National Cancer Coalition Donates Medical Goods to the Caucasus

PRNewswire
Tuesday, January 4, 2005

Press Release

NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ — The National Cancer Coalition (NCC)
( ) has completed sending several
large shipments of medical equipment, surgical kits, and hospital
supplies valued at over $2 million to public cancer hospitals in
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Republic of Georgia, officials said here today.

Hand-over ceremonies, recently held in Tbilisi, Georgia and in Yerevan,
Armenia, marked NCC donations to public cancer hospitals that treat the
needy in those countries.

Participants at the hand-over ceremonies included U.S. State Department
Director of Humanitarian Programs Jerry Oberndorfer, Deputy Health
Minister Varlam Mosidze of the Republic of Georgia, the Directors of the
National Oncology Centers of Armenia and Georgia, and delegates from NCC
and Counterpart International, along with extensive coverage from the
local media.

“The State Department supported this initiative by providing funding to
transport the medical goods from the United States to the individual
countries in the Caucasus,” NCC president Robert Landry said. NCC
partnered with Counterpart to provide distribution and logistical
support for its projects in the Caucasus, he added. The two groups have
also collaborated in several projects in the republics of Central Asia.

“Teaming with the National Cancer Coalition is one of our smartest
partnerships,” Counterpart president Lelei LeLaulu said. “It benefits a
lot of people in great need of better cancer treatment in these countries.”

“With the breakup of the Soviet Union in December 1991, fifteen newly
independent countries appeared, most of which did not have the
infrastructure or experience in place to smoothly transition to a fully
functioning government,” Landry stated. “Coupled with negative economic
conditions, the result has been a breakdown of many governmental social
services, including healthcare, which had been coordinated and managed
centrally through Moscow.”

NCC’s international medical assistance program, termed “NCC Cares,”
provides requested pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and hospital
supplies to public hospitals and local humanitarian organizations that
help the needy in 18 developing countries around the world, Landry said.

NCC, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation headquartered in New
Orleans, LA, supports cancer research and undertakes educational,
prevention and medical relief programs throughout the world. Through its
Angel Grants program, NCC supports cutting-edge cancer research in the
United States. It has also distributed educational materials and
sponsored community health screenings.

For additional information, please contact National Cancer Coalition at:
504-301-1461 or visit: .

Source: National Cancer Coalition