MILLWOOD, VA., May 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Project HOPE has deployed medical volunteers to support health facilities in Nepal grappling with the aftermath of a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 7,000 people one week ago.
Volunteer nurses arrived in the capital, Kathmandu, and are working with HOPE's partners on the ground at hospitals and clinics to deliver much needed health services. HOPE also has a team of disaster relief experts coordinating with the WHO, UN and Nepal's Ministry of Health to ensure that HOPE's humanitarian operation is effective and medical volunteers are deployed where their skills are needed.
Two shipments of donated medicines and supplies, including antibiotics, valued at $1.5 million are being packed and awaiting shipping orders.
"The health infrastructure is in ruins, people are traumatized, and there are grave concerns for the fate of those in remote areas closer to the epicenter of the quake, where entire villages were destroyed," said Dalibor Tasevski, M.D., Project HOPE's Regional GIK Manager/Disaster Response Coordinator on the ground in Nepal.
There have been dozens of aftershocks since the earthquake struck last Saturday, causing widespread fear and preventing some of the 15,000 people injured from seeking medical attention in hospitals.
"HOPE will continue to coordinate the shipment of donated medicines and medical supplies requested by Nepal's Ministry of Health in the short-term while HOPE develops sustainable solutions for the long-term." said Dr. Tasevski.
Project HOPE has responded to most of the major disasters of the last decade including the Indonesian tsunami in 2004 and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013.
In 2012, Project HOPE volunteers provided crucial medical care and health education to remote areas of Nepal during HOPE's fourth humanitarian mission with the U.S. Air Force (PACANGEL).
About Project HOPE
Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solutions to health problems with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS HOPE, the world's first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now provides medical training and health education, and conducts humanitarian assistance programs in more than 30 countries. Visit our website projecthope.org and follow us on Twitter @projecthopeorg
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