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Who
We Are
Ivory
Coast Medical Relief Team is a non-profit humanitarian aid organization
whose
members are Ivorians living in the United States of America, and other
people with an interest in Côte d'Ivoire. The organization holds 501(c)3 status and is incorporated in
the State of Washington.
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-
 The Ivory Coast Medical Relief Team (ICMRT)
is dedicated to providing medical assistance to the displaced and
refugee populations of the Ivory Coast.
- ICMRT intends to fulfill this goal by
providing medical supplies to these populations through
partner-organizations with established channels of distribution
- ICMRT and its partner organizations are
committed to providing assistance to those in need regardless of
ethnicity, gender, religion or political affiliation.
Read our story... |
I. Background
On September 19, 2002, Ivory Coast, a country known for its political
and economic stability after 39 years of independence, awoke to a
rebel-led coup. It was the second in less than 3 years. While the coup
itself was a failure, the heavily armed rebels made a strategic
retreat to the second largest city in the center of the country, took
control of the northern half of the country, and enlisted northern
youth into their ranks. The resulting de-facto partitioning of the
country into rebel-controlled North and Government-controlled South
created an unprecedented movement of internally displaced people (IDPs)
fleeing the rebel-controlled areas. It also created an outflow of
foreign immigrants (25 to 40% of the population) toward neighboring
countries. To date this crisis has cost the lives of thousands of
people, and also created a flood of refugees (nearly 1 million and
growing) whom international relief organizations are desperately
trying to shelter, feed, and keep free of diseases. Among these
diseases are malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, meningitis and others,
which government programs are no longer able to control. (85% of
medical personnel have left their posts, and at least 70% of health
care facilities are not functioning.) In the West, the appearance of
two new rebel groups has created additional refugees. Sporadic
fighting has aggravated the situation further by making access to
those refugees very difficult. The UN Secretary General Humanitarian
Envoy, Ms. Carolyn Askie, has filed several reports depicting the
worsening situation for displaced people in Ivory Coast and
neighboring countries.
In order to respond to this emergency, and in anticipation of post-war
health related needs, a non-profit Ivory Coast Medical Relief Team
(ICMRT) was recently created by a group of Seattle, Washington and
Portland, Oregon residents.
II. Objectives
The ICMRT hopes to raise $54,000 within the next 12 months to help
defray the cost of multiple shipments and distribution of medical
supplies obtained from the
Northwest Medical Teams (NWMTI), our local partner, to
war-torn Ivory Coast. This medical aid is in response to emergency
health-care needs created by war and displacement of people. The
distribution will be accomplished through partner-organizations
located in the Ivory Coast, such as
Medical Assistance Program (MAP).
The outcome of this effort is to improve the health of internally
displaced people, and to help counter a degradation of government
programs related to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, meningitis, and other
medical needs due to a lack of funds and closure of many government
health facilities.
III. Implementation Plan
A. Acquisition of medical aid
ICMRT has been working in partnership with Northwest Medical Team
for acquisition of medical aid. Together, our goal is to deliver to
the Ivory Coast Five millions dollars worth of medical supplies in
10 containerized shipments in the next 12 months.
B. Distribution
ICMRT plans to distribute the medical aid through local
organizations, with established distribution centers. The current
plan involves the following:
1. Establishing contacts with local
authorities on arrival of shipments in Ivory Coast
2. Organizing the transfer of the medical aid to partner
organization
3. Assisting with payment of shipping costs from port to port and
from port to refugee centers (at a cost of $6000 to $8000 per
shipment).
C. Populations served
The medical aid will target:
1. IDPs, which according to the UN HCR
consists of 80% women, girls and children. These IDPs often are
disproportionately the target of sexual violence.
2. People infected by HIV, which, according to trends observed in
other civil conflicts, include the armed forces.
3. People infected by tuberculosis. (16 diagnostic centers, in
rebel-controlled areas, have been deserted by 80% of medical
personnel.)
4. Liberian refugees fleeing to the Ivory Coast.
IV. Alliances
A. Partner-organizations
ICMRT has chosen to work with non-governmental organizations
operating in Ivory Coast primarily for unrestricted access to areas,
whether they are government or rebel-controlled. Furthermore we are
open to partnerships with any relief group willing to provide
medical aid to Ivory Coast.
B. Our Current partners are:
1.
Northwest
Medical Teams (NWMTI), Portland, OR.
Our current relief agency partner in the US is Portland-based
Northwest Medical Teams, a non-profit humanitarian aid
organization working to reduce suffering around the world and in
the Pacific Northwest. Visit NWMTI at
http://www.nwmti.org/.
Our key contacts with NWMTI are:
- Joe DiCarlo, Program Manager
- Tammy Curtz, Distribution Manager
2. Medical
Assistance Program (MAP), Brunswick, GA
Our other relief agency partner is Medical Assistance Program
(MAP) from the Christian Medical and Dental Association, based in
Brunswick, Georgia, with representation in Ivory Coast. A
description of MAP may be found at
http://www.map.org/.
The director of MAP-Ivory Coast, Mr. Edouard Yao, has been with
the organization since 1995. Currently, MAP of Ivory Coast has 4
sites in the southeastern region of Bouake, the rebel stronghold,
and is in the process of opening 19 other sites in the West and
Southwest regions. MAP was chosen because it is US-based; it has
local representation in Ivory Coast and is unencumbered by a large
bureaucracy.
C. Recent accomplishments
ICMRT has partnered with NWMTI MAP for the procurement and
distribution of $600,000.00 worth of medicine and supplies. These
were shipped to Ivory Coast on February 17, 2003. An ICMRT
representative traveled to Ivory Coast to establish the network
to receive and distribute goods when they arrived. A recent NWMTI
press release was published regarding the
February shipment.
D. Future
Plans
In the next 12 months ICMRT plans to deliver 10 containers worth
five million dollars ($5,000,000.00) of medical supplies to the
Ivory Coast.
Respectfully,
Patrice Adjibly
Executive Director
ICMRT
Ivory Coast Medical Relief Team
EIN: 02-0657700 |
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ICMRT
14817 Linden Avenue North
Shoreline, WA. 98133
© 2003
ICMRT.ORG
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