Pallets of personal protective equipment are prepared for shipment to Wuhan, China

Project HOPE Team in China Readies for Arrival of Over 2 Million Masks and Other Protective Gear Bound for Doctors and Nurses in Wuhan

Project HOPE is ramping up to receive the first of several shipments of personal protective equipment destined for doctors and nurses battling the novel coronavirus outbreak in China.
Posted: February 1, 2020

MILLWOOD, VA (February 1, 2020) – As China’s coronavirus cases continue to climb, Project HOPE’s team in China is ramping up to receive the first of several shipments of personal protective equipment destined for doctors and nurses battling the novel coronavirus outbreak.

This first shipment contains more than 2 million respirator masks, 11,000 protective suits, and 280,000 pairs of nitrile gloves donated by MAP International and MedShare. Thanks to in-kind transport from UPS, the supplies are scheduled to arrive in Shanghai on Sunday, February 2. Project HOPE, which has worked in China since 1983, will support delivery of the supplies to Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention and onward to hospitals in Wuhan.

“Working together with MAP International, MedShare, and UPS, we are delivering one of the first large-scale international aid shipments to reach the doctors and nurses in Wuhan,” said Rabih Torbay, President and CEO of Project HOPE. “The skyrocketing demand for personal protective equipment has decimated the stockpiles at many health facilities in China, and this shipment will help shore up supplies in Wuhan so more patients can be safely screened and treated.”

Project HOPE has a long history in Wuhan, having collaborated with Wuhan University for nearly 20 years to establish the HOPE School of Nursing — one of its strongest and longest-running health workforce programs, which has trained thousands of nurses. Many of the nurses trained at the HOPE School of Nursing are now tirelessly working to screen and treat those with flu-like symptoms at hospitals in Wuhan.

Project HOPE is working to facilitate additional airlifts of supplies that will arrive in China in the days to come. Our team in China continues to work in close coordination with local officials to learn additional ways we can support health workers and health systems in areas affected by the new coronavirus outbreak.

For more information on our response to the coronavirus outbreak, visit Coronavirus Outbreak: What You Need To Know.