Tamil Nadu
Staff photo In response to the December 2004 Tsunami that struck India’s southern and eastern coasts, killing over 10,000 people and displacing another 600,000 in India alone, AmeriCares dispatched emergency relief personnel to support the Ministry of Health and the State of Tamil Nadu in conducting a comprehensive health assessment. AmeriCares airlifted 36 tons of medicines, supplies, nutritional supplements, water purification treatments and other aid valued at over $8 million to Chennai. These relief supplies were distributed to more than 30 hospitals and clinics throughout 11 of the worst affected districts, including Nagapattinam and Cuddalore.
Tsunami Recovery Continues with a $100,000 AmeriCares Grant
Tsumani relief is still needed nearly four years after the disaster. AmeriCares helped during the crisis and worked to rebuild. Now we continue our strong support with a grant of over $100,000 to our partner, Project Concern International (PCI), for local health care and emergency planning.
How the Grant Helps Tsunami Survivors
The tsunami damaged Tamil Nadu’s health care system and exhausted emergency resources. Many villagers must now walk at least two to four miles to reach a health clinic. Women and children often have even greater limits on access to care. The region’s high rate of HIV infection also needs greater attention.
AmeriCares grant to PCI helps respond to these needs in four key ways. The grant:
- Improves access to health care to over 24,000 people through mobile medical health teams that provide primary care, vaccines, and testing, as well as counseling and referrals.
- Provides support to design and implement disaster preparedness plans. It also provides training in disaster planning and management, distributing educational materials, setting evacuation routes and forming disaster management committees.
- Creates a micro-health insurance plan that aims to enroll 500 women, providing further access to quality health care they and their families could not otherwise afford.
- Enables general health care, prevention, education and support group services to more than 200 people living with HIV.
AmeriCares Dedication to Tsunami Recovery
Since the December 2004 disaster, AmeriCares has committed over $37 million in assistance to the countries hardest hit by the disaster, including India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
AmeriCares is committed to continuing our tsunami recovery programs in India. We see first-hand the positive results of our work over the past three years but know there is still much to be done to ensure access to health care in the remote areas of Tamil Nadu.
AmeriCares provides immediate relief, but long after the news cameras have gone, our volunteers and partners are still on the ground ensuring health care is better than it was before the disaster.
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