Getting medicine to where it is needed most.

Medicine boxed and shipped to Haiti received by father and CMMB local employee.

Medicine boxed and shipped to Haiti received by father and CMMB local employee.

For over 100 years, CMMB’s Healing Help program has been sending much needed medicines around the world. Back in 1931, $50,000 worth of medicines and medical equipment were sent to overseas missions. We have grown that program significantly since then, and over the last 10 years, we have shipped more than $2 billion worth of life-saving medicines to more than 120 countries.

The Healing Help program continues to respond to the alarming shortage of quality medicines and primary healthcare products in resource-limited countries. Once received by our 31,000 square foot, climate-controlled distribution center in New York, these generous donations from our partners are placed in hundreds of locations around the world through our expertise in complex global logistics and our extensive network of trusted partners.

Last week in Port-au-Prince, CMMB’s Haiti office, in partnership with health systems throughout the country, facilitated the distribution of medical donations received from a new and innovative CMMB partner, Teligent. In preparation for the shipment, nearly 100% of Teligent’s employees volunteered their time to produce prescription topical medicine specifically for donation to CMMB to reach patients in need.

They are at the forefront of a model of donation that ensures targeted impact of critically needed products for under-resourced facilities. CMMB’s team in Port-au-Prince communicated with partner sites to perform a needs assessment for the product to ensure it was distributed where it was needed most.

The first delivery was made on July 13th, to Hospital Alma Mater in the rural community of Gros Morne, Haiti. With 60 beds, it’s the only hospital providing care to over 145,000 residents. While only 100 miles away from Port-au-Prince, the journey takes over three and a half hours due to the challenging terrain. This serves as a testament of how difficult it can be to ensure medicines get to the last mile.

At Hospital Alma Mater, the medicine will be primarily used as an anesthetic before venipuncture in the pediatric ward. Thanks to this generous donation from Teligent, kids of Gros Morne, Haiti will no longer have painful pokes!

Topical Lidocaine 4% solution was delivered by CMMB volunteers pictured below, including one of our newest volunteers, Brittany Jonap (right).

Brittany, a pharmacist volunteering with CMMB, presents the boxes of Lidocaine 4% to the Hospital Alma Mater pharmacy staff.

Brittany, a pharmacist volunteering with CMMB, presents the boxes of Lidocaine 4% to the Hospital Alma Mater pharmacy staff.

Over the coming weeks, CMMB will deliver the remaining stock to hospitals throughout the country. Our teams in Kenya, Zambia and South Sudan are also currently distributing this important donation.

To learn more about our Healing Help program, click here. If you are interested in partnering with us, email us at partnerships@cmmb.org.