DUSHANBE, February 27, 2009, Asia-Plus — The U.S. State Department, through Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) delivered $7,888,378.61 worth of donated medical supplies to hospitals and health facilities in Tajikistan on February 25, press release issued by the US Embassy in Dushanbe said.
The medicines and supplies are offered to the people of Tajikistan free of charge.
From this donation, U.S. Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson, the Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia Daniel Rosenblum, and Deputy Minister of Health Sohibnazar Rahmonov presented $1,624,500 of donated insulin to the National Clinical Endocrinology Center on February 27.
The donation covers the needs of all diabetes patients in Tajikistan for one year. At the handover ceremony Ambassador Jacobson noted that the U.S. Government facilitated this shipment in coordination with Project HOPE “but it is only through the hard work of thousands of people both in the U.S. and here in Tajikistan that presentations like this one can take place.”
Rosenblum, who oversees the assistance disseminated by all U.S. Government agencies to the 18 states of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, was in Tajikistan February 26-27 to review a sampling of programs funded by the U.S. Government, including those that support the logistics and shipment of donated medical supplies.
This shipment included insulin for treatment of diabetes, anti-viral drugs, antibiotics, oncology medicines, cardiovascular medications, psychiatric medications, ophthalmology and otic medicines and ophthalmology vitamins. The private U.S. pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Alcon, Hospira, and Janssen Cilaq contributed to this humanitarian assistance effort with their generous donations.
The donated medicines are intended for distribution among the following health facilities and hospitals in Tajikistan: Republican Clinical Endocrinology Center, Republican Clinical Psychiatry Center, Republican Clinical Ophthalmology Hospital, hospitals #1 and #2 of Khatlon province, Khatlon Regional Cardiology Center, Central District Hospital in Danghara and the Ministry of Health of Tajikistan (for further distribution of the oncology drugs among oncology centers).
It was the first airlift delivery made by Project HOPE this year. HOPE is planning at least three airlifts with donations in 2009. Project HOPE has now been active in Tajikistan for more than six years, during which it has donated over $178 million of medical supplies to Tajikistan’s medical institutions.
The hospitals that have already received medicines through Project HOPE have praised the high quality of the medications.
These donations are possible thanks to the pharmaceutical companies who donated the medicine, the U.S. State Department which provided transport and runs the Humanitarian Aid Program, the Ministry of Health for its cooperation, and Project HOPE for coordinating all necessary activities both in the United States and Tajikistan to make the delivery safely and without delay.
