One of Sands’ key initiatives supporting disaster preparedness and emergency response is its long-running collaboration with Americares, a global health and disaster relief organization. The partnership aligns with the United States’ focus on emergency preparedness during National Preparedness Month in September. In July, Sands completed its sixth consecutive year of support for Americares while also concluding the first year of its current 2025-2027 partnership.
Sands Cares funding for Americares is directed toward two principal areas. The first is continued support for the organization’s Asia-Pacific emergency response hub, an initiative Sands has backed since 2020. The second is Sands’ participation in the Americares Rapid Impact and Support for Emergencies (RISE) program. RISE provides flexible, dependable funding that allows Americares to maintain emergency readiness and rapidly deploy resources when natural disasters or humanitarian crises occur.
According to Provash Budden, Americares deputy senior vice president of emergency programs, Sands has become a consistent partner in helping the organization maintain its ability to mobilize emergency response teams and restore healthcare services during crises. With Sands’ support, Americares has expanded its trained responder network to more than 850 medical professionals and technical specialists representing over 50 countries, while continuing to provide professional development and training.
RISE Program Achievements Sands’ RISE funding contributes to the work of the Americares Global Readiness Team, which focuses on ensuring the organization can respond effectively to emergencies in different parts of the world.
Between July 2025 and June 2026, funding from RISE members helped Americares respond to more than 30 humanitarian emergencies worldwide. These included flooding in Bangladesh, Colombia, Pakistan, Texas, and Hawaii; Winter Storm Fern in Tennessee; typhoons in the Philippines; Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; earthquakes in Afghanistan, the Philippines, and Venezuela; and a cyclone in Indonesia.
Americares also mounted a response to Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and Haiti during the same period. In Jamaica, the organization deployed an emergency medical team to Chester Castle, where responders delivered primary healthcare and mental health services to survivors while also helping repair damaged medical facilities.
Training and preparedness remain important elements of Americares’ emergency response strategy. Through RISE resources, the organization conducted 26 virtual training programs and engagement sessions involving 270 participants, helping emergency responders strengthen their skills and readiness.
RISE funding also supported the replenishment and advance positioning of medical equipment and emergency supplies at Americares’ Global Distribution Center in Stamford, Connecticut. Having essential materials prepared before a crisis allows response teams to deploy more quickly and begin supporting affected communities without unnecessary delays.
Strengthening Emergency Response in Asia-Pacific Sands has also supported the Americares Philippines response hub since 2020, reflecting the company’s presence in Macao and Singapore and its interest in strengthening emergency preparedness across Southeast Asia. Over the course of the partnership, Sands’ contributions have helped Americares expand the hub’s capabilities and increase the number of trained personnel available to respond to disasters.
During 2025-2026, Sands funding enabled Americares to recruit 43 members to its global responder roster from Southeast Asia, exceeding the original target of 25 new members. The newly recruited responders received training in lifesaving techniques and disaster-response procedures, helping improve the region’s ability to deal with emergencies.
The investment also supported a three-day, in-person WHO-EMT Type-1 Mobile Training program in Cebu, Philippines, held during the spring and attended by 92 participants from eight countries. The program covered a broad range of emergency-response functions, including logistics, warehouse and pharmacy management, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), mental health and psychosocial support, and field-based EMT simulation exercises.
Americares supplemented the regional program with additional training and engagement opportunities for Global Roster members. These activities included orientation sessions for new participants as well as instruction covering WASH procedures and mental health and psychosocial support.
Alongside recruitment and training, Americares used the funding to pre-position emergency supplies and mobile medical team equipment in Manila and Cebu. The initiative strengthens the Philippines’ existing emergency response infrastructure, which is regularly called upon during typhoons, floods, earthquakes, population displacement, and other disasters.
Sands’ partnership with Americares forms part of the company’s Sands Cares hardship relief priority. It also complements emergency preparedness and response programs that Sands supports within the communities and regions where the company operates.
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