Medical supplies are en route to Charlottesville's sister city in West Africa. The University of Virginia Health System and the Ghana Association of Charlottesville have teamed up to send more than 400 boxes to Winneba.
Thursday they were prepared for shipment. The supplies come through the Medical Equipment Recovery of Clean Inventory (MERCI) program.
UVA operating room clinical manager Trena Burg said, "It keeps stuff out of the landfill and allows the supplies that are clean, open and unused to be reused without having to purchase more."
The boxes contain drapes, syringes and instruments for a hospital in Winneba. The supplies will take about five weeks to get to Ghana.
MERCI has been in operation since 1992.
