Project HOPE Delivers $35 million in Vital Medicines and Supplies to Tajikistan
Project HOPE delivered medicines and medical supplies valued at more than $35 million to Tajikistan, the second humanitarian airlift in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State this year to the former Soviet Republic.
Global NGO and corporate partners address former Soviet Republic's crucial need for access to medicines and supplies
Project HOPE delivered medicines and medical supplies valued at more than $35 million to Tajikistan, the second humanitarian airlift in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State this year to the former Soviet Republic.
Project HOPE, a global health education and humanitarian assistance organization, gathered the donated medicines and medical supplies from global pharmaceutical and health care companies such as Abbott, Allergan, GlaxoSmithKline, Lundbeck and Merck & Co., Inc. The donated medicines and supplies include antibiotics, ophthalmic solutions, and medicines to treat those afflicted with Hepatitis.
“There is an urgent need to increase access and provide effective medicines to improve the health of people in underserved communities in Tajikistan. The U.S. Department of State’s continued efforts to fund the airlift of medicines and supplies and HOPE’s effort to secure and deliver the much-needed humanitarian aid to hospitals and other facilities are vital to improving the health and sustainability of communities here,” said Colin Credle, regional manager of humanitarian aid for Project HOPE in Central Asia.
An official handover ceremony in the capital, Dushanbe, is scheduled on November 17, and will be attended by the U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan, Kenneth E. Gross, Jr., and officials from the Tajik Ministry of Health and representatives from Project HOPE.
The delivery of medicines brings the total value of humanitarian aid to Tajikistan from Project HOPE to over $300 million since 2002. All transportation costs have been funded by the U.S. Department of State. The “public-private partnership” model at the heart of HOPE’s humanitarian program in Tajikistan is being touted as a successful and promising model for the future in places like Central Asia.
“Project HOPE and the Tajik Ministry of Health have worked consistently to seek vital donated medicines for people struggling with serious health problems, and, with support from our corporate partners and the Department of State, we are mobilizing communities for better health,” said Credle.
Project HOPE has been addressing the medical needs of communities across the Central Asian republics since the fall of the Soviet Union. Last year, HOPE collaborated with a partnering NGO to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Osh, Kyrgyzstan, following political strife in the country. In 2002, Project HOPE led a group of international NGOs to implement health education programs in Central Asia in a large-scale maternal, child and reproductive health initiative.
HOPE continued to focus on women and children’s health in 2007 with the introduction of health education programs which promoted breastfeeding, family planning and reproductive health. Project HOPE has made tuberculosis prevention and treatment among at-risk populations in the Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, and Kazak republics a top priority by reaching out to communities most at-risk of TB and HIV, by providing medicines, medical supplies and health education.
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 provides medical training and health education, and conducts humanitarian assistance programs in more than 35 countries.