Direct Relief
Direct Relief is a global nonprofit that equips healthcare providers caring for vulnerable people during emergencies and beyond. They provide lifesaving drugs and other medical supplies to clinics and teams of physicians and public health facilities in impacted areas.
Direct Relief has received three grants from the Bain Capital Relief Fund. The first in February 2018 to in response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, the second to aid their response in Southern Africa following Cyclone Idai in April 2019, and the third in September 2019 after Hurricane Dorian wreaked havoc in the Bahamas.
Hurricane Maria Response
In the weeks following Hurricane Maria, Direct Relief delivered shipments to the hardest-hit areas, from Puerto Rico to Dominica and locations throughout the Caribbean. The response was a complex operation, spanning multiple countries and territories, many of which had severely limited communication and power in the storms’ aftermath. The organization coordinated deliveries of pre-packed kits and other services with several government agencies in Puerto Rico, including the Administración de Servicios Médicos, which runs eight hospitals and eight primary care clinics.
Click here to learn moreCyclone Idai Response
After Idai made landfall, Direct Relief dispatched an emergency response team to coordinate with local authorities, UN agencies, local partners, to assess the need and damage in the affected area, and to prepare for incoming donations of medicines and medical supplies. Direct Relief’s key local partner, Health Alliance International, has been working in Mozambique for three decades and their experience and local expertise combined with the need to respond to the cholera outbreak, shaped Direct Relief’s delivery of medicines, medical supplies, and funding.
Click here to learn moreHurricane Dorian Response
Direct Relief had the first supply of medicines into the primary medical facilities in Grand Bahama and Great Abaco within 72hrs, and a larger re-supply chartered shipment arrived after another 96hrs. Support from the Bain Capital Relief Fund enabled more than $475,000 worth of medicines and health-related resources to be delivered throughout the island nation within the first week after Dorian made landfall.
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