In the aftermath of the early October earthquake
in Pakistan, the citizens of Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province
were grateful to see that aid came to them from all corners of the earth.
However, in one case, while life-saving vaccination doses had arrived safely,
the means to deliver the inoculations was suddenly caught in a critical
shortage-the hypodermic syringes.
Pakistan's National Institute of Health
had established an emergency immunization campaign for the two areas most
affected by the disaster, immunizing 500,000 of those who were injured
or vulnerable to injury, against tetanus, soon after the disaster. In a
second round of immunizations, 1.5 million children between the ages of
6 months and 15 years were vaccinated against the measles.
But in a country where 42 million vaccinations are given yearly to protect people against tuberculosis, diphtheria, measles, upper respiratory infections and other diseases, this unplanned vaccination campaign meant that more syringes were desperately needed. AmeriCares turned to trusted partner BD (Becton, Dickinson & Company), the global medical technology company that manufactures syringes and needles.
With an established presence in Pakistan and offers of assistance from BD's European facilities in the U.K., BD's employees and managers were determined to contribute as much as they could to the relief efforts. Without hesitation, BD made a donation of 500,000 syringes.
"Our colleagues in Pakistan had already each contributed one day's pay locally to support relief efforts and our European facilities also wanted to help," says Jennifer Farrington, manager of community partnerships at BD. "BD and AmeriCares are both members of the Partnership for Quality Medical Donations, which ensures that donations for emergency relief efforts are appropriate. We wanted to be sure that we were giving something that would meet a genuine need. By partnering with AmeriCares, we had the security of knowing that our donation will truly make a difference there."
BD has supported AmeriCares emergency relief efforts since 1989, donating more than $15 million of urgently needed medical supplies to assist countries around the world. In 2005, BD made substantial product donations to the AmeriCares' tsunami and Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. This latest donation will ensure the continued good health of half a million people.