Southern Regional Health Authority Receives Hurricane Relief Supplies

The Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) on Friday (November 7) received a container of relief supplies from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), to assist the restoration of healthcare services at badly affected facilities in the region.

The supplies include tarpaulins, water, generators, wheelchairs, crutches, some small food packages and various other essential items.

Regional Director of the AHF, Dr. Kevin Harvey said the donation is part of the entity’s broader initiative, to help the parishes that have been significantly impacted by hurricane melissa.

“AHF has been in partnership with the Southern Regional Health Authority for a number of years, and we share support for patients at the Black River Hospital, and in particular, we are very concerned for those patients, and we want to make sure that the hospital can come back to functionality quickly,” Dr. Harvey said.

He was speaking during a ceremony to handover the items, at the Grey Ground Small Industrial Complex, in Manchester.

Dr. Harvey informed that the AHF has committed $80 million towards the hurricane relief efforts to include over 50 generators, tarpaulins, water supplies, sanitation equipment and water purification tablets.

He stated that part of the supplies brought into the island have been distributed to the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), to support health facilities in that region.

“We have also supported Utech, (University of Technology), to help some of their students at the Western campus to get back on track. So, we help them with generator power because there is no electricity, and we also help them with Internet connectivity through Starlink as well. We also donated a generator to the correctional services because, we understood that the prison in Manchester is also down, so we provided them also with a generator power,” he said.

For Regional Director at the SRHA, Michael Bent, the donation will help tremendously in reaching healthcare workers.

“We want to get back to normal and many of the items will be used at clinics,” Mr. Bent outlined.

The mission of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is to provide cutting-edge medicine and advocacy for people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, regardless of their ability to pay.

AHF also works to prevent new infections, eradicate HIV/AIDS globally, and promote the rights and health of individuals affected by the virus. They operate a global network of healthcare centres, pharmacies, and other services to achieve their goals.