NAAMA ESTABLISHES EMERGENCY MEDICAL RELIEF FUND; APPEALS FOR DONATIONS

Distributed by the www.ArabAmericanNewsWire.com

Press Release

Contact:  Renée Ahee, NAAMA Executive Director, 248-646-3661 or rahee@naama.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAAMA ESTABLISHES EMERGENCY MEDICAL RELIEF FUND;

APPEALS FOR DONATIONS

BIRMINGHAM, MI, April 21, 2011 – The National Arab American Medical Association (NAAMA) and the NAAMA Foundation announce the establishment of the NAAMA Emergency Medical Relief Fund for the purpose of providing urgently needed medical supplies wherever they are required in the Arab world.

Dr. Hareth Raddawi, chair of the NAAMA Foundation, said, “Witnessing the dire events in the Arab World over the past couple months, it has become clear that our valiant brothers and sisters in the healthcare sector providing emergency and other medical care are operating under abysmal circumstances compounded by lack of security, total disregard of the sanctity of ambulances and hospitals and, more importantly, a major shortage of basic medical equipment and supplies.

It is our moral obligation to come to their aid in any way possible, consistent with NAAMA's humanitarian mission.”

NAAMA has chosen to utilize the infrastructure and warehouses of an existing medical relief group with connections in the Arab world.  The logistics and delivery of the medical relief supplies will be coordinated through AmeriCares: Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Aid Organization, one of the largest and most reputable medical relief and charitable organizations in the US.  Established in 1982, AmeriCares has provided over $10 billion of relief around the world, much of it in Iraq, Gaza and Lebanon. Money donated to NAAMA’s Emergency Medical Relief Fund will be utilized to provide medical supplies to areas in need with the help of AmeriCares, ANERA and similar NGOs.

The vision for the Emergency Medical Relief Fund is to have funds available not only for the ongoing tragedy in Libya but to have contingency plans for emergency medical relief wherever the need may suddenly arise in other parts of the Arab world. 

Donation checks should be made payable to NAAMA Foundation, with Emergency Medical Relief Fund written in the memo line and mailed to the NAAMA National Office, 801 S. Adams Road., Suite 208, Birmingham, MI 48009.  Online donations can be made at www.naama.com.  For more information, please contact NAAMA Executive Director Renée Ahee, rahee@naama.com or 248-646-3661.

Established in 1975, NAAMA is a non-profit, non-sectarian professional association of physicians and other healthcare professionals of Arab background who serve communities all over the United States.  In addition to its professional and educational mission, NAAMA carries out its humanitarian mission through the NAAMA Foundation.  Headquartered in Birmingham, MI, NAAMA has 27 chapters nationwide.

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