BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

15/05/2006

National Cancer Coalition Participates in Medicine Airlift to Belarus

Posted by: shannonleskin on Monday, May 15, 2006

Topic PNN Worldwide

The National Cancer Coalition is pleased to announce its participation in the U.S. government's recent airlift of pharmaceuticals to Belarus, which took place during the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident.

The project was part of the U.S. State Department's Operation Provide Hope, a series of humanitarian medicine airlifts to help ease the healthcare burdens of the independent countries that were once a part of the Soviet Union. NCC partnered with U.S. charitable organizations CitiHope International and Heart-to-Heart International to provide cancer medicines that are now being used to treat hundreds of needy Belarusian patients.

The U.S. State Department sponsored the airlift and provided support for air transportation and logistics for all of the medicines from destinations in the U.S. to hospitals in Belarus. Belarus has experienced a significant increase in cancer incidence since the 1986 disaster.

Officials on-hand to meet the planeload of donated medicines at Minsk International Airport included: U.S. Ambassador to Belarus George Krol; U.S. Ambassador for Foreign Assistance to Europe and Eurasia Thomas Adams; Belarusian Vice Minister of Health Vladimir Kolbanov; U.S. State Department's Director of Humanitarian Programs Jerry Oberndorfer; NCC Director of Relief Programs Tom Roane; CitiHope International President Paul Moore; Heart to Heart International President Dr. Gary Morsch; representatives of local humanitarian foundations and recipient hospitals, as well as the Belarusian media. The dignitaries and official delegation also visited a number of the recipient cancer hospitals after the ceremony.

Robert B. Landry, III, President of NCC, stated, "National Cancer Coalition is pleased to be providing requested chemotherapy medicines for the cancer patients of this region of the world, which is still very much affected by Chernobyl." It is estimated that the Chernobyl nuclear accident will ultimately take the lives of tens of thousands of individuals from Belarus, western Russia, and Ukraine. Landry added, "NCC has a mission to help ease the suffering of cancer patients and we will continue to do so where there are unmet needs."

The National Cancer Coalition, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, supports cancer relief, research and educational programs throughout the world. The Coalition's international medical assistance program, termed NCC Cares, provides requested pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and hospital supplies to public hospitals and local humanitarian organizations that help needy patients in over 25 developing countries around the world.

The NCC provides program awards financial assistance to needy cancer patients in the U.S., helping to fulfill many of the unmet expenses associated with their required treatments. Through its Angel Grants program, NCC supports cutting-edge pediatric cancer research. The Coalition also develops and distributes educational materials, resources, and televised public service announcements.

Source:

http://www.pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=6722&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

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