Southcom, U.S. nonprofits team up to help Barbados fight COVID-19
As some Caribbean islands continue to see increases in COVID-19 infections, at least one is getting some help thanks to the U.S. Southern Command and World Hope International, a relief and development nonprofit.
The two have teamed up to help Barbados get two oxygen generation systems trucked from the west coast of the United States to Miami, where they will then be flown to Bridgetown, the country’s capital, on Saturday, said John Lyon, chief executive officer of World Hope International.
“This will help make Barbados self-sufficient for their oxygen needs,” Lyon said. “It feels great to be able to help. The Caribbean really suffered this summer.”
Also on the plane will be $3 million worth of pharmaceuticals and donated personal protective equipment from another another nonprofit, MAP International.
On Wednesday, Barbados was among several Caribbean nations highlighted by the director of the World Health Organization’s Americas office, Dr. Carissa Etienne.
“Cases are rising,” Etienne said, as she also highlighted rising COVID infections in Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, the Cayman Islands and Dominica. “The good news is that vaccinations continue to pick up pace in our region. Forty-eight percent of people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully immunized against COVID.”
That’s about the same percentage of Barbadians who have received two shots, according to the country’s Ministry of Health. It reports that 130,367 individuals, or 48.1% of the total population, is fully vaccinated. Despite that achievement, the eastern Caribbean nation continues to see hospitalizations and deaths, which is why the oxygen generators are needed.
“What these two generators will do is boost our capacity,” said Keith Griffith, who procured the equipment for about $300,000.
Griffith, who is in charge of procurement of the main health facility, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said while there are other oxygen generators in the country, they are not enough to handle the increased demand.
To boost oxygen capacity, the country contracts with two local vendors to convert liquid oxygen into a gas. “It’s expensive to do that,” Griffith said of the oxygen cylinders.
But purchasing units is one thing. Getting them cross country from California to Florida is another. The task was handed to the Barbados Defense Force, which then contacted Southcom. Since the pandemic began, the Southern Command, based in Doral, has been helping regional partners acquire mobile hospitals, PPEs and other equipment to fight COVID-19.
That’s where World Hope International came in, Lyon said, noting he was asked by Southcom to partner up to get the equipment flown to the eastern Caribbean island as soon as possible. With Barbados picking up the $77,000 tab for the ground transport, the nonprofit is covering most of the rest, which is about $150,000 for the 767 cargo flight, Lyon said.
The delivery is also welcome in Barbados. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the Trump administration blocked respirators and other critical equipment from leaving the U.S.
“It was a challenge,” Griffith said of getting medical supplies to fight Covid. “It’s still a challenge but mainly my challenge now is logistics, getting it here.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 5:47 PM.
