Project HOPE Announces Grant From The Avon Foundation For Women to Help Those Recovering From Earthquake Related Injuries in China
US $500,000 Grant to Establish Community-Based Rehabilitation Center in Area Affected by Earthquake
Project HOPE, an international health education and humanitarian assistance organization, received a US$500,000 grant from The Avon Foundation for Women to implement rehabilitation training for health care providers, upgrade community and city facilities used for rehabilitation services and to develop a center for rehabilitation medicine in China’s Sichuan Province. The grant will help ensure that the thousands of women, children and men recovering from physical injuries caused by the massive 2008 earthquake will receive the care they need.
“The Avon Foundation for Women is honored to provide assistance for the people of Sichuan who suffer from the effects of the devastating earthquake,” said Carol Kurzig, President of the Avon Foundation for Women. “We believe this rehabilitation center and training program that will be implemented by Project HOPE will offer improved access to expert care and critical health services to those most in need in the earthquake-affected areas.”
The May 12, 2008 earthquake, measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale killed more than 69,000 people in China’s Sichuan Province, including 15,000 children. The earthquake also caused 370,000 injuries, of which more than 70,000 require long-term rehabilitative care. Only 420 rehabilitation physicians and therapists were available to provide these medical services in the Sichuan Province immediately following the earthquake.
“This generous grant from our supportive partner, The Avon Foundation for Women, will provide much-needed funding for our ongoing rehabilitation training programs in the earthquake effected regions of China,” said John P. Howe, III, M.D., President and CEO of Project HOPE. “Our overall goal is to increase accessibility and quality of rehab services so those in need can properly heal from their injuries and to contribute to the improvement of rehabilitative services in China.”
Over the next three years, The Avon Foundation for Women grant will help Project HOPE to:
• Develop a standardized national rehabilitation training curricula and rehabilitation guidelines for community and city level rehabilitation services.
• Target training programs for health care providers in physical and occupational therapies, as well as psychological support for earthquake affected children and adults.
• Help provide equipment and facility upgrades to community health centers and to one selected city-level hospital.
• Create a Regional Resource Center in Rehabilitation Medicine by strengthening the rehabilitation service capacities at a selected provincial-level hospital to serve as the rehabilitation technical and training resource center for the Sichuan Province.
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About The Avon Foundation for Women
The Avon Foundation for Women was founded in 1955 to improve the lives of women and their families. This mission is brought to life today through a focus on two key issues – breast cancer and domestic violence – as well as efforts in response to disasters and emergency events. Through 2008, Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women had raised and awarded US$660 million for these causes, with philanthropic programs in more than 50 countries around the world.
About Project HOPE
Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solutions to health problems with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS HOPE, the world’s first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now conducts land-based medical training and health education programs in more than 35 countries. For more information, please visit www.projecthope.org.