Hawaii & American Samoa Brace for Tsunamis 2/27/2010

Both Hawaii and American Samoa have been put on alert for tsunamis today following this morning’s 8.8 earthquake in Chile. Both Hawaii and American Samoa are on the Aidmatrix Network to help coordinate relief efforts should any be needed. The public can view their pages at any time at the following links:

Hawaii


American Samoa

Chilean Earthquake Hits 2/27/2010

The 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Chile early this morning. Information is still coming in and we are coordinating with our partners in the area. More details about needs for in-kind and cash donations to the relief efforts will follow as relief teams arrive and assess the situation. As always, you can use the Aidmatrixnetwork.org for in-kind giving to NGOs working in the relief efforts

Earthquake off Okinawa 2/26/2010

Tsunami warnings for Okinawa have been cancelled. Assessment is still underway regarding damage from Friday’s earthquake off the coast of Okinawa. If relief efforts are required, further details will follow.

Note From Harold Salomon, Executive Director, AHAMES

www.ahames.org

Thank you so much for taking care of our registration on {the Aidmatrix Network}. I was in Haiti last week and came back over the weekend to gather more resources that are needed for our next trip to Haiti on February 16. The devastation is so much that we are seeing only a fraction of it on TV. I have seen first hand many more residential area(s) that collapsed entirely and {are} yet {to be} seen on TV.

Our medical center in Port Au Prince was spared except for few damages to some poles that are being replaced, and reinforced. Some of our resources were donated to the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital in dire need of wound related product (Gauze, tapes, bandages, gloves, antiseptics etc) and we need to replace them.

Please find in the attached some pictures, not seen on TV, of what I have seen on the ground in Haiti.

Aidmatrix Haiti Update

The Aidmatrix team is now in route back from Port-Au-Prince today after another trip to work on setting up relief warehouses with the active NGOs who will continue the work once the cameras crews have left. For our CFO Keith Thode this was his second trip to Haiti in the past two weeks, and our VP of Delivery Michael Ross accompanied him on this most recent trip. Lots of progress is being made to make sure operations continue for the many months to come.

However, it still leaves us feeling that there is still so much to do to keep the flow of necessary supplies coming in to help. Our Dallas team keeps on working through the weekend as they have for the past month as we get Skype updates – the most reliable communication right now from Haiti -- from Keith and Michael on the ground. Their early morning flight from Port-Au-Prince started as they sat side by side with the dedicated relief workers and reporters who know the work is not yet done. Three more flights today before they’ll be home and reassessing the next steps and trips to come.


The one-month anniversary of the Haitian earthquake now officially behind us – but that’s not where the story ends. The long-term recovery efforts are underway.

Aidmatrix & Canned Water 4 Kids

Yet another partner with a great story of generosity for the Haiti Earthquake Relief efforts. CannedWater4Kids (cannedwater4kids.org) is a nonprofit based in Wisconsin that works to deliver clean, safe water for children around the world. They have donated nearly 80,000 cans of water to the people of Haiti. This offer was posted on the Aidmatrix Network and was matched with an NGO working in Haiti. We met Greg Stromberg, Founder of Canned Water 4 Kids, when he first contacted us through our website. Greg spoke of his experience in making and matching his donation offer on the Aidmatrix Network:

“I am now a raving fan of your organization. The experience was excellent and memorable ... (and) one of my volunteer partners … (may) go to Haiti when the canned water is shipped to see if she can help out in any way.”

Thanks to Greg and his organization for joining the relief efforts!

Aidmatrix Europe at the 2nd Annual Global Health Supply Chain Summit, Spain

The Second Annual Global Health Supply Chain Summit was held in early December 2009 in Zaragoza, Spain. Zaragoza Logistics Center (ZLC), a research institute established by the Government of Aragón in Spain in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Zaragoza hosted the summit. ZLC has been designated by the Ministry of Education and Sciences in Spain to be the National Center of Excellence for research in the area of logistics and supply chain management.

Over 100 professionals from around the world representing academia, government Health ministries, and NGOs with special focus on health care in developing countries participated.

On the agenda were speakers from the World Health Organization, Trans Aid, IBM, Wharton Business School and The Aidmatrix Foundation.

Key questions on the table this year:

-What was the evolution of private sector supply chain in developing countries?
-Would the evolution of global health supply chain be similar?
-Are there lessons that can be transferred between sectors?

Shari Temple, Managing Director for the Aidmatrix Foundation Europe, and Richard Lloyd, i2 Consulting Director EMEA and a member of the Aidmatrix European Advisory Board attended.

Shari addressed the delegates on the topic of supply chain solutions supporting medical relief in the humanitarian sector.