AHF recently confirmed plans to deploy humanitarian supplies to three clinics in Pernambuco, Brazil and five in Recife, in response to the natural disasters the country has recently endured, a press release reported.
"At AHF, we know that in addition to medical care, it is essential to take care of the comprehensive health of our patients, their families and communities, in critical moments like this where they could have lost their home and all their personal belongings,” Latin America and Caribbean Bureau chief for AHF, Patricia Campos, said in the release. “The humanitarian aid that AHF Brazil is now providing in these hard-hit communities in Recife and Pernambuco will be a real lifeline for many whose lives have been upended by these devastating, deadly rains and floods.”
The California-based company will supply 44,000 pounds of supplies, including cleaning and hygiene supplies, chlorine tablets to purify drinking water, generators, food basket cards with non-perishable food items, solar flashlights, 120 mattresses, repair equipment and tents. The HIV-related supplies will cover the needs of nearly 600 people, 40 of whom are currently AHF Brazil clinic patients, plus an additional 560 homeless individuals, which are estimated to make up 10% of the homeless populations based out of the cities in question.
After local storms and flooding killed more than 100 residents in the state of Pernambuco, AHF, responsible for operating 25 facilities in Brazil, “decided our best course here in Brazil is to provide food basket cards with the other supplies to give people the autonomy to buy what they eat and to be able to manage the aid provided,” Country Program Manager for AHF Brazil, Beto de Jesus, said in the release.
Considered the largest global AIDS organization, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation cares for more than 1.5 million clients across countries. It has established its footprint in the U.S., Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe.
Through the launch, the Los Angeles-based foundation also hopes to target disruptions within the logistics of storing a volume of boxes of food, according to the press release.
“A heavy box of food might be difficult to transport and might get lost with new rains. In Brazil we have a long experience of income transfer projects with such cards,” de Jesus said.