Programs: Emergency response programs in all, in fy15 americares emergency programs provided medicine, supplies and project support to partners in 30 countries and 12 u. S. States across the spectrum of preparedness, response and recovery. Americares responded to 26 emergencies in 19 countries, including floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, tropical storms, conflicts, wildfires, volcanic eruptions and disease outbreaks. Our emergency programs work also included preparedness initiatives in five countries and recovery work to strengthen health system components following disasters in six countries. Preparedness: in fy15, americares conducted preparedness initiatives in five countries to assist an estimated 51,000 people in the event of a future disaster. These preparedness initiatives focused on preventing cholera, pre-positioning relief supplies and building the resilience of communities and health systems to withstand future disasters. In el salvador, americares collaborated with long-time partner fusal on a large-scale community-based disaster risk reduction pilot project to increase the level of resilience and reduce risks from disasters in five target municipalities in the department of la libertad. These five municipalities consist of 245 communities, with an estimated 49,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries. In fy15, we designed the curriculum, tools, mapping, and monitoring and evaluation platforms; hired and trained a team of risk reduction promoters; and piloted the curriculum in seven communities. The project will be completed and evaluated in fy16. In myanmar, americares is engaging 10 villages in the ayeyarwady region in community-based risk reduction, including identifying, reducing and managing chronic public health risks and acute emergencies. This project is in partnership with church world service-myanmar, along with several local ngo partners. The project began in fy15 and will benefit an estimated 10,000 people, including more than 2,000 direct participants and nearly 8,000 indirect community members. In the philippines, americares held two workshops in fy15 to introduce 50 local health workers to the concepts of preparedness, safety and risk reduction. These health workers were from health facilities that americares reconstructed and improved after typhoon haiyan. In fy16, americares will perform a final evaluation of this pilot project. In the united states in fy15, americares continued work with two community health centers affected by superstorm sandy to identify and close preparedness gaps and establish sustainable, functional and integrated emergency management plans. In fy15, americares also addressed gaps in the area of data collection and communication at the state-level by partnering with the community health care association of new york state to improve health services in emergencies. Response: in fy15, americares response in the immediate aftermath of 26 emergencies in 19 countries included product donations of enough medicine to fill more than 815,000 prescriptions to help health workers on the front lines care for survivors. Key items included vaccines, antibiotics, wound care items, chronic disease medicines and clean water supplies. Americares also assisted an estimated 218,000 individuals by collaborating with partners to develop and support emergency response projects. Key themes of these projects included restoring and expanding health services; fulfilling immediate health and survival needs; and early interventions to address psychological distress. Americares largest emergency programs responses took place in west africa and nepal. Americares response to the world's largest ebola outbreak in fy15 provided dozens of shipments of essential medicines and personal protective equipment to the most-affected countries, principally guinea, liberia and sierra leone. Coordinating with international, national and local organizations, americares provided over 2 million units of personal protective equipment and more than 100,000 course treatments of medicine to over 100 partners in three countries. Americares partnered with the international organization for migration and usaid to provide medicine and supplies for three ebola treatment units in liberia, and to provide clinical staff and management for one ebola treatment unit. Beginning in fy15, americares teams built on ebola response efforts to train medical staff in sierra leone on infection prevention and control protocols, improve maternal and child care at the liberian government hospital in buchanan and to start up and manage two clinics in underserved areas of grand bassa county. This critical work to strengthen health systems will continue in fy16. After the devastating april 25 earthquake in nepal, americares immediately launched a large-scale relief effort. In fy15, americares provided medicine and supplies to 17 national and international partners in nepal. In addition, americares india responders reached nepal within 72 hours and ultimately saw more than 1,470 patients; americares also teamed with nyc medics to treat an additional 1,200 disaster survivors. Americares has made a three-year commitment to nepal earthquake recovery, with a focus on health systems restoration, addressing mental health and psychosocial needs, and building health system and community resilience. In fy 15, americares responded to 11 emergencies across 12 u. S. States, including the u. S. Border crisis. Americares provided critical medicine, medical supplies and relief items that enabled health professionals and community partners to address the health needs of thousands of displaced children and families in arizona, louisiana, new york and texas, as well as mexico. In august 2014, americares donated a 20-foot by 30-foot tent structure to provide shelter and overnight accommodations at the transitional site at sacred heart church in mcallen, texas. In fy15 the site served nearly 18,000 people and provided more than 3,000 overnight stays. In addition to our emergency response activities, americares demonstrated our leadership position in the u. S. By serving on the board of directors of the national voluntary organizations active in disaster (voad) chapter and chairing the national voad disaster health committee. Recovery americares fy15 recovery work efforts focused on strengthening health system components in haiti, japan, the philippines, sri lanka and the united states. Our total assistance included enough medicines to fill more than 216,000 prescriptions as well as project support to reach more than 189,000 individuals. We focused particularly on restoring health services, combatting cholera, helping survivors overcome trauma with mental health and psychosocial support, and improving maternal, neonatal and child health. Americares continues to work with the government of the philippines and other stakeholders to help rebuild health systems and prepare for the next disaster in the visayas region of central philippines, which was hit hard by super typhoon haiyan in november 2013. During fy15 americares opened an office and registered locally in the philippines in fy15. Our work in fy15 includes rehabilitating or rebuilding more than 80 health facilities and restoring access to care for nearly 2 million patients. To ensure resilience in the face of future disaster, americares provided 14 back-up power systems for hospitals and trained 50 health workers on disaster preparedness and emergency management planning. We further increased the future capacity of the health system in storm-affected areas by supporting mental health and psychosocial training for 1,300 health workers. Americares has been running a recovery program in northern japan since the march 2011 earthquake, tsunami and radiation disaster. In fy15, americares continued to collaborate with local health partners on new or existing projects; all projects were completed in september 2015 and the americares japan office closed in fy15. Many of the community-based organizations have successfully leveraged americares support and capacity-building to secure funding from local sources, allowing them to continue providing essential services to displaced and affected communities. In fy15, americares entered the final stage of our recovery program in haiti, five years after the magnitude 7. 0 earthquake struck haiti in 2010. With medicine and project support, americares continued its work with local partners to expand health services, control cholera and prevent outbreaks, improve maternal and child health, and prepare for future disasters. Among our projects in fy15, americares expanded its commitment to providing specialty care for thousands of diabetic patients by helping the fondation hatienne de diabte et de maladies cardio-vasculaires (fhadimac) launch a diabetic foot clinic in port-au-prince. In sri lanka, americares completed its final tsunami and civil war recovery project at the mullaitivu district general hospital in fy15
global health programs every day, americares supports frontline health workers through projects and activities that leverage critically needed medicines and supplies to catalyze innovative, sustainable health improvements in their communities. In fy15, americares supported partners in 89 countries with medicine, medical supplies, and project and activity support through our global health programs. Outside the u. S. : americares relieved shortages of medicines and medical supplies in hospitals and clinics in 33 countries, including enough medicines to fill more than 12 million prescriptions. Americares achieved this through a variety of programs and projects. Key themes of these projects/activities included maternal and child health, non-communicable diseases and infectious diseases. Among our fy15 projects outside the u. S. : - scale-out and implementation of a health worker safety project at three government hospitals in the lake zone of tanzania targeting 1,000 health workers and students. In the first phase of implementation, 80 percent of health workers and medical students were immunized against hepatitis b. - launch of the safe surgery initiative which aims to improve access to safe surgery in low-resource settings. In fy15, americares facilitated the placement of 23 pulse oximeters in five countries. Pulse oximeters are on the who surgical safety checklist. - support for children with cancer in colombia, through the sanar foundation in bogota for their access to medicines, nutrition, and education programs to cover prescription medicines, chemotherapy, transportation costs, laboratory exams, medical consultations, educational materials, and meals for patients and their families. - continuation of americares pediatric nutrition project in vietnam, which, this year, was able to lower both malnutrition and stunting rates from the beginning of the school year to the end in its three intervention districts. In fy15, the nutrition project (which is conducted in partnership with abbott and abbott fund) served more than 2,500 students and saw drops in malnutrition rates in all areas. In addition, all schools experienced an annual average reduction of stunting from 3 to 5 percentage points. The program also addressed the issue of anemia in a sub-set of schools where they documented reduction rates ranging from 8 to 19 percentage points. - year seven of americares breast cancer project in cambodia, in partnership with sihanouk hospital center of hope and astrazeneca. In fy15, the program was able to reach more than 7,000 women with information about breast cancer and early detection, train 141 nursing students on topics related to breast cancer, screen more than 800 women, conduct nearly 400 diagnostic tests and improve the quality of data collected on the entire patient cohort, both past and present. In fy15 americares global health program also supported 880 medical volunteer teams traveling to 81 countries with more donated products, including enough medicines to fill nearly 1. 3 million prescriptions and more than 2 million units of supplies. Our global health program includes model primary care clinics in mumbai, india, and santiago de maria, el salvador. Through our partner in india, americares manages a mobile clinic program that brings primary care to the doorsteps of marginalized communities in urban slums in mumbai in fy15, the program's seven mobile clinics served more than 130 unique locations across thirteen municipal wards in mumbai city where 65,000 unique patients sought care through more than 140,000 consultations. The clinics added a new mobile pathology lab to bring 10 different types of blood tests directly to patients at mobile clinic locations. In fy15 these labs conducted more than 8,000 tests on more than 3,000 patients. A patient satisfaction survey was carried out during fy15, which showed that the community is satisfied with our mmc program. Most patients said they would come back to the clinic and also recommend our clinics to their families and friends. In el salvador, the americares family clinic in santiago de maria performed 67,141 patient consultations with 25,267 patients during fy15. Americares expanded and diversified services, adding orthopedics, prosthetics and orthotics, and oral surgery. The clinic drew from a wider geographic region, with a 7 percent increase in the municipalities who visit our institution. During fy15, americares family clinic developed 35 health education programs benefiting a total of 48,326 patients and families. In addition, the clinic works with 96 communities to proactively identify their priorities for health care, and works to improve the collective health status of these families. In the u. S. : as the largest provider of donated medical aid in the u. S. , americares provided the majority of its support through its network of 807 free and charitable clinics in fy15. Americares also made new commitments to implement projects and activities to prevent, diagnose and treat non-communicable diseases. In all, americares provided enough medicine to fill nearly 2 million prescriptions. The largest category of medicine, at 35 percent, were those to treat infectious, diarrheal, tropical and respiratory diseases; medication to treat non-communicable diseases made up 29 percent of donated medicine. Through its patient assistance program, americares also provided more than 108,000 low-income uninsured and underinsured patients access to 51 branded medicines - in total, enough medicines to fill more than 363,000 prescriptions to patients in the u. S. , puerto rico, guam and u. S. Virgin islands. U. S. Fy15 projects include: - planning for a chronic disease care program for u. S. Health care safety net clinics, including identifying clinics and training for the transforming prediabetes care initiative - a national demonstration. In fy15, americares trained the seven selected clinics on the center for disease control and prevention's national diabetes prevention program (ndpp), a year-long lifestyle change intervention to prevent diabetes in low-income uninsured or underinsured patients at risk. - development and launch of americares mental health initiative to support the nation's network of community mental health centers and the 8 million patients they serve. Donations of medicine will offset costs for clinics and patients. In fy15, americares selected 10 demonstration states for the project and began outreach to national and state associations in those states.
