SANTA MONICA, CA - International Medical Corps (IMC), which is providing humanitarian medical relief and reconstruction in the areas hardest hit by the South Asia tsunami, today formed a partnership with MAP International to provide at $20 million (US) in essential medicines and medical supplies for Sri Lanka hospitals and clinics.

MAP International will provide the $20 million worth of first aid kits, multivitamins for adults and children, antibiotics, personal care items, surgical supplies, and infant care products and IMC will coordinate the transportation from MAP's U.S. facility in Brunswick, Ga., to Sri Lanka. The products will be shipped to the hard hit Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, where IMC is operating a comprehensive health care program in Ampara, as well as mobile clinics in Trincomalee and rehabilitating the rural hospital in Batticaloa. Donated transport of the 20.5 tons of supplies is being coordinated by DHL. U.S.-based DHL employees have banded together to pay for tsunami relief shipping and in-country logistics out of their own pockets under the company's "Cargo With Care" program.

With MAP International's donation, IMC will be able to cover the short-term needs of 50,000 people in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Most of its efforts will be focused on Ampara district on the southeastern coast. Ampara was directly in the path of the December 26 tsunami, and was the first area in Sri Lanka to be hit, without warning, by massive waves that struck the low-lying coast. Hussein Ibrahim, IMC's team leader in Sri Lanka, said the waves flattened buildings, including hospitals and medical clinics, swept people away and left the area looking like it had been carpet-bombed. Most of Sri Lanka's 30,000 fatalities were in the Ampara district.

According to Nancy Aossey, CEO of IMC, one of the untold stories in the humanitarian relief effort of the past few months is the willingness of some NGOs to selflessly help others working in the tsunami zone to get the job done. "We're grateful to MAP for understanding what all NGOs should: it is possible to greatly relieve suffering if we drop organizational barriers and focus on getting the job done, whether that is through our own organization or one on the front lines," she said. "Not having to worry immediately about stocking our clinics with medical supplies allow us to concentrate on providing health care, psychosocial programs, mobile clinics, livelihood rehabilitation, and water and sanitation issues. It's a load that's been lifted," she said.

With its donation to IMC, MAP International has reached a critical milestone in its history of giving, said Michael J. Nyenhuis, President. "We've topped the $2 billion mark in relief this organization has provided since our founding in 1954. The magnitude of the tsunami disaster and the need to re-equip hospitals and clinics and get them back up to speed again is a long-term effort. While we're pleased to have achieved a major milestone, the tsunami disaster reminds us that the challenge never ends - we have to be ready to meet whatever need comes around the corner," he said.

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