Direct Relief International helps people affected by natural disasters, war and poverty by assisting them with medical supplies. It is headquartered at Santa Barbara, California and is assisted by number of employees, Board of Directors, International Advisory Board and Investors. There are also scores of volunteers who help accomplish the vision of the Direct Relief International.

Direct Relief International is a non-profit organization which is regularly featured in Forbes. It is also recognized by number of independent evaluators such as Charity Navigator. Direct Relief International also has all the required licenses to assist under privileged people with prescription drugs. This enables them to supply emergency medications and other prescription drugs free of cost to poor people and also to those who are struck by natural catastrophe.

Direct Relief International's assistance is welcomed and appreciated by a number of countries who have received help from this organization at their time of crisis. Direct Relief International also partners with other organizations such as The Partnership for Quality Medical Donations (PQMD), to enable them procure medicine without any delays.

Direct Relief International is the first organization to be awarded as Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributor (VAWD). This helps the organization to operate wholesale medical distribution. Direct Relief Organization also donates expensive medical equipments to hospitals which are in need of such resources.

This is more so with under developed countries and remote areas where quality medical assistance is still a dream. Other than supplying medicines, providing such equipments helps in providing quality medical assistance to the patients.

Interactive map system helps in tracking the dispatch of medicines. This helps in creating a transparency in the system to assure investors and donors that their money is being put to use for a good cause. They have also donated Telemedicine van's, that helps reach people in remote areas and provide them proper health care.

Purpose

Direct Relief International has a twofold purpose, that is of supplying medical supplies to poor people and building the health care system to help people in need. Their focus is not only on underprivileged people but also those who suffer by natural disasters such as earthquake, floods, fire and tsunami and so on.

Direct Relief International emergency response in partnership with other local organizations and government helps in providing timely assistance to the needy people. Quality health care to such people is achieved by providing medical supplies and also by supplying other equipment which they might need. They also focus on maternal and child health.

They have carried out a number of projects to improve the health conditions of mothers and the children. They actively participated in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, Direct Relief International also contributes in the preventive measures of HIV/AIDS. As their focus is on preventive measures, Direct Relief International supplied about three million rapid HIV tests in 2010.

They also partner with International Pharmaceutical companies to help reach thousands of people with medical care. The organization also takes special initiatives to respond to health hazards in specific countries or areas. For instance, in some countries, the prevalence of malaria might be high. Direct Relief International supports them with the necessary supplies to bring down its occurrence.

The organization also constructed primary health care clinics especially for the poor and people who do not have any kind of medical insurance. These clinics provide medical care for thousands of people in their community. Thousands of people who cannot afford medicines or doctor's consultation and treatment get benefited by these clinics. They have such clinics in Peru and in Los Angeles, United States. Scores of homeless people are benefited from the treatment and medical attention in such clinics.

History

Direct Relief International was founded in 1948 by William Zimdin. Initially, William Zimdin, started distributing basic essentials to people affected by the World War. He established William Zimdin Foundation, which was renamed later as Direct Relief International. The purpose was to serve under privileged people. Direct Relief International received number of requests from other countries for medical assistance. Therefore, the organization started focusing in providing health care system for the poor and below the poverty line people across the world.

The organization took number of initiatives to address different health care needs of countries across the world. Understanding the need for emergency situation, Direct Relief International also partnered with number of organizations to provide emergency relief medical assistance across the world. Direct Relief International is well prepared for any kind of emergencies across countries.

Direct Relief International provides whatever supplies are requested by the health care providers across numerous countries. These supplies reach directly to the under privileged people. Providing International relief became an important focus for the organization. Since 2000, Direct Relief International has supplied medical supplies and cash grants worth over $1 billion. For monitoring such high inventory levels, they have also built proper control points and systems to check that the supplies are reaching the targeted people.

Realizing the need for proper administration of medication, they obtained licenses to supply medicines across many countries. They also recruited people who are qualified to administer such medication. Their staffs are well trained to handle huge amounts of medication and on how to preserve and administer them. The organization is also recognized by the Government of United States and India.

Direct Relief International's work is further carried by many individuals who liberally contribute to the good cause. Many Corporate and philanthropic groups provide support to the organization to reach thousands of people across countries with quality health care.