Medical Shipments to Niger - Biggest Bargain For Your Buck
March 2019
Want the biggest bang for your charitable buck? KAMRA (Kirker African Medical Relief Association) works to aggregate small donations ($25 to $1000) to leverage large donations (hundreds of thousands of dollars) from foundations and individuals to send high-value shipments of medicines to Niger, which, according to the UNDP Human Development Index, is ranked 189 out of the 189 countries ranked. A new shipment of $21 million worth of MAP International medicines left Brunswick, Georgia on March 14, 2019 and is scheduled to arrive in Niamey at the beginning of May. Each donation of $100 to KAMRA pays for the in-country distribution of $280,000 worth of medicines to hospitals in Niger. There is simply no other way to do so much good for so little money.
KAMRA was established in Columbia, SC in 2007 as a 501c3 non-profit and, since then, has supported sending over $122 million worth of medicines and medical equipment and supplies to Niger. Large donors have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorship fees and transportation costs from the U.S. to Niamey, Niger’s capital. KAMRA aggregates small donations to pay the estimated $7,500 in clearance costs in Niamey and in-country transportation costs. The Fondation Kirker, a Nigerien non-profit founded in 2007 and headquartered in Niamey, shepherds the KAMRA shipment through to final destinations.
When KAMRA was founded in 2007, it focused on sending medicines and medical equipment and supplies to remote eastern Niger. The situation there became even more desperate in 2016, when refugees fleeing the murderous predations of Boko Haram in northern Nigeria poured over the border into Niger. Thus, over 200-250 thousand Nigerian refugees have been added to the Nigerien population of 700,000. The local Nigerien population has welcomed the refugees with amazing generosity, but until the Boko Haram marauders can be defeated, there is no end in sight to this humanitarian crisis in eastern Niger. Unfortunately, in February 2019, Boko Haram attacks on military posts and civilian villagers in eastern Niger increased.
Since 2016, KAMRA, in partnership with MAP International, has provided half of the medicines used in the three hospitals in eastern Niger, which provide medical services to the combined population of over 900,000. In 2018, KAMRA supported shipping $22 million in medicines provided by MAP to Niger, which were distributed to the hospitals in eastern Niger, the major hospitals in Niamey and Zinder and other hospitals in Niger with an urgent need for medicines.
KAMRA is looking now to expand its assistance to hospitals throughout Niger. The first MAP shipment of 2019 with $21 million worth of medicines, is projected to provide as much as one-third of the medicines, particularly antibiotics, for most of the hospitals in Niger, a country of 20,000,000 people. KAMRA is aiming to raise $22,500 in small donations in order to send three shipments of medicines to Niger in 2019, which will provide continuous stocking of medicines for most of the hospitals in Niger. Please go to our website, www.kirkerassociation.org, for more information on KAMRA’s work and how to donate by PayPal or check.
