Humanitarian Assistance

Counterpart International (Counterpart) has been providing direct humanitarian assistance to Somalia since 2000, including wheelchairs, medical supplies and equipment, books, emergency kits, clothing, food and many other relief items totaling well over $3 million in value. Immediately following the 2005 tsunami crisis, Counterpart provided two shipments of emergency relief kits, tents and hospital linens to the devastated the coastal regions. Counterpart has provided new and refurbished equipment such as walkers, crutches, canes, hospital beds, exam tables, shower chairs, orthopedic supplies and toilet chairs in addition to medical supplies (gauze, gloves, syringes, gowns, bedpans, catheters, surgical tools, laboratory tools and instruments, fluid tubing and hospital linens). Counterpart has procured a limited amount of pharmaceuticals, including de-worming medicines on a per-request basis at additional cost. The average value of a container of medical supplies and/or equipment is about $150,000.

Ocean Freight Reimbursement:
USAID's OFR Program offers subsidies to Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs) to ship commodities overseas for use in privately funded development and humanitarian assistance programs. This has been critical to the success of Counterpart's programs and operations across the world. While USAID reimburses the costs of ocean freight, participating PVOs pay for other costs, such as commodity acquisition, warehousing, insurance, local transportation and distribution.

Since its inception, Counterpart's OFR program has worked in Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Chad, Cambodia, Chile, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Lithuania, Mali, Mauritania, Maldives, Nicaragua, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia.

Photo: © Counterpart International.