As the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe escalates, Direct Relief International has committed additional emergency aid to help treat the waterborne disease in 10,000 patients. The medicines and supplies supplement $1.3 million (wholesale) in medical aid already deployed in response to the health crisis.

Direct Relief is sending to Harare Central Hospital the antibiotic doxycycline; CeraLyte oral rehydration solution (ORS), and water purification tablets to treat 50,000 liters of water and 60 wells. Clean water is critical for cholera patients' full rehydration and helps prevent the disease's spread. The World Health Organization reports that 16,700 people in Zimbabwe are currently infected, and the disease has the potential to spread to 60,000. Cholera has killed 792 people in Zimbabwe since August.

Cholera causes extreme vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to fatal dehydration. Antibiotics, ORS, and clean water are critical to patient treatment. Direct Relief is able to provide these critical materials to help fight the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe thanks to generous donations by Abbott, BD, and Johnson & Johnson.

Direct Relief has established a fund specifically for relief efforts in Zimbabwe. Donor support will first replenish resources tapped in November to provide aid as the crisis became apparent. Civil unrest, rampant inflation, and the cholera outbreak have put an extraordinary strain on Zimbabwe's healthcare system.

Since November, Direct Relief has provided $1.3 million (wholesale) in medicines and supplies to support hospice partners caring for patients too weak to visit the hospital and to help Harare Central Hospital resume care in the wake of extreme resource shortages in Zimbabwe.

About Direct Relief International Founded in 1948, Direct Relief International is a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit organization focused on improving the quality of life by bringing critically needed medicines and supplies to local healthcare providers worldwide. Direct Relief works in 59 countries and has delivered more than $1 billion in privately funded humanitarian medical aid to health professionals serving impoverished communities since 2000. Direct Relief is one of two charities ranked by Forbes that has received a perfect fundraising efficiency score for five consecutive years and is ranked by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as California's largest international nonprofit organization based on private support. For more information, please visit www.DirectRelief.org. ###