Ethiopian 777-200LR Carries More Than $500k Worth Of Anesthesia
Equipment
It's definitely the season for some good will toward others and
both Boeing and Ethopian Airlines are spreading the word. Boeing
partnered with Ethiopian Airlines and Seattle Anesthesia Outreach
(SAO) for this week's 777-200LR (longer range) delivery to
Ethiopian Airlines to transport much needed anesthesia equipment to
Black Lion Hospital – Ethiopia's largest hospital.
"Boeing and its airline partners have been working together to
fill what is sometimes empty cargo space to help bring relief to
people around the globe," said Liz Warman, director of Boeing
Global Corporate Citizenship for the Northwest region. "Our company
has a history in humanitarian efforts. Our Humanitarian Delivery
Flights program is another way we can continue leveraging our
resources to help those in need."
"Since its inception, Ethiopian Airlines has been engaged in
various corporate social responsibility activities, which support
community initiatives and development efforts," said Ato Girma
Wake, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines. "We see our airplanes as not only
a resource for our airline, but also a source of vital service for
the people of Ethiopia and when we can use that resource in a
manner such as this; it truly reaffirms our commitment to undertake
social responsibilities whenever and wherever we can."
Ethiopian Airlines' new 777-200LR (its second of five 777-200LRs
on order) will deliver approximately 12,000 pounds (5,443 kg) of
medical supplies, mainly anesthesia machines, monitors and books,
from Seattle Anesthesia Outreach to Black Lion Hospital in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia. Black Lion Hospital is the largest hospital in
Ethiopia as well as the largest teaching hospital for the
University of Addis Medical School.
"We're thrilled at the opportunity to work with Boeing and
Ethiopian Airlines to use this flight to support our efforts in
Ethiopia," said Dr. Mark Cullen, vice president and co-founder of
SAO. "These supplies will prove critical when a group of 20 doctors
travel to Ethiopia in February as part of our ongoing humanitarian
trips to the region."
A majority of the medical supplies being shipped to Ethiopia
were donated by Swedish Medical Center, which is the largest and
most comprehensive non-profit health provider in the greater
Seattle area. In addition to the donation of medical supplies, 12
affiliated physicians and clinical staff from Swedish have donated
vacation time to volunteer as part of SAO's humanitarian trips to
Ethiopia.
The Boeing Humanitarian Delivery Flights (HDF) program is a
collaboration effort between Boeing, airline customers and
non-profit organizations to deliver humanitarian aid throughout the
world to communities in need or crisis. The humanitarian items are
loaded into the empty cargo space of new airplanes being delivered
and transported to the customer's home destination.