In the late 1800s, Johnson & Johnson made history by producing the first-ever commercial first aid kits, packed with items like cotton, bandages and adhesive plaster.
But there’s another, lesser-known kit the company makes that has also helped countless people around the world: disaster modules.
Whether a region has been devastated by floods or impacted by an earthquake, Johnson & Johnson has modules packed and ready to ship to help support medical teams and aid organizations on the ground in the immediate aftermath of a large-scale disaster.
Each disaster module is designed to serve a community of 50,000 and is tailored to specific needs. For example, to help support response efforts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the company donated one module, as well as 25,000 hygiene kits stocked with over-the-counter products. Following Cyclone Winston in Fiji, the company dispatched modules packed with such first aid products as gauze and BAND-AID® Brand adhesive bandages. When Ecuador was devastated by an earthquake in 2016, modules were sent containing medications to help fight infections and surgical products, like sutures.
“Johnson & Johnson began providing disaster relief as early as 1900 to support victims of the devastating hurricane in Galveston, Texas,” says Kimberlin Keller, Senior Manager for Global Community Impact at Johnson & Johnson. “Today, we build on that legacy by ensuring that our disaster kits can get to the scene quickly, anywhere in the world, with help from our aid partners—Americares, Heart to Heart International and Direct Relief.”
We rounded up a sampling of items that commonly appear in disaster modules to show how something as simple as cotton tape can make a world of difference around the world.
