US donates medicine to Brazil
Most have heard
about the tragic fire that broke out at the Kiss Nightclub, in
the city of Santa Maria, Brazil, on 27 January 2013.
The death of over 230 people has dominated the
international media headlines for nearly a week now.
To
make matters worse, the fire caused low-grade acoustic foam to
burn, releasing toxic smoke and poisoning survivors with
cyanide. The drug
used to treat cyanide poison, commercially known as CyanoKit,
was not available in Brazil resulting in more fatalities.
On 30 January 2013,
the Brazilian Minister of Health requested the donation of 140
doses of CyanoKit to treat the affected individuals. The
Minister of Health stated that, without the drug, an additional
fatality rate of 50 percent could occur.
The DoD Humanitarian Assistance team, including U.S.
Southern Military Command, the Defense Security Cooperation
Agency, the
United
States Agency for International Development, and the
Office of the Secretary of Defense
for Policy, immediately collaborated in finding the
medication and researching the various transportation options
available, working with the Defense Logistics Agency, the
Transportation Security Administration, the State
Department, and various transportation sources, both government
and non-government.
American Airlines offered to transport the kits at no charge, so
this became the chosen option.
Using Overseas
Humanitarian Disaster & Civic Aid (OHDACA) funds, the kits
successful arrived, via the commercial flight, on the morning of
2 February 2013.
The medicine was immediately dispatched to the hospitals for the
patients affected by toxic cyanide.
The Brazilian media
coverage on this humanitarian mission was very well received.
The medicine, successfully arriving in just 48 hours after the
request, was a result of a total HA team effort.
|