For the past two decades, Direct Relief has worked extensively in the United States and its territories to help address gaps in access to required healthcare. Direct Relief’s focus is on helping marginalized communities whose populations are underserved. This is accomplished through the four pillars of Direct Relief’s US programs, including: Disaster Preparedness & Response, Sustainability at the Intersection of Climate and Health and its Power for Health initiative, Health Equity and its Fund for Health Equity and Access to Medicines & Healthcare.
In the United States, there are more than 32 million Americans who are reliant on community safety net clinics to receive healthcare. These are typically uninsured or underinsured families that do not have access to private insurance. Direct Relief (which is licensed to provide Rx products in all 50 states) has provided over $2 billion worth of donated pharmaceuticals and medical technology / consumables to assist US underserved populations (all free of charge), as well as financial grants of over $180 million to help those local providers that treat underserved communities build capacity and be more resilient.
More extensive information on Direct Relief’s US work can be found below for each of the four pillars:
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE:
Given its vast domestic network of Free & Charitable Clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers, county Emergency Operations Centers and state Office of Emergency Services, Direct Relief has built a strong network to help support at-risk and marginalized Americans. The organization typically responds to all disaster and emergency situations across the nation and pre-positions uniform medical related kits in areas susceptible to wildfires or hurricanes. The organization also maintains a stockpile of essential products that can be shipped immediately after an emergency, as the need and location evolve from expected to actual impact and evacuation zones.
Direct Relief has provided hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of pharmaceuticals and medical products to support the acute needs of Americans that have been impacted and requiring access to those medical products. Vulnerable communities become more vulnerable during disasters: it is often the same marginalized communities whose residents are not financially able to evacuate which are the last to regain electricity after a storm and which may need to navigate a prohibitively complex system to access existing government help.
In addition to these immediate needs, Direct Relief helps to rebuild the health infrastructure of impacted communities in a resilient manner, so they are more able to withstand future disasters.
SUSTAINABILITY AT THE INTERSECTION OF CLIMATE AND HEALTH:
Direct Relief’s resiliency work – including its Power for Health initiative - is resulting in significant impact around climate, the environment and health. Direct Relief has implemented resilient power at its own facility in Santa Barbara (the largest micro-grid at a US non-profit facility, it includes 1,000 solar panels and a Tesla backup battery system) and at 40 Free Clinics or Health Centers across the US (with 12 facilities having completed solar panels / backup battery projects and 28 projects in process as of Nov 2024). More than a dozen additional sites have been completed in US territory Puerto Rico.
Direct Relief’s resiliency projects save future resources:
- Reduced electric capacity produced from fossil fuels
- Significant reduction in electric costs
- Reduced loss of medicines and vaccines requiring refrigeration
- Reduced loss of medical equipment requiring continuous power source for maintaining calibration
- Decreased shutdowns and loss of continuous operations during disasters
The needs are significant - Direct Relief is seeking support to expand its current health
work around sustainable power and cold-chain capacity building in the US.
HEALTH EQUITY:
Through its Fund for Health Equity (Fund), Direct Relief is supporting on-the-ground organizations addressing health inequities. These groups have deep ties in the communities in which they serve, and the Fund aims to help them:
- Diversify the healthcare workforce
- Eliminate health disparities
- Harness technology to make healthcare more accessible and reliable for patients
The Fund for Health Equity provides financial support to community health centers, free and charitable clinics, educational institutions and other community-based organizations fighting the inequities that propagate health disparities. The Fund is steered by a prominent Advisory Council with deep connections and experience in communities in which the effects of racism and socioeconomic disparities persist.
Since 2021, Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity has granted more than $50 million to 161 organizations located in 41 states, with additional funds scheduled to be dispersed before the end of 2025. Direct Relief is now seeking new collaborations for the Fund’s next phase.
ACCESS TO MEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE:
Direct Relief is unique among charities to be fully licensed to store, handle, ship and distribute prescription pharmaceuticals. It has extensive expertise in Rx supply chain and logistics, including handling more complex innovative medicines - many of which require cold-chain (2° – 8° C) storage, handling and distribution.
Over the past 15 years, Direct Relief has provided more than $2.4 billion dollars’ worth of donated medical products to help America’s underserved communities. In its past fiscal year, Direct Relief provided more than 100 million defined daily doses of Rx medicines to its extensive US network of provider partners for assistance to all US states / territories.
Your support will be used where needed best within Direct Relief’s United States humanitarian programs. Together we are working to support those in United States to live in dignity and to overcome the healthcare gaps that they and their community currently face.
For more on Direct Relief, please visit its website and Newsfeed at DirectRelief.org.
Thank you for being a part of Direct Relief!
(Photo credit: Direct Relief)
