Americares Delivers $40 Million in Aid for Hurricane Maria Survivors

Stamford, Conn. – September 18, 2018 – In the year since Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico and Dominica, Americares has provided more than $40 million in aid to support the recovery. Americares work includes deliveries of medicine and supplies, repairs to damaged health facilities, mobile health clinics in storm-damaged communities and health programs for survivors.

An estimated 65,000 people have benefitted from Americares relief efforts, detailed in the “Hurricane Maria One-Year Special Report” published today on the organization’s website.

To date, Americares has:

• Delivered 99 aid shipments;
• Supplied enough medicine to fill an estimated 296,000 prescriptions;
• Operated mobile clinics treating 1,700 patients in storm-damaged communities;
• And trained more than 1,100 health workers through disaster preparedness and mental health workshops.

“Hurricane Maria’s destruction was unprecedented,” said Americares Vice President of Emergency Programs Kate Dischino. “Impacted communities are on their way to recovery, but more work remains. Thousands of survivors are still reeling from the psychological and economic impact of the storm.”

In the aftermath of the hurricane, the health-focused relief and development organization established a base of operations in San Juan, Puerto Rico to oversee its relief and recovery programs. More than 14,000 donors have generously supported the effort.

Going forward, Americares Hurricane Maria Relief Program will focus on mental health and psychosocial programming as well as disaster preparedness. Americares has set a goal to teach 5,000 health workers and first responders coping skills to manage stress and trauma—allowing them to care for patients affected by the storm as well as address their own mental health needs. Americares will also continue to support health programs for patients with chronic disease in hard-hit communities.

Americares responds to an average of 30 natural disasters and humanitarian crises worldwide each year, establishes long-term recovery projects and brings disaster preparedness programs to vulnerable communities. The organization has a long history of responding to severe storms in the United States, including Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Harvey and Irma, and the 2018 California wildfires.

Since its founding nearly 40 years ago, Americares has provided more than $15 billion in aid to 164 countries, including the United States.