To date, 150 Physician Travel Packs have been delivered to partners around the world for emergency relief in 2008. Haiti and the Caribbean region have received 66 PTPS, while 34 were delivered to Myanmar, (white boxes above shipped free of charge by Air Canada to Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific to Bangkok, Thai Airlines into Yangon, Myanmar) if 28 to China and 24 to Zimbabwe thanks to the generosity of Canadian healthcare companies.

The May of Misfortune.
Cyclone Nargis hit land in Myanmar on May 2, 2008. As organizations around the world were still negotiating aid endeavours, a major earthquake struck the Sichuan area of China on May 12. HPIC responded to both of these disasters with donated Canadian medicine.

Medical aid for Myanmar was channelled through the Canadian group CW Asia Fund and used on the ground by AZG (Medecins Sans Frontieres, Holland). AZG reports working with local staff to deliver medical aid through fixed and mobile clinics in more than 300 villages. According to Nina Cassils of the CW Asia Fund, “Working directly with excellent global organizations with outposts in Myanmar allowed the donations to be used effectively for the benefit of the cyclone victims.”

Excerpt from Health Partners International Canada

For more information contact:
Margaret Buchanan, Manager, Media Relations – email: mbuchanan@hpicanada.ca