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New Canaan, CT, April 23 2003 – AmeriCares, the humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization, has delivered 40,000 pounds of urgently needed medicine and supplies into Iraq from Silopi, Turkey. The truckloads of aid crossed the border at the Habur Gate Sunday. AmeriCares is one of the first U.S.-based non-governmental organizations to deliver medical relief into Iraq since the onset of the war.
This shipment carries AmeriCares past the $3-billion-mark in aid delivered since its founding in 1982.
The aid arrived in Kirkuk, a city formerly under the control of Saddam Hussein, at approximately 1 a.m. EST Tuesday. In cooperation with AmeriCares’ in-country partner, the Turkmeneli Foundation, the relief materials in Kirkuk are to be distributed among three hospitals: Kirkuk General Hospital, the largest hospital in the city and formerly known as the Saddam Hospital; Kirkuk Maternity Hospital; and the Al-Jumhuriyah Hospital.
The humanitarian shipment includes antibiotics, medical supplies, nutritional supplements, blankets and outerwear. It also includes an emergency health kit, which meets the basic medical needs of 10,000 people for three months.
Another 15,000 pounds of emergency relief is stockpiled in Jordan for shipment to Baghdad. An 80,000-pound airlift has also been assembled for an airlift to Baghdad once landing rights have been granted.
Abbott Laboratories, Baxter International and GlaxoSmithKline are the major contributors of donated pharmaceuticals for this initial humanitarian response. Becton Dickinson, Leiner Healthcare and Timberland are among other companies that have donated their products.