The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) serves more than 2.4 million households around the world where life has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The relief agency has launched COVID-19 projects in 37 countries to support frontline workers, low-income families, the elderly and those who have been made redundant as a result of the crisis, writes ADRA Europe, the coordinating office of the European country offices.
"ADRA has been on the ground since the coronavirus outbreak and has responded immediately to help the world's most needy areas, helping people and communities to cope with the unprecedented health, social and economic challenges posed by COVID-19. We are here to continue to support vulnerable families affected by this pandemic, frontline health workers and individuals," said Michael Kruger, President of ADRA International. "Our offices work with thousands of volunteers and trusted partners to ensure that those affected receive basic life-saving supplies, health information, food, toiletries, and cash vouchers to help them overcome and recover from the COVID-19 disaster."
ADRA's emergency response activities range from distributing and securing food, health communication training for frontline staff, delivering medical supplies to hospitals serving vulnerable communities, prevention education, and cash assistance.
Europe
In Belgium, ADRA prepares food and distributes it to several shelters for the homeless and dozens of migrants in Brussels. ADRA Germany plans to run a COVID-19 clinic in Yemen and is involved in prevention work in Somalia. In France, 1,700 vulnerable families, migrants and refugees receive cash vouchers to buy urgentlyneeded goods. In the UK, ADRA supports over 70 community outreach centres, accompanies the work of frontline staff and provides food security for the most vulnerable people. ADRA in Montenegro distributes food packages and hygiene kits to hundreds of elderly and isolated residents, and single parents who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. In Austria, ADRA distributes food packages and provides learning support. In Russia, ADRA produces face masks and distributes them to 35,000 beneficiaries in medical centres and nursing homes. ADRA Slovenia offered volunteer training for community leaders and provided care packages for staff and residents of nursing homes. ADRA volunteers in Spain distribute food and use 3D printer technology to create hundreds of face shields for local hospitals, health care facilities and retirement homes that care for COVID-19 patients. ADRA also works with Spanish government agencies to provide shelter and essential services to the homeless. In Hungary, ADRA has supported a "home study project" for needy students and coordinated volunteers to provide food and medicine to local communities for the elderly and people with chronic diseases. In Switzerland, ADRA has launched the "Young for Old" shopping and relief campaign.
Africa
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the relief organisation has adapted the ongoing community health campaigns against other diseases such as Ebola to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and minimize the risk of infection. In Gambia, ADRA is donating food to more than 2,500 low-income families and hygiene kits to dozens of public centres. ADRA Kenya provides more than 120,000 people in the country with essential goods and medical assistance. In Mauritania, ADRA distributes food and hygiene kits to more than 15,000 people.
Asia
In Asia, ADRA disseminates communication messages and advertisement-based campaigns through videos in social media, local provincial radio, brochures, posters,and banners to raise awareness of the importance of social distance, hygiene, and hand washing. In Cambodia, ADRA provides personal protective equipment and medical supplies to more than 80 health centres and hospitals. In Pakistan, more than 11,400 day-labourersaffected by the closure receive cash transfers. In the Philippines, ADRA is distributing cash vouchers to thousands of quarantined families and more than 43 tons of supplementary food and cleaning products to low-income households. ADRA is also responding to the COVID 19 crisis in Sri Lanka by distributing dry ration packs and hygiene kits to 6,500 people, setting up hand washing stations, providing protective clothing for hundreds of healthcare workers and training public drivers in proper vehicle disinfection and cleaning. In Thailand, nearly 1,500 people in nine refugee camps are receiving hygiene kits.
Australia
In Australia, ADRA supports vulnerable people through services such as pantries, cafés, and community food programmes. In New Zealand, ADRA is supplying supermarket gift cards to 1,200 households nationwide to help 3,600 people economically affected by the pandemic.
Latin America
In Latin America, ADRA is minimizing the spread of COVID-19 through education campaigns for the elderly, patients with chronic diseases and people with special needs. It has launched massive prevention efforts and, with the help of volunteers and churches in Mexico, has distributed thousands of bottles of antibacterial gel to reach blind, deaf and hard of hearing people. In Paraguay, ADRA serves more than 13,000 people, including 17 shelters for homeless and trafficked children and youth, by training public health and welfare workers in health communication, clinical management, and COVID-19 prevention, monitoring and patient control.
North America and the Caribbean
In the U.S. and Caribbean, ADRA supplies personal protective equipment (PPE) and essential medical supplies to thousands of healthcare professionals in suburban health centers that care for COVID-19 patients, including Loma Linda University Health in California and Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center in Maryland, where protective equipment is scarce and delivery of orders can take up to 30 days. In addition, ADRA has partnered with Florida-based AdventHealth to donate and ship protective equipment and medical supplies to hospitals in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, where medical centers also face a severe shortage of protective equipment for staff and supplies for patients.
Commitment around the world
The worldwide Church of Seventh-day Adventists has been an important ally in most of these projects, providing support through its network of hospitals, television and radio stations, and thousands of volunteers.
ADRA has also partnered with other organizations such as Airlink, Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, AdventHealth, World Vision China, and Mormon charities to continue to provide hospitals and health care facilities with medical supplies and other resources to help affected communities. ADRA is expanding its relief efforts to more than 31 additional projects during the next COVID 19 response phase, ADRA Europe writes.
