More than 40% of rural Ugandans live in abject poverty and the country is in the top 10 for HIV prevalence, creating a complex health situation. Malaria and other tropical diseases, of which dehydration is a symptom, are major, ongoing health concerns.

In 2019, Dr. Dolhun began volunteering at FIMRC Project Sites. He brought along fellow DripDrop team members and product. They performed consultations and provided effective dehydration treatment to this community combating deadly, daily dehydration from ongoing health crises.

In Malawi, nearly one out of every five children under five will die from diarrheal disease. Tragically, these diseases are preventable and treatable. ORS could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children here, which is why Dr. Dolhun has been bringing DripDrop to Malawi for years.

Dr. Dolhun returned to Malawi to support our long-term partnership with The Pebbles Project and Drink Malawi—both of which distribute DripDrop to treat dehydration. On this trip, he saw the improving dynamics and increased focus the community was now placing on live-saving oral rehydration therapy.

The Kincade Fire was the largest fire of 2019 in California, burning 77,758 acres in Sonoma County. Firefighters can lose up to one gallon of sweat per hour while battling active fires, and this one lasted 13 days.

Our team personally distributed over 20,000 sticks of DripDrop to hotshot and strike crews fighting this blaze. Because dehydration compromises mental acuity and physical performance, DripDrop helped ensure that these highly skilled heroes could function at peak levels.

Hurricane Dorian was a devastating Category 5 hurricane, regarded as the worst natural disaster in Bahama’s recorded history. The flood limited access to toilets, clean water and medications, and increased the transmission of water-borne and infectious diseases. As a result, tens of thousands of Bahamians were at risk of dehydration.

DripDrop collaborated with Bethenny Frankel’s BStrong initiative and the Global Empowerment Mission to transport pallets of DripDrop to the suffering Bahamian community, including first responders, makeshift camps, and hospitals.

An Ebola outbreak in the North Kivu province became the second-largest in recorded history. Ebola symptoms cause extreme gastric distress, including diarrhea and vomiting, which rapidly deplete the body of vital water and electrolytes. Dehydration, in turn, can amplify inflammation and contribute to bleeding that many Ebola patients experience. Here, dehydration can be deadly.

In 2019, DripDrop began a long-term partnership with International Medical Corps to respond to the Ebola crisis in Democratic Republic of the Congo. 55,000 sticks of DripDrop (and counting) have helped both patients and aid workers fight deadly dehydration here. These efforts have saved lives during the 2018-2020 North Kivu outbreak and the ongoing Équateur outbreak.

In developing countries, dehydration due to parasitic water and infectious disease causes up to 80% of diarrhoeal fatalities. And poor access to resources and healthcare increase the severity of dehydration within these areas.

On our first mission trip with the Foundation For International Medical Relief of Children FIMRC, our team traveled to Project Alajuelita, Costa Rica. There, we treated dehydration in a community of displaced and impoverished Nicaraguan refugees and provided instruction on oral rehydration therapy.