One year after being rocked by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake, relief groups in Pakistan have received nearly $8.7 million in total aid from Direct Relief International, according to a new special report from the medical material aid organization.

Of the roughly $8.7 million in aid, $7.5 million came in the form of medical resources that were specifically requested by end user health professionals. The remaining $1.1 million was distributed to 12 clinics, hospitals, associations, and organizations throughout the region in the form of targeted cash grants to improve health care infrastructure.

The quake, centered in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, left three million people homeless and 200,000 people injured, forcing them to face the Himalayan winter in temporary shelters and tents.

The report, available at www.directrelief.org, gives in-depth details as to how this aid was used, including;

• Financing the entire Pakistan Institute of Prosthetic and Orthotic Sciences for two years, ensuring the provision of artificial limbs for earthquake victims at its five clinic sites;

• Equipping six facilities with laboratories, X-ray machines, a prefabricated shelter, and an array of basic medicines for the largest non-profit rural support program, and;

• The creation of 20 Basic Health Units that replaced demolished clinics throughout the quake zone and provided vital care for women and children.
  Relief efforts in the region are ongoing, and Direct Relief has approved two additional grants this month totaling $110,784 for the Real Medicine Foundation and Comprehensive Disaster Response Services. Both grants will enable the respective organizations to keep operating their continuing long-term health care services.
  Direct Relief distributed its aid with its same historic efficiency, spending none of the $1.5 million in donations received for earthquake aid on administrative or fundraising costs.
  About Direct Relief International
  Founded in 1948, Direct Relief International is a Santa Barbara, CA-based non-profit organization focused on improving the quality of life by bringing critically needed medicines and supplies to local healthcare providers throughout the world. Direct Relief distributed over $200 million in direct aid through medical material assistance and targeted cash grants to more than 300 healthcare facilities and organizations in 56 countries serving 23.9 million people. Forbes recognized Direct Relief for the fourth consecutive year as one of only eight non-profit organizations in the United States that is 100 percent efficient in fundraising.
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