Anera Delivers $1 Billion in Medical Aid
September 27, 2023 | Washington, DC – Anera has reached a major milestone. Today, we are distributing a shipment of donated medicines from Americares, worth $700,000, in Gaza. And, in Lebanon, we have just received a shipment of medical aid from Direct Relief, worth $2.3 million. With these shipments, Anera has now passed $1 billion worth of donated medicines and other supplies delivered to vulnerable communities in the Middle East. Medical donations have been a core part of Anera’s programming work from its beginning in 1968.
Anera’s president and CEO, Sean Carroll, says,
“Without good health, most everything else in life is hard if not impossible. The medicines and other healthcare supplies Anera delivers year after year, and lately on a once- or twice-weekly basis, provide a foundation of hope for a better future. For many in the communities where we work, these donations often mean families with limited resources no longer have to choose between buying food or medicine. We are immensely grateful to our partners and staff who make this possible.”
The medical aid program is only possible thanks to the support of medical aid donors, including longtime partners like Americares and Direct Relief, as well as Catholic Medical Mission Board, Health Partners International of Canada, Hikma, International Health Partners UK, METAD, Sanofi Genzyme, Wheelchair Foundation, Penta Medical Recycling, Rishho Kosei Kai and Thaki. Anera’s membership in the Partnership for Quality Medical Donations (PQMD) and our partnership with many PQMD members, has been instrumental to helping Anera increase the amount of aid delivered.
Through our 30-year partnership with Americares alone, Anera received more than $500 million worth of donated medicines and supplies which we distributed across Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan.
“We are proud to partner with Anera to meet the most pressing health needs as well as respond to emergencies,” said Americares Deputy Senior Vice President of Global Programs, Joan Littlefield. “Together we have provided enough medicine to fill 11 million prescriptions for children and adults throughout the Middle East.”
Anera’s medical donations program has expanded substantially over the past 55 years. In fiscal year 2023 alone, the organization delivered 98 shipments, valued at $148.5 million, of medicines and medical supplies to healthcare facilities in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan. It also delivered relief, education and mobility items like hygiene kits, school supplies, wheelchairs and prosthetics.
“Direct Relief is privileged to support Anera and their efforts to improve the health and well-being of people every day,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief President and CEO. “This milestone is impressive because of what it represents, an inspiring example of partnership and what can be accomplished together.”
The growth of the organization’s medical aid reflects not only the strength of the program and its partnerships, but the increasing need in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan. The ongoing blockade of Gaza, the Syrian refugee crisis and Lebanon’s economic collapse have all accentuated the need for medical aid. In all places where Anera works, good healthcare and access to vital medicines are a constant struggle for vulnerable patients and communities.
Decades of building relationships combined with intimate knowledge of international shipping logistics ensures that life-saving supplies are quickly put to use. Anera’s knowledgeable staff coordinate shipments through every step of the journey, so that no materials are wasted and local health partners receive what they really need – not what just happens to be available.
The medical relief program started in 1970, when Anera merged with American Middle East Rehabilitation, at the time the oldest non-sectarian American relief agency sending donated aid to Palestinian refugees in the region. In the early years, Anera delivered one or two shipments annually, valued in the tens of thousands of dollars. Today, Anera distributes an average of $2 to $3 million worth of medicines and healthcare supplies every week that would not otherwise be available to patients.
SEAN CARROLL IS AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED NUMBER OF INTERVIEWS
For more information:
Steven Fake
Media Relations Officer
202.266.9719
[email protected]
(GMT-04)
Farah Maalouf
Lebanon Communications Manager
+961-1-426107/8 Ext:203
[email protected]
(GMT+02)
About Anera
Since 1968, Anera has helped refugees and others hurt by conflicts in the Middle East live with dignity and purpose. Anera, which has no political or religious affiliation, works on the ground with partners in the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Lebanon, and Jordan. We mobilize resources for immediate humanitarian relief and for sustainable health, education, and economic development efforts. Our staff are from the communities they serve, navigating the politics that constrict progress to get help where it’s needed most. We will keep building better lives until hope finds its way in the Middle East.