Direct Relief Works with Wuhan United to Rush Facial Masks to China
San Francisco Bay Area Chinese Professionals Help NGOs Reach Chinese Hospitals Directly to Fight Coronavirus.
Through the joint efforts of Direct Relief and Wuhan United, more than 2.5 tons of urgently needed medical supplies, including 200,000 surgical masks and gowns have been delivered to Wuhan Union Hospital. These much-needed supplies will help medical relief efforts to help fight the coronavirus.
Wuhan United is a group of Chinese Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area. Wuhan United is founded by Huazhong University of Science & Technology Northern California Alumni Association, Wuhan University Northern California Alumni Association. Since 1948, Direct Relief has provided direct and targeted medical assistance to help communities recover from disaster and improve the quality of their lives.
Direct Relief and Wuhan United worked together to ensure donations were directly shipped to hospitals in China.
“Our extensive alumni network in China enables us to clear customs in other cities in China and transport supplies to Wuhan,” said Tom Gong of Wuhan United. The top four hospitals in Wuhan are affiliated with Wuhan University and Huazhong University of Science & Technology. We have large team on the ground in Wuhan, a region that has been difficult to reach since January 23, 2020 due to quarantines and other virus containment efforts. . This team can help put the donated supplies to the best use.”
Individual members of Wuhan United have worked with Direct Relief in the past, such as the 2008 efforts to assist earthquake victims in Sichuan.
“Direct Relief is keenly sensitive to the need to respond fast and in close coordination with public health officials in circumstances such as the unfolding coronavirus situation,” said Direct Relief CEO Thomas Tighe. “We’re deeply thankful for Wuhan United and others working to coordinate such a quick response to very specific requests from Chinese health officials who are managing a very large, complex situation.”
“Hubei Charity Federation (HCF) is one of two government-designated donation recipients in Hubei, along with the Red Cross Society of Hubei. We worked with donors like Direct Relief to get supplies directly to hospitals,” said HCF secretary general Shengxiang Xiong.
“We like the approach Wuhan United takes to source medical supplies for our medical team. Wuhan United medical members in both Wuhan and US worked together to select the best products and update our demands on a daily basis”, said Yu Hu, President of Wuhan Union Hospital affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
Direct ReliefⓇ is a humanitarian aid organization, active in all 50 states and more than 90 countries, with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies – without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay.
Wuhan United is founded by Huazhong University of Science & Technology Northern California Alumni Association, Wuhan University Northern California Alumni Association. Wuhan United is a group of Chinese Americans in San Francisco Bay Area, with a mission to support Wuhan's medical staffs by delivering medical supplies to the coronavirus outbreak area, setting up financial fund for post-crisis care for doctors & nurses in Wuhan and providing coverage and awareness of the coronavirus crisis. We work with established NGOs like Direct Relief to achieve these goals.
Union Hospital affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology（aka Wuhan Union Hospital) was founded in 1866 and has the longest history in Wuhan. The hospital has 5,000 beds. There were 5,703,000 outpatient visits, 227,000 admissions and 121,000 operations annually. The hospital has currently more than 8,000 staff members.
Media contact:
Direct Relief: Tony Morain, tmorain@directrelief.org
Wuhan United: Sunny Sun, media@wuhanunited.org
Wuhan Union Hospital: Wei Zhang, inter.ex.whuh@hust.edu.cn