try to encourage regular health screenings for preventative care. The health providers also meet with community leaders to share information and to grow a trusting relationship with the refugee community.  

From 2021 to 2025, HOPE medical staff conducted 965 screenings, a low number given the national metric sits at over 5 million. However, in 2025, HOPE staff conducted 515 screenings, and staff credit the uptick in screenings to expanded provider trainings, community-led awareness, and targeted outreach.

“This vaccine can really save lives,” Dr. Mahmood said. “If you think about it in terms of the cost, it’s a very small cost for saving lives.”

In other countries like India, vaccines are available, but far too costly for low-income workers.

In 2019, the Self-Employed Women’s Association, or SEWA, surveyed its membership of 3.2 million people. They found consistent poor health outcomes from a lack of access to affordable, high-quality care across rural populations and those in urban areas.  

Dr. Sahil Hebbar, senior coordinator at SEWA, said that members reported advanced diseases linked to failed access to managed care.

“It’s a double-whammy of sorts because when they do fall sick, not only are there out-of-pocket expenditures, but they also lose their livelihoods when they are hospitalized,” Hebbar said.

Like RHNK and HOPE Hospital, SEWA uses a community health worker model to reach patients where they are.  For the last five years, SEWA health ambassadors have gone door-to-door to the association’s membership to discuss noncommunicable diseases, routine immunizations, breastfeeding, mental health, waterborne diseases, and iron deficiency anemia.

“We realized there was a huge gap, especially in urban slums and in rural areas where access to care was very poor,” Hebbar said.

The association began hosting health literacy events in public spaces to encourage members to get breast and cervical cancer prevention screenings, but just 25% of attendees participated. SEWA staff realized that the experience was too impersonal. Since 2023, the health ambassadors, who are well known in the community, have been conducting the screenings in private rooms. The screening participation rate has since gone up to 60%.

Now, nearly 12,000 SEWA members have received pap smears or mammograms, and almost 70 have been diagnosed with cancers in the stage one, two, or three phase.

“I think the numbers [of prevention and treatment] are promising as a start, but we have a long way to go,” Hebbar said.

Direct Relief has provided funding to each of the organizations in this article to support cervical cancer education, prevention, and screening. Reproductive Health Network Kenya, through Africa Action Network, received a grant from Direct Relief for education and outreach efforts to support vaccination of young women in rural areas. SEWA received funding from Direct Relief via BD to support cervical cancer screening and outreach efforts, and HOPE Hospital has received ongoing support from Direct Relief to support women’s health.

The post To Prevent Cervical Cancer, Health Workers Lean on Education and Trust appeared first on Direct Relief.

The new resilient power system at Winters was funded entirely through a $534,938 grant from Direct Relief, which covered design, installation, and five years of operations and maintenance. The project was developed by American Microgrid Solutions and installed by GRID Alternatives.

For the more than 4,500 patients who rely on this facility each year — many of them agricultural workers — losing power can mean losing access to medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services.

“Direct Relief’s support for this solar and battery system is truly transformative for our center and the community we serve,” said Christopher Kelsch, Executive Director of Winters Healthcare. “The system now ensures our team can continue delivering reliable medical and dental care, safeguard vaccines and essential records, and stay fully operational during power outages — all while lowering costs through clean, sustainable energy. We are deeply grateful for this investment in our community’s health and resilience.”

The custom-built hybrid system includes a 57-kilowatt solar array paired with a 220-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery and a 200-kilowatt generator. It provides clean, reliable power for the health center’s day-to-day use and will serve as an emergency backup system during commercial power outages. In the event of an emergency, the system has the capacity to serve the health center’s critical power needs for more than 17 continuous hours.

The system will also reduce Winters Healthcare’s energy costs. Because the system is expected to offset nearly half of the building’s annual electricity use, Winters Healthcare is projected to save about $40,000 a year. The microgrid’s on-site solar power will avoid about 62 metric tons of carbon emissions annually, equivalent to preserving 75 acres of forest.

“Vital healthcare providers like Winters Healthcare, which serve as true cornerstones of their communities, need reliable energy 365 days a year to power patient care,” said Sara Rossi, Managing Director of Health Resiliency at Direct Relief. “This project is a major step forward for the Power for Health Initiative’s mission to equip California’s community health centers with the energy resilience and cost savings they’ll need to face the challenges of the future.”

Winters Healthcare’s role goes beyond patient care. Recognized as a Patient-Centered Medical Home and part of Yolo County’s Emergency Response Plan, the center can serve as a triage site, shelter, or emergency care provider in times of crisis. It also offers programs like nutrition and exercise education, a community garden, and cultural events.

The new microgrid is part of Direct Relief’s Power for Health Initiative, which has provided grants that power the adoption of clean backup power solutions to 21 safety-net healthcare facilities across California, as well as dozens of sites across the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico, and thousands globally.

The post Direct Relief Announces Completion of 25th U.S. Resilient Power Project appeared first on Direct Relief.

Although the impact of each of these events was uniquely devastating to the communities that they touched, wildfires have become a ubiquitous reality in the lives of Californians. Across each of these events, key questions for emergency responders are the same: Have people evacuated? If so, where are they going? Are they safe? And which local governments have primary responsibility for those recently displaced?

The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, looks at multiple sources for the answers, including unique public–private partnerships. One of these partnerships includes information from private technology firms like Meta, which maintains a vibrant and long-standing Artificial Intelligence for Good program. This real-time, aggregate data on evacuee movement was available almost immediately during the Palisades and Eaton fires to assist emergency managers with situational awareness.

The maps provided by Direct Relief’s CrisisReady partnership with Harvard Data Science Initiative and AI for Good at Meta helped Cal OES to confirm that the majority of evacuated Californians were headed to neighborhoods just outside of Altadena, including South Pasadena and Glendale, as well as north towards Thousand Oaks and Burbank, and to areas along the southern coast as well.

As the frequency and severity of climate disasters increase, the need for this type of effective data, and increasingly, artificial intelligence, is becoming more urgent than ever. The same types of collaborative partnerships that have defined the approach in California towards the open integration of novel data insights about human mobility into emergency response also have much to tell us about a future where different forms of AI can be applied safely and effectively for community resilience. And yet, across the United States, there is skepticism about the adoption of AI without sufficient attention paid to the life-saving interventions that these novel tools can facilitate.

In a day-long workshop in December 2024 at Meta’s offices in Fremont, California, a group of county and state level emergency managers came together with Direct Relief, CrisisReady, and Meta to reflect on past events and explore the advancing edge of AI and novel data sources for effective response to disasters, and in June, a group across California state emergency management and health services met in Los Angeles to discuss how the recovery from this year’s fires could be hastened by leveraging AI.

During these workshops, California state employees discussed how multimodal speech and text translation models are opening up new possibilities for rapid community information and diverse public engagement. Similarly, participants explored how generalized image segmentation is improving the ability to use aerial and satellite images for wildfire detection and containment, as well as damage assessment. These partners also described how large language models like Llama are enabling first responders to summarize and absorb unprecedented amounts of mission-critical data and report on crisis events.

Only a few weeks after that event, the wildfires erupted across Los Angeles. Maps were quickly produced by the Direct Relief / CrisisReady team and shared with Cal OES and others to show early evidence of evacuation patterns from Altadena and Palisades into neighborhoods near the respective burn zones, as well as a number of other communities across Southern California.

While those maps in themselves were not determinative for the response, they provided fast and significant insights about the rate and direction of population flow from the most affected areas, and improved visibility into emerging needs and aid dynamics, which played out over the coming months.

Other AI-produced maps based on satellite imagery and building footprint data showed damage to infrastructure within days of the fires starting. Social connectedness maps, showing density of connections on the Facebook platform between the Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods with surrounding areas, improved predictions of the drivers and magnets of displacement.

The collaboration networks formed over years of engagement were put to the test in rapid succession throughout the events in Los Angeles, but there is still much to learn. In July 2025, a larger group of technologists, public sector agencies and healthcare leaders gathered in downtown Los Angeles at the headquarters of the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County to reflect upon the events of the past six months, the future of disaster resilience in the city, and the types of emerging data and tools that disaster managers, health providers, and humanitarians can now use to bolster their efforts.

The conclusion of those conversations was that communities and agencies need to be closely involved in technology adoption and use so that sustainable trust can be established and insights can be shared and acted upon effectively.

“In responding to disasters, it is important that our leaders have every potential tool available to make the most informed and most viable decisions. Partnerships with organizations like Direct Relief bring additional visibility to a disaster’s changing landscape, allowing those in charge to have a better picture of what is happening on the ground,” said Abby Browning, Chief, Office of Private Sector / NGO Coordination, for Cal OES.

As the United States heads into a new era of AI innovation, what is mostly clear is that models need to be open and accessible wherever possible in order to ensure public confidence. Openness at the model level also needs to be collaborative wherever possible so that governments can transparently and responsibly adopt new technologies that don’t remain behind paywalls or which may be developed through opaque, bespoke agreements. In an environment of openness, early adopters in the nonprofit sector can also play a translational role between tech companies and government without needing to serve as vendors, and instead by focusing on shared innovation agendas and social goals.

The future may be arriving fast, but the best version of it for safer and more resilient communities has been – and will continue to be – open and collaborative partnerships. And in the fight against wildfires, there’s no time to debate whether new technology is worth deploying at all – we should leverage every tool available to hasten the speed of detection and containment of these events for the protection of communities everywhere.

The post Partnerships Key to Making AI Effective in Fight Against Wildfires appeared first on Direct Relief.

For those seeking to make thoughtful and impactful charitable gifts during the holiday season, several considerations can help guide the decision-making process. These include identifying the issues that feel most significant and understanding how to evaluate nonprofit transparency, stewardship, and overall performance.

1. Consider Causes That Matter Most to You

A thoughtful approach to year-end giving often begins with identifying the issues and communities that resonate most strongly. Whether your interests include expanding access to healthcare, supporting disaster response, addressing hunger, protecting animals, or advancing another cause, clarifying these priorities can help guide meaningful and values-driven contributions.

2. Review Organizations Working in Those Areas

Once priorities are identified, taking time to understand how organizations operate in those areas can help inform better charitable decisions. Independent evaluators offer a useful starting point for assessing nonprofit accountability, financial health, and reported impact.

Resources such as Charity Navigator, CharityWatch, and GuideStar/Candid provide insight into nonprofit transparency, governance practices, use of donated resources, and program effectiveness. Reviewing information such as audited financial statements, annual reports, and program outcomes can offer a clearer picture of organizational reliability and impact.

These tools help illustrate how nonprofits manage resources and can support donors in identifying reputable organizations operating with strong accountability practices.

Stewardship, Accountability, and Transparency in Practice

Since 1948, Direct Relief has emphasized responsible stewardship of donated resources for people facing emergencies or barriers to care. This includes maintaining strong financial discipline, transparent reporting, and systems designed to support large-scale humanitarian operations.

A substantial portion of the organization’s revenue consists of in-kind donations of medicines and supplies from healthcare and pharmaceutical manufacturers, valued at wholesale cost. This model helps ensure that resources are used efficiently and according to donor intent. Direct Relief also does not accept government funding, allowing for consistency, independence, and flexibility across programs.

Independent Recognitions

Direct Relief continues to receive recognition from leading charity evaluators for its operational standards and nonprofit performance. In 2025, the organization earned a 100% overall rating from Charity Navigator and its 15th consecutive Four-Star rating. Direct Relief is also one of only four U.S. organizations to receive a perfect score across all four Charity Navigator “beacons”: Accountability & Finance, Leadership & Adaptability, Culture & Community, and Impact & Measurement.

The organization additionally holds an A+ rating from CharityWatch and a Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid/GuideStar. These recognitions reflect a commitment to responsible stewardship, transparency, and clear reporting on program outcomes.

How Donated Resources Are Managed

Direct Relief allocates 100% of donor-designated contributions to the specific programs identified by donors and maintains one of the lowest administrative cost ratios in the charitable sector. Long-standing partnerships with transportation companies, medical manufacturers, and healthcare organizations support efficient distribution and program delivery.

In its most recent fiscal year, Direct Relief distributed 308 million defined daily doses of medicine to 2,636 healthcare facilities across 91 countries and all 50 U.S. states, along with donated pharmaceuticals, supplies, and equipment valued at $1.9 billion (wholesale). These figures highlight the scale at which donated resources are managed and the systems in place to ensure they reach communities in need.

Additional Considerations for Thoughtful Year-End Giving

3. Understand Potential Tax Considerations

Some individuals may want to consult with a tax professional to determine how various types of charitable contributions—such as cash, appreciated stock, or other assets—may offer tax advantages under current law.

4. Review Impact Reporting

Clear information about program outcomes, populations served, and long-term results can help illustrate how effectively an organization uses its resources to carry out its mission.

5. Explore Employer Matching Opportunities

Many workplaces offer matching gift programs that can extend the reach of individual charitable contributions.

6. Consider Ongoing Support

Some donors choose to provide recurring support throughout the year, helping organizations maintain continuity in programs and plan for future needs.

A Season of Generosity

Thoughtful year-end giving helps ensure that support reaches organizations making a positive difference in communities near and far. The holiday season often inspires people to look outward, and the generosity shown during this time has a meaningful ripple effect—strengthening communities and offering hope where it’s needed most.

The post Thoughtful Year-End Giving: Understanding How to Make Informed and Meaningful Charitable Decisions appeared first on Direct Relief.

Medications and supplies shipped this week included diabetes treatments, rare disease therapies, oncology medications, nutritional products, and more.

Over-the-Counter Medicines Distributed at Native Health

Hundreds of families received holiday meals and essential supplies during Native Health’s annual turkey distribution events held this past weekend. Native Health, a community health center based in Phoenix, Arizona, organized the events with support from local partners.

In addition to food provided by the community, Direct Relief supplied hundreds of bottles of over-the-counter medications — including pain relievers, cold and flu treatments, and daily wellness supplements — that were distributed to families alongside the holiday groceries. Direct Relief staff were also present during the event, supporting Native Health teams and helping hand out materials throughout the day. 

Direct Relief will continue coordinating with Native Health, a long-standing partner and Urban Indian Health Program, to support upcoming outreach activities and ongoing community health needs across the Phoenix area. 

Diabetes Care Materials Prepared for Sudan Amid Ongoing Crisis

Direct Relief prepared a new shipment of diabetes care materials for delivery to Sudan, where access to essential treatment continues to be severely disrupted by the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The shipment includes 2.7 million insulin syringes and needles, which have been packed at Direct Relief’s headquarters in California. 

The shipment will support a mobile humanitarian response campaign organized by the Sudanese Diabetes Federation and partners. The campaign aims to deploy medical teams to provide diabetes care and testing services across multiple states beginning in January 2026. 

This latest shipment builds on Direct Relief’s broader support for health providers across Sudan, including large-scale insulin deliveries, cold-chain reinforcement with solar medical-grade refrigerators, and emergency medical supplies for patients with chronic and life-threatening conditions during the conflict. 

Direct Relief Equips University of Miami Doctors for Hurricane Melissa Response

Direct Relief is supporting ongoing Hurricane Melissa response efforts in Jamaica through its long-standing partnership with the University of Miami Global Institute at the Miller School of Medicine. Over the past two weeks, Direct Relief equipped the university’s medical team with field medic packs to aid communities impacted by the storm. 

The deployment was coordinated with the Jamaican Ministry of Health, and the medical team is currently based in Montego Bay, utilizing the backpacks to support clinical care across several sites. The packs have been used during home visits in Hanover Parish and at Savanna-la-Mar Hospital and Noel Holmes Hospital, where University of Miami clinicians continue to assist local providers as recovery needs evolve. 

Direct Relief has a longstanding relationship with the university, which most notably collaborated with the organization during the 2019 Hurricane Dorian response in the Bahamas.  

Direct Relief remains in close communication with partners on the ground and will continue supporting response efforts.

Operational Snapshot

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 462 shipments containing 860,979 doses of medication this past week to organizations, including the following:

Around the World

Globally, Direct Relief shipped over 2.2 million defined daily doses of medication, totaling 69,176 lbs., to countries including the following:

YEAR-TO-DATE

Since January 1, 2025, Direct Relief has delivered 27.1K shipments to 2,678 partner organizations in 54 U.S. states and territories and 88 countries. These shipments contained 291.8 million defined daily doses of medication, valued at $1.9 billion wholesale, totaling 3.8 million lbs.

IN THE NEWS

‘FOX NFL Sunday’ crew honors personal causes through My Cause My Cleats campaign | Fox News Video 

Giving Starts at Home: Direct Relief on Its Mission and Global Reach | Good for Santa Barbara | Noozhawk 

30 charities to support on GoFundMe in 2025 

Inside the Vaseline Healing Project: How Vaseline Is Expanding Skin Health Access in LA 

Pentatonix Announces ‘Christmas in the City’ Tour Dates, Promising Boldest Holiday Show Yet – That Eric Alper 

Terry Bradshaw throws support behind initiative in passionate speech – Football – Sports – Daily Express US 

Breast Care International and partners deliver essential medicines as lifeline to patients across Ghana – MyJoyOnline 

The post Diabetes Therapies Depart for Sudan, Medications Distributed in Arizona, and More appeared first on Direct Relief.

The installation of hundreds of Tesla Powerwall 2.0 units – large 13.5 kWh lithium-ion battery systems that provide vital extra hours of electricity when the main grid fails – provided by Direct Relief and other actors through the Ministry of Digital Transformation in Kyiv, helped to achieve this resilience, along with the training of local technicians to maintain them.

As the mercury already drops below freezing at night, the project’s effects are evident across the country, especially in the second-largest city of Kharkiv and the surrounding region, which, due to its shared border with Russia, experiences almost daily explosions with little or no warning.

Positive Impact Resonates Ahead of the Freeze

“Before installing the Tesla Powerwall system, we repeatedly faced sudden power outages, which posed a threat to patients on life support or undergoing surgery,” said Ruslan Vrahov, director of the Kharkiv Regional Clinical Hospital, the territory’s key medical facility. Diesel generators could not always provide a stable power supply as they take time to start up and are fuel-thirsty.

“The Tesla Powerwall system was a real solution to the hospital’s energy instability problem. Today, it provides uninterrupted power to the maternity ward, operating theaters, adult, pediatric, and cardiology intensive care units, and the emergency department,” said Vrahov. “Thanks to the autonomous power supply, more than 1,500 patients receive medical care every month without the risk of interrupting procedures or treatment.”

Lives have been saved as a result, stressed the head of the hospital, which has more than 40 departments, many of which operate 24/7.

Here and in 22 other regions, more than 1,100 units help safeguard medical capacities in what, to outside observers, seem like impossible conditions of human endurance. The health service has been heavily impacted by the war: Since the full-scale invasion in February 2022, more than 2,300 medical facilities were damaged, including 305 fully destroyed, according to the Ministry of Health.

In addition to supporting healthcare, the project ensures the function of other critical and social infrastructure facilities, including educational institutions (schools, kindergartens, boarding schools), units of the State Emergency Service, and local administrative services, without which communities will quickly break down in the event of prolonged outages.

Together with the ministry and a Kharkiv-based core partner, the Yevhen Pyvovarov Charitable Foundation, or CFYP, Direct Relief donated over the past two years more than 2,000 units during a dark chapter of Ukraine’s modern history.

Overall, this cooperation has “allowed our people to continue to live despite all attempts to break their will,” said former Deputy Minister for Digital Transformation Yegor Dubinsky, who for two years worked closely with Direct Relief on the project.

Building on a Joint Pilot Initiative

The story began in summer 2023, when the Polish government and several international partners arranged a donation of 508 Tesla Powerwalls for Ukraine. Direct Relief played a central logistics role – funding transportation and helping deliver the units into the country – and partnered with CFYP in the installation at clinics and municipal sites in frontline regions.

Those initial units were an early, highly visible tranche that demonstrated the potential of battery backups to blunt outages and protect clinical services. Direct Relief reinforced this with a donation of 2,032 more units that are now almost all in service.

“Currently, the power supply situation is satisfactory, with diesel generators operating during outages, but we expect winter to be quite critical due to systematic shelling of generating capacities. Therefore, we will actively use our Tesla Powerwalls,” said Oleg Polozhenko, the deputy head of digital transformation and development at Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt National Specialized Children’s Hospital. Badly damaged by a Russian missile in 2023, this center of pediatric excellence received 10 batteries that sustain several departments, including its Medical Genetics Laboratory and the Blood Service Center.

In a further possible measure to bolster Ukraine’s energy capacities, Direct Relief is analyzing the potential for supplying solar panels to power the batteries during the hot summers. For now, though, recipients expressed confidence that they are well prepared for the looming cold months.

The post As Ukraine’s Energy Grid Struggles, a Life-Saving Reserve Kicks In appeared first on Direct Relief.

In 2023, the Salvadoran Foundation for Health and Human Development, in partnership with its sister organization, FUSAL, launched a nationwide push to strengthen the medical oxygen supply for emergency services. The organization found that many patients dependent on oxygen therapy could not be transported to their homes or other facilities due to a lack of oxygen cylinders and other equipment in emergency vehicles.

“Many ambulances in El Salvador were operating without oxygen,” said Dr. Katty Tobar de Rivas, Chief of Humanitarian Aid at FUSAL. “Some patients had to spend more time admitted in hospitals, dependent on oxygen, because there wasn’t a cylinder available to take them home.”

To help fill the gap, Direct Relief provided FUSAL with a $25,000 grant for the organization to purchase and deploy 220 refillable oxygen cylinders and tanks, 50 pressure regulators, nearly 2,000 adult masks, and 23 portable oxygen systems to the public sector and to vulnerable patients. The tanks and related respiratory therapy equipment went to 19 ambulances in the national emergency network and three emergency operations centers managed by the Salvadoran Red Cross.

“It made an immediate difference,” said Loli Sangiovanni, Director of Donor Relations at the FUSAL’s sister foundation, the Salvadoran American Humanitarian Foundation, or SAHF. “Something as simple as a tank of oxygen has had a lifesaving impact.”

Some portable systems are being loaned to patients on long-term oxygen therapy for use at home. This critical intervention is essential for those with chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, lung cancer, and other respiratory illnesses.

“In 2022, we only had three oxygen concentrators, but thanks to the donation, we are now able to support more patients,” said Audy Echeverria, Coordinator and Therapist for the Salvadoran Red Cross’s Home Continuous Oxygen Program.

Among the many patients benefiting from the equipment is Graciela Pérez de Sirbrián, who has relied on oxygen for 12 years. “Whenever I go out, I have to use a cylinder to attend a medical appointment,” said Graciela. Thanks to support from FUSAL, SAHF, Direct Relief, and the Salvadoran Red Cross, she now has a portable oxygen concentrator and other necessary equipment at her home in San Juan Tepezontes.

Without projects like this, many low-income Salvadorans have no access to oxygen outside hospitals. According to a federal census in 2020, only one in four people in El Salvador were covered under some kind of health insurance. “In this country, the system sometimes provides equipment, but it’s insufficient,” Dr. Tobar de Rivas said. “People without insurance look for institutions like the Red Cross or the National Emergency System to receive the service for free, because they don’t have the purchasing power to pay for it.”

The new supplies have allowed those institutions to reach more patients and ease pressure on public hospitals. “Now they can continue their treatment at home,” Tobar de Rivas said.

According to Sangiovanni, the donation also strengthened the country’s emergency health services at large. “Thanks to this support, the response capacity for frontline organizations in El Salvador was very much improved,” she said. “It was something the country needed, and it continues to make an impact.”

FUSAL, SAHF, and Direct Relief have a long history of responding to disasters in El Salvador, dating as far back as the deadly mudslides and flooding in the country in 2011 and as recent as a similar disaster event last year. The organizations also recently collaborated on a project to strengthen El Salvador’s vaccine cold chain system.

Since 2024, Direct Relief has provided 12 shipments of urgently needed medicines and medical supplies to FUSAL totaling more than $17 million in value.

The post From Ambulances to Homes, Oxygen Brings Relief to Salvadoran Patients appeared first on Direct Relief.

“The Yazidis have been forgotten by the world,” said Gier Fjeld, head of international operations at the Medical Initiative Norway, speaking from his office in Iraqi Kurdistan in late 2024.

Public support programs for displaced Yazidis, refugees, and other vulnerable people in the region were canceled or discontinued beginning in 2023. People living in camps for safety have been told to return to their homes in hostile areas, where their safety will be at severe risk. Yazidi women, many of them victims of sexual violence, were widowed by the genocide, and now struggle to pay for food, water, and medicine for their families. Fjeld said many have been forced into prostitution to feed their children.

“When you remove all the services — food, water, safety, and medical care — you force the Yazidis out of the camps. They’ll create temporary settlements in abandoned buildings, without any access to safety,” he explained.

The loss of public funding has caused suspended services, closed camps, and severely limited the regional healthcare system, which is responsible for more than a million refugees and internally displaced people. The Duhok Directorate of Health, a public health authority in Iraqi Kurdistan, cares for people, including Yazidis, in camps and other temporary settlements. While medical providers are available to care for patients, even going without pay for long periods in some cases, medicine shortages are a serious issue for people with cancer and other chronic diseases.

“Getting diagnosed is not a problem. The problem is the treatment. Most people are referred to private treatment,” which they can’t afford, explained an aid worker stationed in Iraqi Kurdistan, who asked to speak anonymously to preserve their safety while working in the field, during a 2024 Direct Relief interview. They have been working in the region since 2014.

“If you have a chronic disease, and you are without medication, there’s no stability. You might receive some…medication this month, but you might not for the next two months,” Fjeld said.

Partnering closely with the Duhok DOH, Direct Relief has mobilized over $144 million in cancer drugs alone to Iraqi Kurdistan since 2020. The organization has also provided partners in the region with emergency preparedness and response items, such as field medic packs, insulin and other medications for non-communicable diseases, and other requested items – totaling more than $156 million and 1,300 tons since 2016.

“Direct Relief is the largest contributor of aid to the Directorate of Health in Duhok, securing life-saving medications for thousands of patients throughout the Kurdish region of Iraq,” wrote Dr. Lazgin Jamil, a pediatric oncologist with the DOH, in an email. “As the DOH continues to suffer from lack of medication…in addition to lack of funds to purchase medicines and medical consumables, we are grateful beyond words for the incredible support from Direct Relief.”

Fjeld explained that a patient with symptoms of cancer might be referred to a public health facility for diagnosis: “They’ll have a bed, doctors, and nurses,” but without outside support, there would be “no cancer medications.”

“Because of Direct Relief’s support the cancer medicine is there and freely available,” he said. The partnership is “saving thousands of children suffering from cancer.”

Iraqi Kurdistan is largely out of the media spotlight right now, said the on-the-ground aid worker, which means that it’s often overlooked as a potential location for donor support. However, they emphasized, the dedicated public health providers, strong logistical network, and close partnerships make it an especially effective place to establish and deliver a system of longer-term medical support.

Direct Relief’s shipments of oncology supplies and other medications have also freed up room in healthcare budgets, allowing organizations working in the region to offer more services. Fjeld explained that providing medications alone might be half the monthly cost of running a camp, but “Direct Relief is giving medicines for free.”

“It’s been a very successful program, beyond what I ever imagined,” the aid worker noted. “It’s really been amazing what we’ve been able to pull off.”

The post In Iraqi Kurdistan, Medicines Support a Displaced People appeared first on Direct Relief.

The awards, totaling $750,000, are part of a multi-year initiative now in its sixth year, funded by the Baxter Foundation – the philanthropic arm of Baxter International – and implemented by Direct Relief. The program supports community health centers and free and charitable clinics in developing programs that integrate nutrition education with chronic disease management and mental health services.

The following organizations will receive funding to support 18-month programs:

• Tampa Family Health Centers – Tampa, Florida – A federally qualified health center serving Tampa’s diverse communities, has launched a weight loss program using lifestyle medicine that integrates nutritional education, physical activity support, behavioral health counseling, and emotional wellness coaching.

• Faith Community Pharmacy – Newport, Kentucky – A charitable pharmacy serving low-income residents across the region has brought together multiple community partners to address barriers to implementing healthy habits and social determinants of health.

• Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services Center – Clarksdale, Mississippi – A community health center serving rural Mississippi Delta communities, started the Healthy Weight and Wellness Program, addressing critical health challenges, implementing innovative treatment, nutritional access, and education strategies.

• St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy – Cincinnati, Ohio – A charitable pharmacy providing medication access to uninsured and underinsured patients, created a program that offers culturally and economically responsive education tailored to each patient’s lived experience, demonstrating an important step toward advancing health equity.

• NeoMed Center – Gurabo, Puerto Rico – A community health center serving rural Puerto Rico with both fixed and mobile health services, developed the Integrated Nutrition Prescription program targeting patients with chronic conditions, food insecurity, and behavioral health conditions.

Addressing Critical Health Disparities

Community health centers and free and charitable clinics serve as the medical home for over 36 million people living in medically underserved areas across the United States. Patients at these facilities experience significantly higher rates of multiple chronic conditions compared to the general population, with 35% higher chances of having at least one chronic condition and 31% higher odds of having two or more chronic conditions.

“Nutrition is fundamental to managing chronic disease, yet many people face significant barriers in accessing healthy food and nutrition education,” said Maris Steward, program manager & regional analyst at Direct Relief. “These awards enable safety net providers to develop innovative, culturally appropriate programs that address health disparities in their communities.”

Program Impact and Innovation

The Transformative Innovation Awards support integrated healthcare models that go beyond traditional clinical care. Awardees will leverage community partnerships to expand outreach and education, creating comprehensive approaches to chronic disease management that incorporate nutrition counseling and mental health services.

“At Baxter and through the Baxter Foundation, we recognize that effective healthcare extends far beyond clinic and hospital walls and to the everyday lives of people and patients,” said Verónica Arroyave, vice president of corporate responsibility and global philanthropy at Baxter and executive director of the Baxter Foundation. “By supporting community health centers in implementing nutrition-focused programs, we’re investing in innovative, sustainable approaches to address the social determinants of health and advance resiliency in the communities we serve.”

The post Direct Relief, Baxter Foundation Announce 2025 Transformative Innovation Awards in Community Health appeared first on Direct Relief.

Medications and supplies shipped this week included diabetes treatments, women’s health therapies, oncology medications, and more.

Two Thousand Pounds of Emergency Supplies Provided to U-VOL Foundation

A shipment of more than 2,000 pounds of emergency medicines and supplies was delivered to U-VOL Foundation in Benue State, Nigeria, where health facilities continue to support communities affected by conflict and ongoing displacement. U-VOL shared photos from a recent site visit with local hospital leaders and community partners as the materials were received. 

The shipment included field medic packs, oral rehydration salts, antibiotics, antihypertensives, and other essential medicines to strengthen emergency response capacity and support clinicians, nurses, and community health workers across low-resource and crisis-affected areas. 

Direct Relief will continue coordinating with U-VOL as the organization deploys the materials to health facilities and internally displaced persons sites throughout Benue State. Additional support will be provided as new requests are received and as conditions in the region evolve. 

Medical Aid Continues for Haiti, Post-Storm

This week, medical aid continued to depart for Hurricane Melissa-impacted communities in the Caribbean.

More than 7,000 pounds of medical support, including antibiotics, diagnostic equipment, medical tents, chronic disease medications, and more departed for the nonprofit organization, Hope for Haiti.

The organization operates Infirmary St. Etienne, a health clinic in Les Cayes, which provides care for more than 13,000 people annually on Haiti’s southern peninsula. Hope for Haiti continues to support individuals displaced by flooding and ongoing infrastructure damage across the region.

Community Health Fair in San Juan Expands Access to Specialized Care

A community health fair hosted on November 12 at Corporación La Fondita de Jesús in San Juan brought specialized medical services directly to individuals experiencing homelessness and substance use, as well as to residents from nearby communities. More than 101 participants attended the event, many accessing subspecialty care for the first time. 

Direct Relief organized the health fair in collaboration with RWJ Barnabas Health subspecialists, who provided a total of 145 clinical services, including pulmonology, OB/GYN, ENT, and podiatry evaluations.  

Community health organizations Health ProMed and Hoare supported referrals and follow-up appointments, while medical students from the Ponce School of Medicine assisted as translators and clinical support. Dr. PJ Vazquez also conducted home visits for three elderly individuals unable to attend. 

Direct Relief will continue working with La Fondita de Jesús and local health partners to explore opportunities for additional community-based events, strengthen referral pathways, and expand access to essential services for populations facing significant barriers to care. 

Operational Snapshot

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 596 shipments containing 411,459 doses of medication this past week to organizations, including the following:

Around the World

Globally, Direct Relief shipped over 5.5 million defined daily doses of medication, totaling 38,179 lbs., to countries including the following:

YEAR-TO-DATE

Since January 1, 2025, Direct Relief has delivered 26.6K shipments to 2,671 partner organizations in 54 U.S. states and territories and 88 countries. These shipments contained 288.8 million defined daily doses of medication, valued at $1.9 billion wholesale, totaling 3.7 million lbs.

IN THE NEWS

Amy Weaver: Putting Purpose to Work | The Giving List 

Vaseline and Direct Relief Donate $100,000 to Support Mobile Medical Units, Expanding Skin Health Access in Los Angeles and New Orleans 

Rediscover Legends Reborn with the Masterful Remasters Bundle – Green Man Gaming Blog 

Embecta expands diabetes partnership with Direct Relief 

Vaseline & Direct Relief Donate $100,000 in Grants to Medical Mobile Unit | Happi 

embecta Expands Direct Relief Partnership, Donates 15M Units | EMBC Stock News 

Direct Relief Donates to Jason Henzell’s BREDS Foundation 

Carnival Returns to Jamaica After Hurricane Melissa | Travel Agent Central 

How is the cruise industry responding to Hurricane Melissa? 

Celebrities step up to offer aid for Jamaica’s recovery efforts after Hurricane Melissa 

Carnival Brings Cruise Ships Back to Ocho Rios, Jamaica Following Major Hurricane 

Ofrecen servicios médicos gratuitos a comunidades | Último Minuto | notiuno.com 

Direct Relief y La Fondita de Jesús llevan servicios de salud a comunidades vulnerables en Santurce – Ey Boricua 

Médicos voluntarios extienden su mano para ayudar a los participantes de la Fondita de Jesús – Primera Hora 

The post Emergency Aid Arrives in Nigeria and Haiti, Health Services Expand for Those in Puerto Rico appeared first on Direct Relief.

Youngblood, a store manager who currently works 13-hour shifts starting at 4:30 a.m., had no insurance. And she was getting worse by the day. Youngblood left a message for Wheeling Health Right, a local free clinic. “That was Tuesday,” she said. “On Wednesday, they said Wheeling Hospital is waiting for you for x-rays. No paperwork. I don’t have health insurance because I can’t afford it. Health Right said, ‘If the hospital sends you a bill, you bring it to us.’”

“Next thing I knew, I had a Z-Pak [antibiotics],” she said.

Wheeling Health Right is the only free clinic in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, serving uninsured and underinsured residents across several counties from Brooke to Tyler, an area shaped by decades of industrial decline and a significant drop in population. According to the latest census data from 2020, 124,670 people live in the Northern Panhandle, a decline of nearly 6 percent compared to 2010.

In 2024, the clinic logged about 29,000 patient visits across medical, dental, and pharmacy appointments. The clinic also partners with organizations, including the West Virginia University Eye Institute, to provide heavily discounted care.

“I can honestly tell you I get better care there than I have with any primary care physician,” Youngblood said. “I’m not saying that just to say it, I mean it. They take the time to get to know you personally, they’re so compassionate.”

She said the clinic’s responsiveness has been consistent, even during holidays. “It was a holiday, a Friday, and the clinic was closed. I got out of work late, and couldn’t make it in time to get my prescription. I left a message, and Don, the pharmacist, called me back and asked, ‘Do you need your meds today? I’ll meet you down there.’ They’re just all good people.”

She also survived a stroke five years ago, and now takes several daily medications, including one that costs about $700 a month without assistance.

Beyond acute illnesses, Youngblood depends on inhalers to manage COPD, chronic lung disease. “That inhaler is a lifesaver,” she said. “Without Health Right and that inhaler, I’d probably die.”

Clinic Key in Fragile Local System

Like Youngblood, many of Wheeling Health Right’s patients fall into coverage gaps, as they earn too much to qualify for certain safety net programs, yet are unable to afford private insurance premiums or high deductibles. Hospital closures across the area have made access even more limited, pushing more people toward the few ERs still operating.

“The need for care in our region is huge,” said Anne Ricci, executive director of Wheeling Health Right.

During a recent phone interview with Direct Relief, clinic leaders say that geography and transportation barriers routinely keep patients from attending appointments, especially when breathing problems worsen. Even for those with some insurance coverage, high deductibles, inconsistent pharmacy benefits, and Medicare Part D gaps mean essential medications are often unaffordable.

For the past year, the clinic has been able to draw on a multi-year donation of albuterol inhalers supplied by Teva Pharmaceuticals U.S. via Direct Relief, creating a reliable and consistent supply of the medications.

The inhalers have become one of the most heavily used resources in the pharmacy, said Don Rebich, a pharmacist at the clinic, and the person who Youngblood recalled came to meet her after the clinic was closed during a holiday. Since January, Wheeling Health Right has received albuterol inhalers and dispensed them to patients at no cost.

“Retail prices [for inhalers] can reach $100 or more, so many patients with chronic respiratory problems simply go without treatment,” said Rebich.

“And that shouldn’t be an option,” Ricci added, before her colleague, Linda Shelek, a nurse practitioner and clinic coordinator, chimed in, “and then they end up in the emergency room.”

Some patients have pharmacy coverage that may exclude certain medications altogether. The donated supply allows same-day dispensing and helps stabilize breathing before patients deteriorate.

The need for inhalers often intensifies during emergencies. Ricci shared that, after a recent flood, one patient with chronic lung disease lost his only rescue inhaler while clearing mold-damaged debris from his home.

He was able to get a same-day refill from the clinic’s pharmacy and return safely to cleanup work. In Triadelphia, where flooding disrupted access to medications across multiple neighborhoods, the clinic has been providing no-cost albuterol refills throughout the ongoing recovery effort.

Other patients face chronic challenges that don’t require a disaster to impede their lives. One woman living at the YWCA struggled to climb three flights of stairs with untreated asthma until she enrolled in the program and received a no-cost inhaler, allowing her to manage daily tasks and keep medical appointments.

To address increasing healthcare access challenges, Ricci said the clinic is working to expand partnerships and mobile services while continuing to apply for grants from state and local organizations. Maintaining access to donated medications, Ricci said, remains essential for their patients, including Youngblood.

“What would be my workaround without Health Right?” Youngblood said. “I honestly don’t know.”

The post For Patients in West Virginia, a Free Clinic and Donated Inhalers Mean Survival appeared first on Direct Relief.

For teens in recovery from substance misuse, walking into therapy can be a challenging experience. Many carry the weight of anxiety, depression, ADHD, or other co-occurring psychiatric conditions. And for young people who are part of marginalized groups, traditional treatment settings can feel intimidating, clinical, or simply unsafe.

But when Pauletta, a therapy dog, joined sessions during a pilot project in early 2023, something remarkable happened. Teens completed twice as many sessions when Pauletta was in the room compared to those without a canine companion in the session.

That initial success led to the Canine Assisted Therapy program, which is designed to transform how Denver Health’s therapists provide care among the approximately 800 young people served each year.

While animal-assisted therapy has shown promise in other populations—veterans with PTSD, individuals with autism—there’s been no standardized curriculum for therapists working with adolescents in community mental health settings. The goal is clear of the program at Denver Health is clear: to help teens complete the critical 90-day threshold of treatment that research shows predicts positive outcomes.

Through a partnership with Victory Service Dogs, an organization specializing in training dogs for veterans, Denver Health’s program is training three therapy dogs. Three therapists have been selected to participate, learning not just how to work alongside their canine partners, but how to integrate dog-assisted therapy into evidence-based treatment for substance misuse.

The Denver Health therapy team has already started to modify the canine therapy program with the hope that the curriculum and evaluation methods could be used to train therapists more broadly.

Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity supported the STEP program with a grant via Eli Lilly and Company.

This video was directed, produced, and edited by Oliver Riley-Smith Cinematography.

The post For Teens in Recovery, Dogs Provide Acceptance, Support in a Clinical Setting appeared first on Direct Relief.

Direct Relief is one of just four organizations nationwide included on Charity Navigator’s Best Highly Rated Charities list, which recognizes nonprofits with perfect scores across all of Charity Navigator’s rating metrics.

“These organizations are highly impactful in their given cause area, are fiscally responsible and transparent, and follow leadership and organizational culture best practices,” Charity Navigator notes. “We applaud these charities for being highly impactful and outperforming other organizations performing similar work.”

In addition, Charity Navigator named Direct Relief one of the Best Humanitarian Relief Charities for 2025, highlighting responses to  Hurricane Melissa, the Los Angeles fires, and the humanitarian crises in Sudan and Ukraine. The designation recognizes organizations Charity Navigator deems “extraordinarily effective at what they do.”

Charity Navigator also included Direct Relief on its 2025 list of Household Name Charities, a group of organizations that, as the site explains, “became household names partly because of their exceptional financial management, no easy feat considering the scope and size of their operations. Donors should feel confident that these highly rated national institutions will put their donations to good use.”

Direct Relief’s Charity Navigator Ratings

Direct Relief earned a 100% rating in each of Charity Navigator’s four “beacons”—Accountability & Finance, Leadership & Adaptability, Culture & Community, and Impact & Measurement—and received the highest possible score in every subcategory, from “program expense ratio” to “program planning & design” to “external focus on mobilizing mission.”

Michael Thatcher, President and CEO of Charity Navigator, recognized Direct Relief’s performance, stating: “We are delighted to provide Direct Relief with third-party accreditation that validates their operational excellence. The Four-Star Rating is the highest possible rating an organization can achieve. We are eager to see the good work that Direct Relief can accomplish in the years ahead.”

Humanitarian Impact in 2025

In 2025, Direct Relief made significant strides in advancing its global humanitarian mission, including:

• Delivering Lifesaving Medicines: In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, Direct Relief distributed 308 million defined daily doses of medicine to more than 2,636 healthcare facilities across 91 countries and all 50 U.S. states. In total, Direct Relief donated pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and supplies with a wholesale value of $1.9 billion and provided $69 million in grants to healthcare providers around the world.

• Hurricane Responses: Following Hurricane Melissa, Direct Relief dispatched a 757 charter plane carrying 16 tons of medicine and medical supplies to Jamaica, adding to the large quantities of medical supplies already prepositioned in the region prior to landfall, which helped ensure health providers were equipped immediately after the storm.

• Los Angeles Wildfire Response: Direct Relief’s response began within hours of the first spark, with an initial focus on lifesaving support, including deploying prescription medications to shelters, field medic backpacks to first responders, and more than 140,000 N95 respirators to protect residents and emergency personnel from smoke.

• Aid to Ukraine:  Direct Relief has surpassed more than $2 billion in medical and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since the war began in 2022, making it one of the largest private philanthropic supporters of the country’s health system.

• The Largest Charitable Medicine Program in the U.S.: To help address the lack of affordable prescription medicine in the United States, Direct Relief provides needed medications to nonprofit health centers and clinics that collectively serve about one in 11 people in the country. In its 2025 fiscal year, Direct Relief’s assistance to the U.S. exceeded $300 million.

• Supporting Healthy Mothers: Direct Relief supports health organizations worldwide that provide critically needed maternal and neonatal services throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care. In its 2025 fiscal year, Direct Relief’s support of midwives helped enable more than 45,000 safe births in 17 countries.

Stewardship and Financial Transparency

Direct Relief is committed to maximizing the impact of every donation, ensuring funds are used responsibly and effectively to support those in need:

• 100% Allocation of Donor-Designated Funds: Every contribution earmarked for specific programs or emergencies is applied exclusively to those purposes, giving donors full assurance that their intent is honored.

• Independently Funded Operations:  Direct Relief operates solely on private charitable contributions, declining government funding to maintain independence and focus on its mission.

• Leveraging In-Kind Contributions: Strategic partnerships with businesses and organizations amplify the impact of donations. Contributions of medicine and medical supplies, valued at their wholesale cost, constitute the majority of Direct Relief’s revenue, allowing cash donations to reach further and support more people.

Additional Nonprofit Recognition

In 2025, Direct Relief received additional independent recognition for humanitarian impact, transparency, and financial stewardship, including:

• Seoul Peace Prize: One of the world’s most distinguished honors for humanitarian achievement, awarded in recognition of Direct Relief’s role in advancing global health and supporting communities affected by disasters and conflict.

• Platinum Transparency Seal from Candid: Signaling the highest level of openness about finances, programs, and results, and enabling donors to see clearly how resources are used.

• A+ Rating from CharityWatch: Along with inclusion on its list of top charities, reflecting exceptional program efficiency, low overhead, and disciplined use of donor funds.

The post Charity Navigator Rates Direct Relief 100% for 2025 appeared first on Direct Relief.

Medications and supplies shipped this week included diabetes therapies, rare disease treatments, pain-relief medications, cold-chain equipment, and more.

Direct Relief Boosts Support as Post-Melissa Health Needs Grow

Direct Relief continues supporting health facilities across the Caribbean as communities work to restore essential services following Hurricane Melissa. To date, several large scale shipments of emergency medical aid have been delivered across the region—including antibiotics, chronic disease therapies, first-aid supplies, IV solutions, and disease-prevention items.

 In Jamaica, Direct Relief staff have been in-country this week coordinating with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, PAHO, and local partners. Recent deliveries include the Nov. 8 chartered airlift of 16 tons of medical supplies and a follow-on shipment of insulin supporting the annual treatment needs of 300 children and youth with Type 1 diabetes. 

Direct Relief continues working closely with partners to meet ongoing health needs and strengthen recovery efforts across affected communities.

Mobilizing Support Following Back-to-Back Typhoons in the Philippines

Back-to-back storms — Typhoon Kalmaegi and Super Typhoon Fung-wong — have caused extensive flooding, landslides, and widespread damage across the Philippines, displacing more than 1 million people and leading to significant disruptions in health services.  A nationwide state of emergency remains in effect as authorities continue search and rescue operations and assess emerging health needs. 

Direct Relief has been in active communication with long-standing partners across the region, including the Philippines Disaster Resilience Foundation and the AHA Center, to assess medical needs as conditions evolve.  

A $10,000 emergency grant has been approved for PH-Wadah to support ongoing operations in Cebu and at its birthing center in Aborlan, Palawan, where flooding has disrupted maternal and child health services. Direct Relief has also made an emergency offer of medical aid to the Philippines Department of Health and is awaiting confirmation to mobilize additional shipments once the government declares its highest emergency rating. 

Direct Relief will continue to closely monitor the situation and prepare medical inventories for rapid deployment to support health facilities in affected communities as requests are received. 

Direct Relief’s New Europe Entity Completes First Donation with Teva

Direct Relief’s newly launched European entity has completed its first coordinated medicine donation, working with Teva to deliver essential treatments to logistics partner Logicall.  

The milestone follows the opening of Direct Relief’s European headquarters in Frankfurt earlier this month, where global partners and health leaders gathered to mark the organization’s expanded capacity to streamline EU-based donations and strengthen humanitarian supply chains.  

Operational Snapshot

UNITED STATES

Direct Relief delivered 667 shipments containing 1.3 million doses of medication this past week to organizations, including the following:

AROUND THE WORLD

Globally, Direct Relief shipped over 575,961 defined daily doses of medication, totaling 18,860 lbs., to countries including the following:

Year-to-Date

Since January 1, 2025, Direct Relief has delivered 26K shipments to 2,636 partner organizations in 54 U.S. states and territories and 88 countries. These shipments contained 282.9 million defined daily doses of medication, valued at $1.9 billion wholesale, totaling 3.7 million lbs.

IN THE NEWS

On the Ground in Jamaica, Direct Relief Emergency Team Reports Devastation, Heroism after Melissa – Angels in Medicine 

Small Plane Carrying Hurricane Relief Supplies To Jamaica Crashes | WBZ NewsRadio 1030 | NightSide with Dan Rea 

How to Help Jamaica Relief Efforts After Hurricane Melissa 

Direct Relief Recognized as an Action for Women’s Health Awardee for Its Work To Expand Global Maternal Care 

Direct Relief donates medical supplies to Jamaica – Jamaica Observer

Small Plane Carrying Hurricane Relief Supplies To Jamaica Crashes | KFI AM 640 | Leo Laporte – The Tech Guy 

embecta Corp. Expands Partnership with Direct Relief to Enhance Access to Diabetes Supplies on World Diabetes Day 

embecta Announces Major New Commitment to Direct Relief

embecta Expands Direct Relief Partnership, Donates 15M Units | EMBC Stock News 

The post Medical Aid to Jamaica, Supporting Women’s Health in the Philippines and More appeared first on Direct Relief.

Imagine a mother watching her child grow thinner. Always thirsty. Always tired.

Finally, a nurse checks the child’s blood sugar. The diagnosis: Type 1 diabetes.

Treatment is costly, but the hospital connects the family to a program that provides insulin at no cost.

Soon, mornings begin with a finger-prick before school. Meals are planned. Routines change— but hope returns.

The child goes back to class, back to being a kid, back to having a future.

I heard versions of this story over and over from mothers in Ghana, each describing how a diagnosis reshapes every rhythm at home — and how access to insulin reshapes the outcome.

Now multiply that experience by millions.

The Global Diabetes Burden

Diabetes is one of the fastest growing health emergencies of the 21st century.

• Over USD $1 trillion was spent on diabetes in 2024; this represents 12% of global health expenditure.
• 589 million adults (ages 20–79) live with diabetes today — roughly 1 in 9 adults.
• An estimated 9.1 million people are living with Type 1 diabetes and need insulin to stay alive.
• 4 in 5 adults with diabetes (81%) live in a low and middle-income country.
• More than 3.4 million people died from diabetes in 2024, accounting for nearly 10% of all deaths worldwide.

For people who rely on insulin, survival depends on access — and on something far more mundane: the ability to keep that insulin between 2–8°C.

A simple refrigerator can mean the difference between a functioning medicine and a life-threatening shortage.

That’s why, with support from Eli Lilly, Direct Relief is purchasing and installing hundreds of medical-grade refrigerators in resource-limited settings around the world.

The refrigerator may be the least interesting part of this story.  But without it, there’s no story to tell.

Expanding Access to Diabetes Care Globally

Direct Relief expands access to essential diabetes treatment in communities with the highest need, including in the U.S.

• Since 2010, Direct Relief has delivered more than $1 billion in diabetes medicines and supplies to more than 50 countries.

One of the most impactful partnerships in this work is Life for a Child. which supports underserved children and youth living with Type 1 diabetes.

• Direct Relief’s partnership with Life for a Child provides access to insulin and injection devices to over 59,000 children and youth living with Type 1 diabetes in 40+ countries.
• The partnership aims to reach 100,000 children and youth living with Type 1 diabetes in 60 countries by 2030.

Behind each number is a child who can safely go to school, a family who can plan for tomorrow, and a community that doesn’t lose its future to a preventable crisis.

Supporting Children in the U.S.

In the United States, Direct Relief also helps ensure that children with Type 1 diabetes can experience something every child deserves — the chance to simply be a kid.

• Over the past five years, more than $3.5 million in donated medicines and supplies have supported these camps.
• Direct Relief supported 115 diabetes summer camps across the U.S. in 2025, serving more than 18,864 children.

On World Diabetes Day — and Every Day

World Diabetes Day is a reminder that the systems needed to manage diabetes — access to insulin, trained providers, reliable cold storage, and continuous monitoring — are not yet guaranteed for millions of people.

But they can be.

And with strong partners, targeted investments, and a focus on the people behind the statistics, they will be.

Thank you for being part of this work, and for supporting efforts that make life with diabetes safer, healthier, and possible — everywhere.

— Amy

Direct Relief: Hope Ahead.

The post World Diabetes Day: The Small Things That Make Survival Possible appeared first on Direct Relief.