CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.
CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.
The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.
6-Oct-2015 - With hundreds of thousands fleeing Syria as a result of continued violence and years of conflict, Greece has become overwhelmed by the number of migrants and asylum seekers. Estimates claim approximately 340,000 people have made their way from the Middle East, with 258,000 either remaining in or passing through southern European countries as they travel into the European Union.
With the instability of the Greek banking system, the situation continues to worsen as the overwhelmed Greek economy is unable to provide access to basic services, including healthcare, shelter, and food. Living conditions are dire, with severe overcrowding causing poor hygiene conditions and forcing many to sleep outdoors in public spaces or abandoned buildings without access to electricity or running water. The government of Greece has requested assistance in dealing with this humanitarian crisis.
GlobalMedic is responding by providing relief items to migrants and asylum seekers, including blankets, non-food items, and food baskets. These items will help to address the needs of the asylum seekers as they continue to move throughout Europe in search of permanent residence.
If you would like to contribute to GlobalMedic's Refugee Response programming, please donate at the CanadaHelps Refugee Crisis Fund.
28 August, 2015 - The situation in Ukraine is dire and the conflict in the country continues, with death tolls exceeding 6800 as of August 2015. The threat to civilian life is at an all-time high, causing over 1.45 million people to become internally displaced in an attempt to escape the violence. Over 5 million have been severely impacted by the crisis. Despite ceasefires, parts of Donetsk and Luhansk suffer shelling on a daily basis. Government services were withdrawn from areas controlled by armed groups in early December 2014, severely threatening the wellbeing of civilians. UNOCHA Situation Reports have identified not only severe needs in conflict-affected areas, but also a continually worsening situation and a severe lack of humanitarian response. Hospitals and clinics are closed or only partially operational due to a lack of supplies and personnel. Even if medical treatments were available, many IDPs are unable to afford them, exacerbating the health risks that threaten families.
Globalmedic is continuing distribution of Hygiene Kits and Non-Food Item Kits to families who have fled their homes in an attempt to escape ongoing violence. In addition, the team is delivering essential medical supplies to hospitals in critical need. To date, the Globalmedic team has delivered 1,175 food packages and 1,175 hygiene kits packed with essential hygiene supplies to support the immediate needs of families. The aid will help families and protect their health as they brave the crisis.
30 April 2015 - On Saturday, April 25, 2015, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal – the largest quake in 81 years in the region. As the rubble is slowly cleared the death toll rises. The quake has caused food, water and shelter shortages. Aftershocks continue to rattle the area, causing people to sleep in the streets in fear of collapsing buildings. Families are desperate to find missing loved ones. Hospitals are overwhelmed with injured. Supplies of medicines are also running low. The airport is inundated with people trying to leave, and aid groups arriving to offer assistance.
GlobalMedic is responding. Teams are currently on the ground in Kathmandu with water purification units. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Unit will begin mapping the devastation to help target areas with the greatest need. Additionally, GlobalMedic is deploying field hospitals and tents that will support the treatment of patients by replacing crucial medical infrastructure that has been damaged by the earthquake. Your help is needed, 100% of your donation will go towards sending aid to Nepal. Please donate at https://www.canadahelps.org/dn/23548.
10 February 2015 - The humanitarian needs in Northern Iraq have remained unremitting. Families have been displaced from their homes as a result of the intense violence plaguing parts of Iraq. Many have settled in Kurdistan and now struggle without basic necessities to support their health, hygiene and warmth throughout the cold winter months.
As a result, GlobalMedic doubled its winterization response, delivering an additional two phases of support to IDP families in Kurdistan. The program targeted the most vulnerable families that lacked adequate shelter and access to basic services. This included both those living inside IDP camps in Al Sulaymaniyah, as well as those in informal settlements.
Roughly 2000 IDPs were reached every day throughout the duration of the extended program, as the team worked to distribute nearly 300 kits daily. Vulnerable families were provided with supplies that they specifically needed, every kit being customized for the unique needs of each family: Diapers for families with a newborn, extras for those with multiple children, enough blankets to provide warmth for every member of the family and packs of sanitary napkins for female IDPs. The GlobalMedic team also traveled to a number of local churches in order to reach the hundreds of families seeking shelter there.
8 December 2014 – As Typhoon Hagupit continues to sweep across the Philippines, United Nations agencies are quickly responding to the needs of the local population by providing critical life-saving supplies. The Organization also commended the Filipino Government for its swift and efficient first-response efforts which saved many lives. An estimated 1 million people remain in 687 evacuation centres throughout the country. There are still almost a million people – many still recovering from Haiyan – who have been driven from their homes.
UNICEF’s Tacloban office, established after Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the nation in November 2013, activated its emergency response plan last week. Among the most pressing threats to health were poor sanitation and unclean water meaning that a restoration of existing water sources is a top priority.
The agency added that it had strategically prepositioned supplies in warehouses in Tacloban, Manila and Cotabato, including water kits, hygiene kits, water pumps, generators, water storage and treatment facilities as well as nutritional therapeutic food items to combat malnutrition, oral rehydration salts and tarpaulins power for at least 12,000 families.
December 2, 2014 - In October, Cyclone Hudhud caused widespread damage across several states in India. Over 100 people were killed, and several regions were under extreme threat of avalanches. The health of thousands of community members is hugely threatened, with cases of malaria, fever, skin allergies, and jaundice prevalent, highly linked to contamination of the available water sources and large amounts of stagnant water.
GlobalMedic has been conducting needs assessments throughout the region to identify the communities with the greatest need of support. Even weeks after the disaster, neighborhoods are still struggling without power, and many families have access to mainline water for just one hour each morning. Homeowners who lost their homes are now living outside or with neighbours, and the government has taken no action to support these homeless individuals. Further, in areas without proper latrines or formal drainage systems, community members have undertaken to dig informal drains that weave through the huts in an attempt to remove the stagnant water that threatens the health of their families.
23 July 2014 -- It’s one of the world’s most devastating diseases, which can cause death in up to 90 per cent of cases. And today, an unprecedented Ebola epidemic threatens more than 60 communities in Western Africa. As soon as we received the first reports of an Ebola outbreak in Guinea earlier this year, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) acted quickly, sending teams of medical and mental health staff to provide psychological support to affected communities and to help contain the disease. But Ebola has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia in multiple, remote sites, complicating efforts to treat patients and curb the epidemic. Now, we’re asking for your support in these efforts to save lives.
9 July 2014 -- An estimated 1.5 million South Sudanese are currently internally displaced and there are over 367 260 refugees outside of the South Sudan. About 1.58 million people have been reached with medical interventions since January 2014. The cholera outbreak has spread to new areas and by 8 July there has been 3152 cholera cases, including 70 deaths (CFR 2.3%). The cholera cases in new areas has prompted partners to step up preparedness in high risk areas. Increasing cases of Hepatitis E affecting mostly women in Mingkaman, Awerial County, Lakes State have intensified the need for the declaration of an outbreak.
CDC on Homemade Cloth Face Coverings CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially...
6-Oct-2015 - With hundreds of thousands fleeing Syria as a result of continued violence and years of conflict, Greece has become overwhelmed by the number of migrants and asylum seekers....
28 August, 2015 - The situation in Ukraine is dire and the conflict in the country continues, with death tolls exceeding 6800 as of August 2015. The threat to civilian...
