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PAHO Foundation and MedShare Join Forces in Bringing Better Health to Latin America and the Caribbea


Atlanta, GA (October 20, 2017) – PAHO Foundation (the Foundation) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MedShare, a 501(c)3 humanitarian aid organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people, communities, and the planet through the delivery of medical supplies and equipment. The MoU formalizes their partnership geared toward improving health outcomes in the Americas, with a focus on the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.

The relationship will commence with disaster recovery initiatives assisting LAC countries recently hit by the earthquakes in Mexico and Hurricanes Maria, Irma, and Jose. These countries and territories include Dominica, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Croix and St. Thomas, the US and British Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, Haiti, and Puerto Rico. The two will partner with Ministries of Health and local stakeholders to present a strategic, timely response that will not only provide needed aid and resources but also strengthen weakened medical service delivery systems. The Foundation and MedShare look forward to advancing long-term efforts that will improve the health and wellbeing of those most vulnerable in LAC.

“This integral partnership is at the heart of PAHO Foundation's mission – We bring together innovators, influencers, and investors across private and public sectors to drive sustainable improvements in health. Furthermore, this fortified alliance will strengthen the Foundation's efforts to safeguard and improve the health of the people of the Americas, including addressing the devastation and health impacts brought on by recent natural disasters,” said the Foundation’s President and CEO, Dr. Jennie Ward-Robinson. “PAHO Foundation is honored to work alongside partners like MedShare, who are equally committed to servicing the people of Latin America and the Caribbean. On behalf of the Foundation, I thank MedShare for their valued partnership and anticipate many great outcomes from our continued collaboration!”

The MoU recognizes the urgent need for increased cross-sector cooperation in ascertaining health threats and implementing long-term solutions sustaining regional health. Through their coordinated actions, they will carry out programs to “improve access to quality health care and public health in the LAC region,” based upon the following core principles:

  • Good health is necessary for productive and prosperous societies;

  • Quality health care accessible to all is necessary for good public health;

  • Health care solutions should be responsive to the needs of citizens, be evidence-based, and information-driven;

  • Public health and access to quality health care can be improved by: (i) building relationships, improving communications, and enhancing cooperation and coordination among public and private sector health care and public health stakeholders; (ii} identifying health care and public health challenges in LAC; (iii) launching investigations into the causes of health care and public health challenges in LAC; (iv) identifying, testing, and implementing potential solutions to health care and public health challenges in LAC; and (v) mobilizing the resources (technical, equipment, and financial} needed to accomplish the foregoing.

“In light of the recent disasters that have shaken our friends and neighbors in Latin America and the Caribbean, MedShare is especially glad to announce our partnership with PAHO Foundation,” said MedShare’s CEO and President Charles Redding. “As we work to help people in affected areas recover and rebuild, we know that our organizations’ combined efforts will enable stronger health systems and healthier communities to grow out of these tragedies. In our 20 years of operation, we have seen time and time again how cooperative organizations working together with local communities can accomplish incredible things. We look forward to the kind of lasting and positive impact that PAHO Foundation and MedShare will make for public health."

In the longer term, the Foundation aims to utilize this strategic partnership to bolster its work enabling individuals, families, and communities across the Caribbean to live long, healthy, and dignified lives.

The Foundation and MedShare are currently engaged in a joint rebuilding campaign to provide support to those most impacted by the recent hurricanes and other natural disasters. As they continue to ramp up their campaign, they are identifying additional strategic partners throughout the region to assist in the mobilization of technical, financial, and intellectual resources. The collective response will focus on the most urgent humanitarian needs that enable the restoration and preservation of human health and dignity. This includes providing essential resources that prevent and impede the spread of diseases and enable a pathway to fundamental, quality health, such as clean drinking water, shelter, and access to disease prevention and management.

To achieve optimal impact in our response and recovery efforts, the Foundation calls on industry leaders throughout the region to join the Foundation’s disaster rebuilding campaign. Together, necessary economic- and non-economic materials can be rallied to prevent further disease and mortality.

For additional information regarding the Foundation’s new MoU or to inquire about partnering with us on our disaster recovery campaign, please contact Minerva Saddler, the Foundation’s Interim Vice President, Development, Latin America and the Caribbean, by phone at 404-382-8967 or via email at msaddler@PAHOFoundation.org.

Source: http://www.pahofoundation.org/2017/paho-foundation-and-medshare-join-forces-in-bringing-better-health-to-latin-america-and-the-caribbean

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