We Are Responding to Emergencies in Turkey and the Philippines
On October 30, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 8 miles northeast of the Greek island of Samos, mainly affecting the western province and city of İzmir, Turkey. The earthquake has caused severe damage to homes and health facilities. As survivors have gathered in emergency shelters, there is an urgent need for personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect from COVID-19.
⚠️ Help earthquake survivors in #Turkey 🇹🇷
An #earthquake has caused more than 100 fatalities, as well as severe damage to homes and health facilities. Donate now and help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Turkey as survivors recover ▶️ https://t.co/kHsLuKEciT pic.twitter.com/QiaR6XEsoL
— International Medical Corps (@IMC_Worldwide) November 3, 2020
On November 1, Super Typhoon Goni made landfall on Catanduanes Island, in the Philippines. With 10-minute sustained winds of 140 mph and maximum sustained winds that reached 195 mph, it was the strongest storm of the year and the strongest since Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. About 2 million people were in the path of Typhoon Goni — communities struggling to recover from two other typhoons and experiencing one of the region’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks. We’re assessing needs and will respond where needed.
⚠️ Help provide emergency relief in the #Philippines 🇵🇭
About 2 million people were in the path of #TyphoonGoni, and the same area struggles to recover from two other typhoons and is experiencing one of the region’s worst #COVID19 outbreaks. Give now ▶️ https://t.co/4bXrgKSq18 pic.twitter.com/QYytjTgwT1
— International Medical Corps (@IMC_Worldwide) November 8, 2020
We Are Continuing to Fight COVID-19 Around the World
Around the world, we’re continuing to help people in need as we adapt our healthcare and training programs to the demands of COVID-19.
Responding in the United States
The San Cristobal Hospital in Puerto Rico serves the southeast and south-central regions of Puerto Rico. Like many hospitals across the world, San Cristobal saw unprecedented demand in the face of COVID-19, draining resources and creating a need for specialized equipment to treat people suffering from the coronavirus. In response, we’re supporting San Cristobal Hospital with emergency medical field units, PPE, medical equipment and supplies.
In addition, we provided emergency medical field units, PPE, medical equipment and supplies to hospitals in Texas, and PPE to health agencies in South Carolina and Alabama, and we continue to support long-term care facilities throughout Los Angeles County by providing PPE and training on infection prevention and control measures.
Highlights of Our Global Response
We’re fighting COVID-19 in all the countries in which we operate while continuing to provide a wide range of humanitarian services.
In Lebanon, we continue to support local health facilities with PPE, medical equipment and supplies, as COVID-19 cases rise. So far, we have distributed more than 160,000 masks, 300,000 pairs of gloves and 16,000 surgical gowns.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our team has reached more than 84,500 people with important messages about COVID-19 prevention.
We’ve also partnered with schools in the country’s North and South Kivu provinces to raise awareness about and teach prevention tips on COVID-19.
In Cameroon, we’ve reached more than 140,000 people with COVID-19 prevention messaging, screened more than 7,200 patients for the virus and distributed more than 38,000 hygiene and PPE items to health workers.
We Celebrated World Mental Health Day
Throughout our history, we’ve been a leader in addressing mental health care in the midst of disaster and humanitarian crisis. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, our teams have found ways to continue to deliver mental health services—check out this virtual journey around the world to learn more about our mental health programs.
From Lebanon 🇱🇧 to Cameroon 🇨🇲 , we’ve been a leader in addressing #mentalhealth care, both during emergencies and well after the headlines fade. Support from people like you make this possible.#MoveForMentalHealth pic.twitter.com/6LWR0H7NRp
— International Medical Corps (@IMC_Worldwide) October 11, 2020
We Are Providing Lifesaving Support in Afghanistan
We’ve provided three health facilities in the Kunar province of Afghanistan with new medical equipment, including ultrasound machines and cardiac monitors, that will help provide a range of healthcare to people in need.
The Deputy Provincial Public Health Director further remarked that the new equipment “will help the health facilities to treat patients without referral to the main hospital of Kunar province,” and thanked everyone involved for their commitment to “alleviate the suffering of people.”
Our First-Ever Virtual Annual Awards Celebration Was a Huge Success!
Our Annual Awards Celebration went virtual this year! We honored the courage and commitment of our dedicated International Medical Corps health heroes, who continue to provide a wide range of lifesaving medical services and training every single day despite the global COVID-19 pandemic. The event even included a special thank-you and exclusive musical performance from three-time Grammy winner Ben Harper!
Los Angeles, South Sudan, Lebanon, New York City, Yemen.
These are only some of the places where your support is helping our #IMCHeroes respond to COVID-19. Join us NOW at our Annual Awards Celebration to honor their lifesaving work ▶️ https://t.co/7sC18ZnYsH pic.twitter.com/bBjglwgU6C
— International Medical Corps (@IMC_Worldwide) October 16, 2020
To each of you who joined us for our first-ever virtual Annual Awards Celebration — THANK YOU! Your encouragement and continuing support keep us going in the toughest of times — and always prepared for whatever comes next. If you weren’t able to join, you can take a look back here.
We Are Now Accepting Alexa Donations!
We are now accepting Alexa Donations with Amazon Pay! Now, giving as easy as talking. Just say, “Alexa, make a donation to International Medical Corps.” It’s simple, fast and secure. Give it a try!