AmeriCares Continues to Send Humanitarian Aid to Bolster Healthcare System in Turkmenistan

AmeriCares Foundation
Monday, 12 March 2001

62,000 Pounds of Medical Aid to Arrive in Ashkhabad on Tuesday March 13, 2001

AmeriCares, the international disaster relief agency, announced today that it would airlift approximately 62,000 pounds of medical relief supplies to Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan on Tuesday, March 13. A planeload of antibiotics, analgesics, nutritional supplements and hospital and surgical supplies will depart Oostende, Belgium on March 12, arriving in Ashkhabad on Tuesday, March 13. AmeriCares Vice Chairman, Andrew Hannah, will work with the Ministry of Health of Turkmenistan to arrange for the distribution of the humanitarian supplies to hospitals, clinics and other established healthcare facilities throughout the country.

Since 1995, AmeriCares has worked with the Ministry of Health in Turkmenistan to support the nation's developing healthcare system. AmeriCares has completed 12 airlifts to this Central Asian country delivering a total of over 800,000 pounds of essential medicines, medical supplies and vaccines.

"A humanitarian partnership with the Ministry of Health of Turkmenistan will aid numerous individuals, not only for the short-term but for months and years to come," says Robert C. Macauley, AmeriCares Founder. "This alliance will provide ongoing medical assistance to nearly 4 million Turkmen citizens and that is something for which we should all be proud."

For more information, or to contact AmeriCares Foundation, see their website at: www.americares.org