The second wave of COVID-19 in South Asia led to hospitals in Sri Lanka becoming overwhelmed with patients. To support the healthcare system there in this critical period, MedSurplus United cooperated with Sri Lanka Association Midwest and The Johns Hopkins Hospital to supply hospitals across Sri Lanka with personal protective equipment (PPE). With the support of the Sri Lankan Army, we were able to distribute over 13 tons of PPE to clinics throughout Sri Lanka.
The COVID-19 crisis overwhelmed intensive care units (ICUs) in hospitals across Sri Lanka. In response, MedSurplus United worked with a network of Sri Lankan communities across the United States to supply hospitals across Sri Lanka with necessary supplies to care for COVID-19 patients. With the help of Sri Lanka Association Midwest, we were able to ship O2 concentrators, high flow nasal units, and other respiratory-related supplies to hospitals across Sri Lanka.
The Center of Hope was started in 1979 in Mattakkuliya as a response to the Sri Lankan government's forcible relocation of hundreds of families to "clean up the city of Colombo" in 1976. This relocation led to the creation of the Summitpura slum, and the Center of Hope aims to support this community by providing children ages 3-16 with resources for education and physical, emotional, and spiritual health. In order to support this mission, MedSurplus United sent medical supplies and hygiene kits to the Center of Hope.
We also sent medical supplies and hygiene kits to the Horowpathana School, a rural school in Kebithigollewa, Sri Lanka with 110 children. Being in a rural area, they lack many resources including basic health and hygiene supplies and are sometimes supported by the teachers themselves. The region was severely affected by the Sri Lankan Civil War, which lasted for around 30 years. All donations were used to purchase and ship first aid kits for the schools and supplies for hygiene kits (including masks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, hand sanitizer, water bottles, and lunch boxes) for 405 children in total.
Low-income communities have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Thus, we believe we could make an impact by distributing masks at local free clinics and food banks in the Baltimore - Washington Metropolitan Area.
Yemen is currently experiencing the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. Caught in the middle of war, famine, and now a pandemic, many of the Yemeni people are in need of support. We are holding a fundraiser that will donate proceeds to Unicef and the United Nations High Commissionerr for Refugees (UNHCR), as we have researched and worked with officials from these organizations to ensure that our donations will go to assisting in providing for the medical needs for the people of Yemen.
As a result of the death of George Floyd as well as many past incidents of police brutality, many across the nation took to the streets to protest. Unfortunately, this is all happened amidst a global pandemic, as there was no vaccine or cure for SARS-CoV-2. To help out, we distributed masks to anyone attending the protests.
In partnership with Global Links, we were able to ship over 500lbs of surplus medical supplies to Maho Regional Hospital. We mediated between hospital administrators in Maho and Global Links to make sure we were sending supplies that were needed. Some examples of materials shipped include, wheelchairs, crutches, and surgical kits.
This was the first project we undertook after noticing the shortage of supplies in this rural hospital. It was challenging for staff to care for the amount of patients being admitted. We donated multiple nebulizers to help out.
MedSurplus United (EIN: 84-4536082) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Maryland.