Effectiveness of Drug Donations in Crisis Areas Examined

Direct Relief International
Monday, 16 April 2001

Direct Relief International Joins in WHO/World Bank Study

SANTA BARBARA, CA (April 16, 2001) - Direct Relief International Development Advisor Christopher Brady has just returned from East Timor, where he was taking part in a World Bank and World Health Organization study of drug donations in emergency settings. As a member of the Partnership for Quality Medical Donations (PQMD), an alliance of relief agencies and health care firms, DRI is one of four represented non-government organizations that was asked to participate in this study. DRI, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit humanitarian aid organization, has sent a large amount of emergency medical supplies to East Timor, where hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by civil strife. Brady says he witnessed scenes of utter devastation there, with practically every building in the areas he traveled to reduced to rubble.

The study took place simultaneously in four countries: India, El Salvador, East Timor and Mozambique – each concentrating on drug donations and their impact within the context of different types of emergencies. East Timor, a country selected because of its prolonged civil conflict, was the focus of the study in which DRI was asked to be involved. The study was undertaken by a team of 4 people which, in addition to Brady, included representatives from the World Bank, WHO, and AEDES (the Belgium government's European Agency for Development and Health.

The team spent twelve days in country, and conducted numerous visits to government warehouses, hospitals and clinics, as well as a series of interviews and discussions with government and NGO personnel. A final report will be produced by the team two weeks after the completion of the fieldwork. Each country study will then be combined in a general final report and disseminated among the various stakeholders and interested parties. It is anticipated that the conclusions and recommendations outlined in the report will bear much influence on the future of medical donations worldwide.

The troubles in East Timor erupted in September, 1999 following a UN-supported vote for independence from Indonesia. Soon after that vote, anti-independence militias began to rampage and plunder, killing thousands of civilians and forcing more than 350,000 East Timorese from their homes. An alliance of forces from 15 nations, including the United States, managed to restore peace, but there are still as many as 100,000 East Timorese refugees left in Indonesia.

For more information, or to contact Direct Relief International, see their website at: www.directrelief.org