“This crisis requires collaborative efforts to ensure that all needs are met with compassion, gratitude, respect, and love.”
— Po Wen Yen, CEO of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation.
Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation Collaborates with Consortium of NGOs to Deliver Vital Medical Aid to Ukrainians
The consortium, consisting of Airlink, ADRA International, Project HOPE, and World Hope International will implement a three-month aid distribution program providing medical supplies to healthcare facilities in Ukraine and communities hosting refugees in the Republic of Moldova.
Washington D.C., 2 June, 2022 – Disaster logistics nonprofit Airlink and its partners ADRA International, Project HOPE, and World Hope International today signed an agreement with the Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation to significantly boost health systems in communities impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The collaborative effort will supply communities in Moldova and war-torn Ukraine with much needed medical supplies, medicines, hygiene kits, and other items necessary to treat conflict-related trauma and provide care related to chronic illnesses, primary care, maternal and newborn health, mental health, and infectious diseases.
“This crisis requires collaborative efforts to ensure that all needs are met with compassion, gratitude, respect, and love” said Po Wen Yen, CEO for Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation. “We are excited to partner with Airlink, ADRA, Project HOPE, and World Hope to reach more displaced communities and provide the life-saving aid that they need. One person’s strength may be small, but together, we can move mountains.”
The three-month project partnership will leverage the capabilities, experience, and resources of all five consortium members under a unique partnership model. With support from the Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation, Airlink will coordinate the transportation of humanitarian supplies highly requested by affected communities and address logistics barriers nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) face in their response to the crisis. Partners ADRA International, Project HOPE, and World Hope International will implement programs in Ukraine and Moldova and coordinate the distribution of the aid to beneficiaries.
“The scale and urgency of the humanitarian need brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine require the highest level of collaboration among the humanitarian sector to ensure the right aid is reaching communities,” said Steven J. Smith, Airlink President and CEO. “We are very grateful to partner with the Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation to help realize our ambitions of resourcing more communities with life-saving supplies.”
The International Organization for Migration estimates that as of May 3, more than 8 million people have been displaced within Ukraine. The situation is particularly dire for those stranded in areas of active conflict within the country. Due to heavy fighting and destruction of infrastructure, access to essentials, including medical supplies and care has become scarce. The UN estimates 15.7 million Ukrainians require life-saving humanitarian assistance.
ADRA International and Project HOPE will focus on providing medicines and medical supplies to hospitals, nonprofits, and community organizations in Ukraine.
“With millions of people in urgent need of medical aid both inside Ukraine and in surrounding countries, the onus is on coalitions like this one to provide humanitarian assistance and prevent the crisis from spiraling deeper,” said Rabih Torbay, CEO and President of Project HOPE. “We are proud of our efforts to ship essential medicines and supplies to frontline healthcare workers thus far, and thankful to our partners for helping us sustain this important work.”
“ADRA is grateful to our new and long-standing trusted partners for their cooperation and support in ensuring that life-saving supplies and medicines reach the many vulnerable refugees and displaced families, children, and individuals in Ukraine and Moldova,” said ADRA President Michael Kruger. “ADRA has been serving communities in the region since the beginning of the conflict and for the past 30 years. Together with our allies, we are committed to continuing to aid, protect, and advocate for all the people affected by this crisis.”
According to UNHCR, more than 460,000 people from Ukraine have entered Moldova, a country of only 2.7 million, since the crisis began. With the influx of refugees threatening to overwhelm health systems, the government declared a state of emergency and is requesting international support to address the escalating humanitarian crisis.
World Hope International will focus on providing Moldovan communities hosting refugees with the supplies needed to provide adequate health care.
“It is a privilege to provide Moldovans with critical supplies to support the stretched medical safety nets that the influx of refugees has caused,” said John Lyon, President and CEO, World Hope International. “Moldova has warmly welcomed the equivalent of 20 percent of their pre-war population and done so while providing refugees with free health care and a place to stay. It is a privilege to support the generous example Moldova has established for the world to follow.”
Tens of thousands of people are expected to receive medical care and other assistance as a result of the consortium’s programs. To learn more about consortium members and their responses to the Ukraine crisis, please visit their websites: Airlink, Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation, ADRA International, Project HOPE, and World Hope International.
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About ADRA: The Adventist Development and Relief Agency is the international humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church serving in 118 countries. Its work empowers communities and changes lives around the globe by providing sustainable community development and disaster relief. ADRA’s purpose is to serve humanity so all may live as God intended. For more information, visit ADRA.org.
About the Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation: The Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation is a global non-profit humanitarian organization founded in 1966 by a Buddhist nun named Dharma Master Cheng Yen in Taiwan. Its missions of medicine, charity, education, and humanistic culture have brought relief to 127 countries and counting. The heart of Tzu Chi is embedded in its name: in Chinese, “tzu” means compassion and “chi,” relief, to relieve the suffering of those in need while creating a better world for all through compassion, love and hope.
About Project HOPE: With the mission to place power in the hands of local health workers to save lives around the world, Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian organization operating in more than 25 countries. Founded in 1958, we work side-by-side with local health systems to improve health and support community resilience. We work at the epicenter of today’s greatest health challenges, including infectious and chronic diseases; disasters and health crises; maternal, neonatal and child health; pandemic preparedness and response; mental health for health workers; and the policies that impact how health care is delivered.
About World Hope International: World Hope International addresses poverty and injustice through market-based and community-led programming in over 20 countries worldwide through its core focus areas of global health, protection, clean water and energy, and social ventures. The organization strengthens public health systems alongside doctors, clinicians, and physical therapists so communities gain access to affordable healthcare and prevention services and provides clean water, sanitation, and hygiene services to healthcare facilities.
