Overview
	The National Cancer Coalition is pleased to have donated over $2 million worth of requested cancer medicines and essential pharmaceuticals to public cancer hospitals in Buenos Aires metropolitan area. These medicines will treat and transform the medical care for hundreds of needy Argentines who otherwise would not have received their required medicines.

The Need

The Argentine economy has faced extremely difficult times for over a decade. In what had been a relatively prosperous country, individual Argentines have witnessed high unemployment and the total devaluation of any savings that they had within the country. Concurrently, the government has had to drastically reduce resources that it provides to its public hospitals. As a result, many Argentines no longer have any type of health insurance or government medical safety net to be properly treated if they become ill. Given the high cost of most cancer medicines, many Argentine patients have had to forgo their proper treatment regimes for their cancer. Donated pharmaceuticals from organizations like NCC will continue to play an important role in Argentina for some time.

Hospital
	The Eva Peron hospital was constructed in the 1950s and was an impressive facility. Because of lack of funding, this hospital and countless other public hospitals in Argentina lack the basic resources like essential medicines to treat their needy patients that do not have insurance. If is typically up to the patient and their family to purchase the required cancer medicines for their treatment and most of these patients do not have sufficient funds to do so.

Distribution

Our local partner in Argentina is the Orden of Malta in Buenos Aires. Malta members in Argentina work in close contact with the public cancer hospitals of Argentina and ensure the requirements of these hospitals for their needy patients. United States Ambassador Lino Guteriez participated in a Malta function related to the NCC donation of medicines to Argentina.

Results

With NCC's donation, hundreds of cancer patients in Argentina were provided with life-saving medicines. These patients now have an opportunity to be cancer-free and NCC is pleased to help to make that a reality.