I listen in on a trauma list where there has been much discussion and outpouring of assistance to the relief efforts in the wake of this disastrous tsunami. Below is a smattering of responses on world wide disaster relief . i have had a couple of questions via a few lists concerning "jumping on a plane" and offering one's self to assist. the universal advice is "don't". there are worldwide teams in place that have been mobilized. The reality on the ground is that if this is not something you are equipped to do, have experience at doing, have your shots all updated and not funded sufficiently to carry your own supplies...you will at least be one more person in the region more in need of assistance than capable of giving it. Ish
This is by no means my area of expertise, so this may all be in place already and I may just be completely out of the loop - but is there a central repository of medical disaster teams around the world, what their capabilities are (personnel, equipment etc), when they are available etc? ie. If you are part of these teams - how does the international relief community know where to find you, how to contact you etc etc? I can understand that this may be coordinated to a greater or lesser degree on a local or national level, but for delivering medical response internationally? For example, Mark - how does Sri Lanka, or Oxfam or whoever find out that XXX Disaster Response Team exists and can respond to this particular situation? ON RESCUE RESPONSE: INTERNATIONAL: �is there a central repository of medical disaster teams around the world, what their capabilities are (personnel, equipment etc), when they are available etc?� YES � all managed through OCHA (Office for Co-ordination of humanitarian Affairs � Which is a part of the Field Coordination Support Section of the UN) �If you are part of these teams - how does the international relief community know where to find you, how to contact you etc etc?� Through an Intranet and series of SMS/pager/email Alerts which is only accessible to registered team leaders and UN liaison Officers. �how does Sri Lanka, or Oxfam or whoever find out that XXX Disaster Response Team exists and can respond to this particular situation?� Teams make themselves available to their foreign office (eg. DFID in the UK). Well should do � not going to get bogged down with politics here � because some teams just get on the first plane and cause massive problems! The foreign office then takes stock of the aid it wants to offer and makes an offer to the effected country through the UN. Only once this offer is accepted can teams deploy. Regards, Dr. Jason van der Velde UN Liaison Officer ATACC Medical Rescue Team, UK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AUSTRALIA: In Australia, the Federal Government formally offers international assistance via our Dept Foreign Affairs. If this offer is accepted, then the effort is co-ordinated at a national level through Emergency Management Australia (= FEMA). This is the official national response. In addition, many doctors volunteer through other channels such as MSF, Red Cross etc We have sent several teams (Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Maldives), which are a mixture of military and civilian - military responsible for the airlift, much of the logistics and some medical response, supported by civilian medical, nursing and paramedic staff. These teams are self-sufficient so as to not further strain overloaded infrastructure. These teams usually have a trauma / emergency medicine focus, but in this case also have a public health / infectious diseases capability. Each disaster is different. For example, there seems little requirement for a USAR type response. Public health is quickly becoming the major problem - many of these countries are relatively underdeveloped, the existing infrastructure is largely gone, and the tropical climate is making things worse a public health. Sadly, disaster victim identification is also a huge area of need. ~~~~~~~~~~~` EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM CHJARLESTON, SC: - Medical support from Public Health staff has been 'flagged up' - Individual hospitals have been grossly overstretched, particularly in Indonesia, with huge backlogs for A&E and surgery. This may be the major area in which we could all help. We have offered a number of full surgical teams to several of these hospitals. This work may simply involve providing 24hr theatre cover, resting the local staff who have been working without break for 3-4 days. Our teams are currently on standby, although at present all teams are requested to arrive FULLY SELF-CONTAINED, including food and water. This will prove the most difficult issue for many volunteer teams however, this is likely to change as logistics improve and some services are re-established. We have been told that this kind of support may be required for some considerable time, so we do not all need to jump on a plane right now, as this will simply further burden current resources...... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAINE: for those of you who wish to put your money where your mouth is.... the Medical Amateur Radio Council (MARCO, Inc) has a fund already set up and in addition is working with MediShare to get both funds and equipment on the way to the affected area... Please contact Dr. Staebler at the address below to assist in either funds or equipment. >Make it out Ludin-MARCO: >Robin Staebler >WE1MD >144 Head of the Tide >Belfast Maine 04915 >http://www.we1md.com Donate The following aid agencies are accepting contributions for assistance that they or their affiliates will provide for those affected by Sunday's earthquake and tsunami. AmeriCares 88 Hamilton Ave. Stamford, CT 06902 800-486-4357 www.americares.org American Friends Service Committee 1501 Cherry St. Philadelphia, PA 215-241-7000 www.afsc.org American Red Cross P.O. Box 37243 Washington, DC 20013 800-HELP-NOW www.redcross.org CARE 1-800-521-CARE (2273) www.care.org Doctors Without Borders 1-888-392-0392 http://www.doctorswithoutborders-usa.org/donate/index.cfm?msource=AZD0408H1001 Oxfam America Asian Earthquake Fund PO Box 1211 Albert Lea, MN 56007-1211 800-77-OXFAM www.oxfamamerica.org UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) http://www.unicef.org/ At 12:10 PM 12/29/2004 -0800, you wrote: >So, some links: =========+========= FEEDBACK? http://nativenewsonline.org/Guestbook/guestbook.cgi GIVE FOOD: THE HUNGERSITE http://www.thehungersite.com/ Reprinted under Fair Use http://nativenewsonline.org/fairuse.htm =========+========= Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Native News Online a Service of Barefoot Connection ------------------------ Yahoo! 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