SAN LEANDRO, Calif. – On Tuesday, June 23, MedShare will ship a 40-foot container of medical supplies and equipment valued at over $177,000 to Afshar Hospital, a new medical facility in Kabul, Afghanistan. The medical aid container is sponsored by American Medical Overseas Relief(AMOR), a nonprofit based in Fresno, California.
MedShare, a nonprofit in San Leandro, collected the supplies and equipment from 20 Northern California hospitals through its innovative medical surplus recovery program. The shipping container contains over 800 boxes of vitally-needed supplies such as surgical gloves, IV sets and sutures. MedShare also sent the following equipment: a portable ultrasound, an X-ray unit and surgical lights.
“Rather than go into landfills, these donated medical supplies and equipment will have a second chance to save lives in war-torn Afghanistan. We are excited to join AMOR in their endeavors to improve the quality of life in this country,” said Chuck Haupt, Executive Director of MedShare’s Western Region.
Afshar Hosptial will use the donated medical supplies and equipment to primarily focus on maternal care and pediatrics. However, it will also provide urgent care and general medical services; as well as, immunizations and essential medicines.
Through a collaborative effort between AMOR, the Afghanistan government, the U.S. government and U.S. Embassy, Afshar Hospital opened its doors to the public in March 2009. The hospital is located just outside Kabul in an impoverished area where many have had no access to healthcare. It will serve approximately 40,000 people, with the potential to reach more as access to the area improves.
“On behalf of AMOR and the Afshar Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, I would like to express our gratitude to MedShare for helping us put together this container. There are literally people waiting whose lives will be dramatically improved and benefitted by this seemingly simple act of providing surplus medical equipment and supplies,” said Dr. Mark Scoffield, Executive Director of AMOR.
“This is an exciting opportunity for MedShare to provide life-saving medical supplies to a country torn apart by war and in desperate need of better healthcare,” said A.B. Short, CEO and Co-Founder of MedShare.
About MedShare
MedShare is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to bridging the gap between surplus and need through the collection and redistribution of surplus medical supplies and equipment to healthcare institutions serving those most in need.Since MedShare’s inception in 1999, the organization has retrieved more than $60 million in surplus medical supplies and equipment from U.S. donors and shipped over 460 forty-foot medical aid containers to healthcare facilities all over the world. It is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with a second distribution center in San Leandro, California. For more information, please visit the organization’s website at www.medshare.org.
About AMOR
American Medical Overseas Relief (AMOR) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health status of communities throughout the Middle East. We focus on maternal and newborn care, children’s health, trauma and urgent care, nutrition, health and hygiene education, communicable disease intervention, mental health issues, and creating a supply of essential medications to those in need. For more information, visit www.amorelief.org.
