More than 100 wheelchairs for Beirut

The devastating explosion in Beirut injured more than 4,000 people. Together with the Ottobock Global Foundation, the internationally active medical technology company Ottobock, based in Duderstadt, Germany, is providing emergency relief and sending more than 100 wheelchairs to Beirut. "The people need our support quickly now. The majority of the population in Lebanon lives in Beirut. So almost every family is affected by the disaster", says Prof Hans Georg Näder, owner of Ottobock, about the humanitarian aid. The responsible Chief Sales Officer (CSO) Oliver Jakobi adds, "Local medical care is particularly important now. Together with the German logistics partner ZUFALL, our team made it possible to deliver aid in a short time. I would like to thank everyone involved in this."

The Ottobock Global Foundation coordinates the joint project. "As a first step, the Ottobock site in Königsee will provide wheelchairs that we will ship to Beirut. We will then talk to aid organisations on site to find out to what extent further fittings, especially with prostheses, are necessary", says Chairman of the Board Karsten Ley. Since 2015, the Ottobock Global Foundation has been particularly supporting children and young people in disaster areas.

As a long-standing partner of Ottobock, the German logistics partner ZUFALL is responsible for shipping the wheelchairs. "This tragedy also deeply affects us at ZUFALL, which is why we are very happy to support the relief action," explains Florian Grewe, Head of Marketing. His colleague Annette Otte, Head of the Sea freight department, adds, "The wheelchairs are loaded into a container at our logistics centre, transported to Hamburg and shipped from there. Due to the closure of the port of Beirut, shipping will take place via the port of Tripoli, Lebanon, about 80 km away. The transit time is expected to be 10 days."