Maria left the Dominican Republic in a field of debris, with rows of houses along the coast uninhabitable. Floods and landslides have destroyed neighborhoods and structures. This hurricane also damaged roads and public buildings. Also, Dominica’s population suffered from an island-wide water shortage due to uprooted pipes. Maria caused the population to become more vulnerable due to the lack of access to clean water and other resources, which increases the community’s risk for disease. The disaster affected all of the island’s 53 health facilities, including primary hospitals, which compromised the safety of many patients. Due to the lack of good sanitation and access to clean water, various skin infections, respiratory infections, fungal infections, and infectious diseases are becoming common throughout the community.

International Medical Relief (IMR) provided relief as the Dominican Republic continued to recover from the aftermath of Maria. In March of 2018, IMR sent out a dental and medical mission. Most of the time, IMR efforts were focused in Veron and Cabeza del Toro. IMR clinics are composed of both our corps of international medical staff and local providers who partner shoulder-to-shoulder to help deliver sustainable healthcare elevating access to care for our patients. During this medical mission trip, a total of 58 volunteers and staff served over 1,500 patients. IMR provided much needed aid to the local health care system during the recovery period. IMR teams that included EMTs, nurses, doctors, dentists, and students who reached beyond borders in order to provide critical care to the most vulnerable populations in the aftermath of Maria. During our urgent response to this disaster, IMR was able to provide a total aid value of $1,846,001.