Medical Teams International Launches Campaign to Raise $1 Million USD by August 31
Severe Funding Crisis
The global humanitarian aid sector has faced enormous funding challenges in 2025, due to the U.S. government's dissolution of USAID, deep funding cuts to many UN agencies, and decreased availability of funds worldwide. Despite sharply rising needs due to hunger, conflict, and displacement, the U.S. and the international community are pulling back aid, impacting some of the world's most vulnerable people.
Among them are roughly 122 million people around the world who have been forced to flee their homes. Families and individuals who have been displaced experience high levels of physical and emotional distress and are at greater risk of life-threatening illnesses. In Uganda, home to nearly 2 million refugees, stockouts of key medication and supplies due to procurement delays by UNHCR are increasing. Also, high workloads for medical staff – 75 consultations per clinician per day last quarter – mean patients who are fortunate enough to be seen are receiving less time and attention.
Medical Teams' Work
Medical Teams works in seven countries including the U.S., and our dedicated local staff and community health volunteers provide essential healthcare to refugees, internally displaced people, and host communities. For 45 years, we've been saving lives, alleviating suffering, and restoring human dignity by offering comprehensive services in health, nutrition, and mental health. We serve in complex humanitarian settings where healthcare systems have been disrupted, access to care is limited or nonexistent, and external assistance is required.
Available Aid Difficult to Access
Many of Medical Teams' health services fit into the current administration's definition of life-saving work and have thus been deemed eligible for humanitarian waivers and reimbursement of program expenses incurred earlier this year. However, many do not qualify but are potentially life-saving. These activities, like addressing mental health conditions such as PTSD, as well as moderate malnutrition, are the pillars that support the safety and well-being of children and families at border points and in refugee camps and settlements. For example, food rations have been scaled back significantly and nutrition supplements for pregnant and lactating women are no longer available in many areas.
'All of our staff and volunteers are determined to rise to the moment to meet more needs and save more lives, and we're so thankful for the donors who have already joined us,' said Eric Ha, Medical Teams President & CEO. 'However, as we navigate this time of great uncertainty, we need many more people of goodwill to join us. We believe in the American people's compassion, generosity, and sense of common humanity. If there was ever a time to demonstrate those virtues, it's now.'
$500K Campaign Match
Medical Teams is grateful that an anonymous donor has committed a $500,000 match to the Rise to the Moment campaign. We aim to raise another $500,000 by August 31 to maximize the donation, enabling us to provide vital health services to people in crisis and facing vulnerability.
For more information or to give, visit https://www.medicalteams.org/donations/ and https://annualreport.medicalteams.org/
About Medical Teams International
Founded in 1979, Medical Teams International provides life-saving medical care for people in crisis, such as refugees, internally displaced persons, and survivors of conflict zones and natural disasters. Daring to love like Jesus, we care for the whole person and serve all people. Learn more at medicalteams.org and on social media using @medicalteams.
Attachments
Karen Piatt Medical Teams International 2067080355 [email protected]
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
6 minutes ago
- CBS News
After 8-year-old son dies, Northwest Indiana family urges vaccination against meningitis-causing bacteria
It's back-to-school week for tens of thousands of students in the Chicago area, and at this time of year, sicknesses creep up with kids being in close quarters. With that in mind, a grieving Northwest Indiana family wants to share a message about vaccinating children. Lake Prairie Elementary School in Lowell, Indiana, will be chirping with activity for the first day of school soon. Liam Dahlberg will not be there to start fourth grade. "He was one-of-a-kind," said Liam's still-tearful mom, Ashlee Dalhberg. "Anybody that knew him, described him as a walking angel on earth." Liam is now an angel in heaven. His parents, Ashlee and Erik Dahlberg, want to share the tragedy that robbed them of their 8-year-old — they showed CBS News Chicago videos of Liam looking completely out-of-it in the emergency room. "That Thursday turned his world upside down, and ours as well," said Erik Dahlberg. The Thursday in question transpired in April of this year. After a normal day of school, Liam got off the bus and complained of a headache. "We gave him ibuprofen, and he went outside and was playing with his friends for a while," said Erik Dahlberg. "Then he came back in and said he had a headache again." The family from Lowell took Liam to a local hospital after he began hallucinating. He was quickly transferred to the Comer Children's Hospital at the University of Chicago. "He had over 100,000 white blood cells in his spinal fluid," said Ashlee Dahlberg. It was a sign that Liam's body was fighting a severe infection. That battle caused meningitis — meaning Liam's brain swelled. "We were just trying to cheer him on, trying to pull him through — hoping for that slight miracle that he would come through," said Ashlee Dahlberg. Liam died around 3 a.m. that Saturday — only 36 hours after getting off the bus with a headache. "I just don't want anyone else to go through what we've gone through for something that is so preventable," said Ashlee Dahlberg. Indeed, what happened to Liam is vaccine preventable. Dr. Allison Bartlett, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Comer, knows all about that. "I'm really glad for people who have the courage to speak up and share their stories," Bartlett said. Dr. Bartlett did not work personally on Liam's case, but her colleagues did. They noted in his hospital record, "We are suspicious for Haemophilus influenzae Type B," also known as HIB. Haemophilus influenzae are a type of bacteria. "There are years where there's not even 20 cases in the country," said Bartlett. Disease caused by HIB decreased by 99% after vaccines were introduced in the late 1980s and early 1990s. "How is HIB still out there? There is not much of it around, which is great," said Bartlett. "But it's not completely gone. And it's probably more likely present in someone who is not vaccinated." Liam had all his shots. But about 20% of Lake County, Indiana kids are not vaccinated for HIB, according to state health data. HIB immunization rates across the state dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, and are still recovering. "As levels of vaccinations surrounding them decrease, it increases the risk for the individual who happened to not respond to the vaccine," said Bartlett. That was what happened to Liam. And with their son gone, the Dahlbergs will do anything to help their message. "Please do the vaccinations," said Ashlee Dahlberg. "If we can persuade one parent who is on the fence about vaccine or not vaccine, then it's all worth it," said Erik Dahlberg. Indiana does not require the HIB vaccine, but recommends it to go to daycare or preschool. Illinois mandates the vaccine.
CBS News
6 minutes ago
- CBS News
Community gives nearly $20,000 to St. Paul coffee shop owner battling cancer
Nina's Coffee Cafe has stood in St. Paul, Minnesota, for two decades, but inside its doors, a community fixture has worked a bit more behind the scenes lately. In April, the cafe's owner, June Berkowitz, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. "She's been handling it all with a smile and a lot of grace," said friend Mya Honeywell. Several of Berkowitz's friends have since decided to lend a hand, starting up a fundraiser for their beloved friend, known for her love of local music, the arts and always being there to brighten someone's day. "June is ... a bright light," said longtime customer Julie Duckstad. "She has a smile, and she is just a really positive person." In the past few days, nearly $20,000 has poured in from the community. "We've had people from St. Paul, people from out of town, people we don't even know," said friend Anne Pollock. The friends said the cancer diagnosis hit hard, but the extra funds will help with specialized treatments, medications and travel for care. "She can get the quality of care that she needs without worrying about what that looks like," said friend Susan Page. Friends hope to raise enough to allow Berkowitz to continue her fight so she can return her focus to being a grandmother. "June would do the same thing for any single person that meant anything to her," said Page.
CBS News
6 minutes ago
- CBS News
CDC employees recount when gunman fired at least 180 shots at buildings: "Shocking but not surprising"
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees in Atlanta on Monday recalled the harrowing moment a gunman fired nearly 200 shots at multiple office buildings last week, killing a responding police officer. Four CDC workers, who were not authorized to speak publicly, told CBS News under the condition of anonymity that they were "deeply disappointed and frustrated" by an apparent lack of leadership following Friday's shooting. Three of the four employees are mothers and all of them had differing experiences of the gunfire: one was inside a building standing in a window that would be later shot out, one was inside the daycare with her children, one was walking to their car and another was at home. "I was walking to my car. I heard a very, very distinct and crisp pop, pop, pop, pop," one CDC employee said. "I knew that I had to get myself to safety because if I continued walking across the courtyard, I could potentially be in a killing field." The pops heard were among at least 180 shots hitting at least 150 windows and doors on the CDC campus, according to two people with direct knowledge of the investigative findings from the ongoing probe of the shooting. Glass shards were propelled 30 to 60 feet into multiple rooms. A second CDC worker said she wasn't sure at first whether the sounds she heard were construction noise or gunshots, then she saw a daycare teacher running with three kids. The noise changed when the bullets began hitting her building, she said. She recalled sheltering in place in her building for 2 hours without knowing where the gunman was. The shooter, identified as 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White, died during the incident, police said. It remains unclear whether White died by self-inflicted gunshot or by police gunfire. His motive is still unknown at this stage of the investigation, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said on Friday. Several of White's neighbors told CBS News that he was outspokenly against vaccines, and a law enforcement source said authorities were looking into the possibility that the gunman believed the COVID-19 vaccines had made him sick. When asked whether they "saw this" coming, another employee said, "I wouldn't say we saw it coming. I would say more that it wasn't a surprise." "The CDC's been vulnerable for a really long time," she said. "It's shocking but not surprising." The last employee told CBS News that she was leaving a daycare located in front of the CDC campus with her children and heading toward her car when they heard gunshots. She said she sprinted back into the daycare and hid with about eight children inside the bathroom, the only place without windows. "My kids kept asking what was that loud popping noise," she said. "I'm still figuring out how this has affected my children." Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy on Monday visited the CDC headquarters, seeing the damage and meeting with the widow of the police officer killed, David Rose. In a statement on Monday, the HHS referred to Kennedy's remarks shared in his X post on Saturday: "We are deeply saddened by the tragic shooting at CDC's Atlanta campus that took the life of officer David Rose. We stand with his wife and three children and the entire CDC family." At a news conference following Kennedy's visit, a spokesperson for the CDC Union AFGE Local 2883, which represents approximately 2,300 members, said the group found out about the shooting before the CDC sent a systemwide alert. The union criticized Kennedy following his visit, saying, "He spent less time on the ground than the attacker did." They called for improved communication, as well as stepped up security, including 24/7 perimeter armed guards across campuses, installation of bulletproof glass, weapon detection measures and more extensive evacuation planning. The CDC employees who spoke to CBS News said they expect more from the health secretary, hoping he would condemn the rhetoric that they believe led to the shooting. "I think the challenge is that it would be hard for anyone to trust that he's sincere," one employee said in reference to Kennedy, who has been criticized for his past anti-vaccine statements. "He has been trashing ... the whole administration has been trashing the CDC and the work that we do."Anna Schecter contributed to this report.
