Posts tagged earthquake

Haiti Unprepared in the Face of Resurgent Cholera Cholera cases are on the rise in Haiti following the onset of the rainy season, and the country is not adequately prepared to combat the deadly disease, the international medical humanitarian organization MSF said today. “Too little has been done in terms of prevention to think that cholera would not surge again in 2012,” said Gaëtan Drossart, MSF head of mission in Haiti. “It is concerning that the health authorities are not better prepared and that they cling to reassuring messages that bear no resemblance to reality. There are many meetings going on between the government, the United Nations and their humanitarian partners, but there are few concrete solutions,” he said.Photo: Patients affected by cholera receive treatment at an MSF cholera treatment center in Port-au-Prince. Haiti 2011 © Frederik Matte/MSF

Haiti Unprepared in the Face of Resurgent Cholera

Cholera cases are on the rise in Haiti following the onset of the rainy season, and the country is not adequately prepared to combat the deadly disease, the international medical humanitarian organization MSF said today.

“Too little has been done in terms of prevention to think that cholera would not surge again in 2012,” said Gaëtan Drossart, MSF head of mission in Haiti. “It is concerning that the health authorities are not better prepared and that they cling to reassuring messages that bear no resemblance to reality. There are many meetings going on between the government, the United Nations and their humanitarian partners, but there are few concrete solutions,” he said.

Photo: Patients affected by cholera receive treatment at an MSF cholera treatment center in Port-au-Prince. Haiti 2011 © Frederik Matte/MSF

Haiti’s Rainy Season Brings Cholera Back to Port-au-Prince and Léogâne With the rainy season now underway in Haiti, MSF has seen an increase in the number of cholera patients. Admissions to MSF’s treatment centers in Port-au-Prince and Léogâne have more than tripled in less than one month. New patients arrive daily at MSF’s cholera treatment centers (CTCs). A woman named Marie was admitted to the Martissant CTC on April 16. “I had diarrhea and was vomiting a lot, then I fainted,” she recounted. “A relative brought me here because it is the center closest to where I live. The doctors told me that I had cholera and was dehydrated.” One hundred thirty-four other people like Marie arrived at the MSF center in Martissant between April 16 and 23 and nearly 400 more went to MSF’s other CTCs in Port-au-Prince and Léogâne. “Cholera is easy to treat but specialized treatment centers must be accessible and patients must be brought there as soon as possible once symptoms appear,” says Dr. Sophie Duterne, MSF’s medical coordinator in Haiti. “If left untreated, this disease can kill within a few hours. Treatment involves simple oral or intravenous rehydration, with antibiotics for the most severe cases. However, taking additional hygiene precautions and drinking disinfected water is still the best protection.” Since the first cases were identified in October 2010, more than 500,000 Haitians have contracted cholera.Photo: Haiti 2012 © Mathieu Fortoul/MSF Cholera patients recover in MSF’s Martissant CTC.

Haiti’s Rainy Season Brings Cholera Back to Port-au-Prince and Léogâne

With the rainy season now underway in Haiti, MSF has seen an increase in the number of cholera patients. Admissions to MSF’s treatment centers in Port-au-Prince and Léogâne have more than tripled in less than one month.

New patients arrive daily at MSF’s cholera treatment centers (CTCs). A woman named Marie was admitted to the Martissant CTC on April 16. “I had diarrhea and was vomiting a lot, then I fainted,” she recounted. “A relative brought me here because it is the center closest to where I live. The doctors told me that I had cholera and was dehydrated.” One hundred thirty-four other people like Marie arrived at the MSF center in Martissant between April 16 and 23 and nearly 400 more went to MSF’s other CTCs in Port-au-Prince and Léogâne.

“Cholera is easy to treat but specialized treatment centers must be accessible and patients must be brought there as soon as possible once symptoms appear,” says Dr. Sophie Duterne, MSF’s medical coordinator in Haiti. “If left untreated, this disease can kill within a few hours. Treatment involves simple oral or intravenous rehydration, with antibiotics for the most severe cases. However, taking additional hygiene precautions and drinking disinfected water is still the best protection.” Since the first cases were identified in October 2010, more than 500,000 Haitians have contracted cholera.

Photo: Haiti 2012 © Mathieu Fortoul/MSF Cholera patients recover in MSF’s Martissant CTC.

Haiti: Medical Certificates for Cholera Patients

Since it was disclosed that the cholera epidemic that struck Haiti in 2010 was inadvertently brought to the island by a United Nations (UN) battalion from Nepal, many of the 500,000 people affected by the disease have requested certificates proving they were treated, in hopes of receiving compensation from the UN. MSF is providing thousands of former patients with medical certificates.

Haiti: MSF Opens New Surgical Center in Port-au-Prince Work on the 107-bed center began in 2011 and was completed in February, 2012. The center treats victims of accidental trauma, such as falls and road accidents, and victims of violence who have suffered beatings, assaults, and gunshot wounds. “MSF is now supporting the Ministry of Public Health and Population with 600 hospital beds in Haiti for emergency care,” said Drossart. “This is still far from adequate, but is nevertheless an advance.” In a country where 75 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and where referral facilities are vastly inadequate, MSF’s new center will improve access to surgical care for the population of Port-au-Prince’s metropolitan area.Haiti 2012 © Yann Libessart/MSF The entrance to MSF’s new surgical center in Tabarre.

Haiti: MSF Opens New Surgical Center in Port-au-Prince

Work on the 107-bed center began in 2011 and was completed in February, 2012. The center treats victims of accidental trauma, such as falls and road accidents, and victims of violence who have suffered beatings, assaults, and gunshot wounds.

“MSF is now supporting the Ministry of Public Health and Population with 600 hospital beds in Haiti for emergency care,” said Drossart. “This is still far from adequate, but is nevertheless an advance.” In a country where 75 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and where referral facilities are vastly inadequate, MSF’s new center will improve access to surgical care for the population of Port-au-Prince’s metropolitan area.

Haiti 2012 © Yann Libessart/MSF
The entrance to MSF’s new surgical center in Tabarre.

In honor of the one year anniversary of the earthquake and it’s results in Northeastern Japan, we’ll be posting a series of photographs from MSF’s work during the crisis in 2011. ” A month after the earthquake and tsunamis struck, MSF teams in Japan had performed around 1,700 consultations.”Photo:© Giulio Di Sturco VII Mentor

In honor of the one year anniversary of the earthquake and it’s results in Northeastern Japan, we’ll be posting a series of photographs from MSF’s work during the crisis in 2011.

 ” A month after the earthquake and tsunamis struck, MSF teams in Japan had performed around 1,700 consultations.”

Photo:© Giulio Di Sturco VII Mentor

In honor of the one year anniversary of the earthquake and it’s results in Northeastern Japan, we’ll be posting a series of photographs from MSF’s work during the crisis in 2011. “On March 11, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the Northeast. The quake caused a series of massive tsunamis that flattened coastal areas and swept up to six miles or 10 km inland. MSF sent a team into the region by helicopter the day after disaster struck..”Photo:© Giulio Di Sturco VII Mentor

In honor of the one year anniversary of the earthquake and it’s results in Northeastern Japan, we’ll be posting a series of photographs from MSF’s work during the crisis in 2011.

 “On March 11, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the Northeast. The quake caused a series of massive tsunamis that flattened coastal areas and swept up to six miles or 10 km inland. MSF sent a team into the region by helicopter the day after disaster struck..”

Photo:© Giulio Di Sturco VII Mentor

In honor of the one year anniversary of the earthquake and it’s results in Northeastern Japan, we’ll be posting a series of photographs from MSF’s work during the crisis. “The area devastated by the natural disasters has a predominantly elderly population, and many of the survivors had lost their prescriptions and medication. MSF medical teams were able to help them resume their treatment regimes.”Photo:© Giulio Di Sturco VII Mentor

In honor of the one year anniversary of the earthquake and it’s results in Northeastern Japan, we’ll be posting a series of photographs from MSF’s work during the crisis.

 “The area devastated by the natural disasters has a predominantly elderly population, and many of the survivors had lost their prescriptions and medication. MSF medical teams were able to help them resume their treatment regimes.”

Photo:© Giulio Di Sturco VII Mentor

In honor of the one year anniversary of the earthquake and it’s results in Northeastern Japan, we’ll be posting a series of photographs from MSF’s work during the crisis in 2011. “Since the disaster, a medical and logistic MSF team of 12 people has been working in evacuation centers in Minami Sanriku, and in Taro, Iwate prefecture. Seriously injured people were swiftly evacuated by national authorities, but many of the people in the evacuation centers were elderly and suffering from chronic diseases.”Photo:© Giulio Di Sturco VII Mentor

In honor of the one year anniversary of the earthquake and it’s results in Northeastern Japan, we’ll be posting a series of photographs from MSF’s work during the crisis in 2011.

 “Since the disaster, a medical and logistic MSF team of 12 people has been working in evacuation centers in Minami Sanriku, and in Taro, Iwate prefecture. Seriously injured people were swiftly evacuated by national authorities, but many of the people in the evacuation centers were elderly and suffering from chronic diseases.”

Photo:© Giulio Di Sturco VII Mentor

In honor of the one year anniversary of the earthquake and it’s results in Northeastern Japan, we’ll be posting a series of photographs from MSF’s work during the crisis in 2011. “MSF doctors treat an elderly patient in Minami Sanriku, in Miyagi prefecture, northeast Japan.”Photo:© Giulio Di Sturco VII Mentor

In honor of the one year anniversary of the earthquake and it’s results in Northeastern Japan, we’ll be posting a series of photographs from MSF’s work during the crisis in 2011.

 “MSF doctors treat an elderly patient in Minami Sanriku, in Miyagi prefecture, northeast Japan.”

Photo:© Giulio Di Sturco VII Mentor

In honor of the one year anniversary of the earthquake and it’s results in Northeastern Japan, we’ll be posting a series of photographs from MSF’s work during the crisis in 2011. “In addition to providing medical and psychological care, MSF teams have distributed blankets and hygiene items to people sheltering in the evacuation centers.”Photo:© Giulio Di Sturco VII Mentor

In honor of the one year anniversary of the earthquake and it’s results in Northeastern Japan, we’ll be posting a series of photographs from MSF’s work during the crisis in 2011.

 “In addition to providing medical and psychological care, MSF teams have distributed blankets and hygiene items to people sheltering in the evacuation centers.”

Photo:© Giulio Di Sturco VII Mentor

Turkey: Mental Health Support Helps Earthquake Survivors Cope Three months after two earthquakes hit Van province, eastern Turkey, survivors are trying to get back to normality. Children are back at school and shops and markets are open again. But most people are still living in tents or metal containers, and it is difficult for them to recover from their traumatic experiences. MSF, in collaboration with the Turkish organization Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (hCa), is helping people cope through a mental health program. In addition to providing mental health support, MSF, in collaboration with Turkish organizations Hayata Destek and hCa and local authorities, has distributed 2,000 winterized tents and 2,000 cooking kits for 12,000 people in 37 villages in Van province. Photo: Turkey 2011 © Knut Maehlumshagen

Turkey: Mental Health Support Helps Earthquake Survivors Cope

Three months after two earthquakes hit Van province, eastern Turkey, survivors are trying to get back to normality. Children are back at school and shops and markets are open again. But most people are still living in tents or metal containers, and it is difficult for them to recover from their traumatic experiences.

MSF, in collaboration with the Turkish organization Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (hCa), is helping people cope through a mental health program.

In addition to providing mental health support, MSF, in collaboration with Turkish organizations Hayata Destek and hCa and local authorities, has distributed 2,000 winterized tents and 2,000 cooking kits for 12,000 people in 37 villages in Van province.

Photo: Turkey 2011 © Knut Maehlumshagen

One year after a devastating earthquake killed an estimated 222,000 people and left 1.5 million people homeless on January 12, 2010, Haitians continued to endure appalling living conditions amid a nationwide cholera outbreak, despite the largest humanitarian aid deployment in the world. Now two years later, MSF is increasing hospital capacity in earthquake-affected areas as 500,000 people are still officially displaced and access to health care is nearly non-existent. Photo: Haiti 2010 © Kadir van Lohuizen / NOOR

One year after a devastating earthquake killed an estimated 222,000 people and left 1.5 million people homeless on January 12, 2010, Haitians continued to endure appalling living conditions amid a nationwide cholera outbreak, despite the largest humanitarian aid deployment in the world.

Now two years later, MSF is increasing hospital capacity in earthquake-affected areas as 500,000 people are still officially displaced and access to health care is nearly non-existent.

Photo: Haiti 2010 © Kadir van Lohuizen / NOOR

A mother and child rest in the pediatric ward of MSF’s hospital in the Bicentenaire area of Port-au-Prince. Active in Haiti since 1991, MSF has opened five hospitals, including this one, and fought a widespread cholera epidemic in the country since a massive earthquake struck in January 2010. More than 3,000 staff are providing orthopedic surgery and post-operative treatment to earthquake survivors and emergency obstetric and neonatal care to mothers and children, among other services. The cholera epidemic continues—after a mid-May spike in cases in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in the country, MSF reopened cholera treatment units in several areas to relieve the pressure on existing facilities. Photo: Haiti 2011 © Yann Libessart/MSF

A mother and child rest in the pediatric ward of MSF’s hospital in the Bicentenaire area of Port-au-Prince. Active in Haiti since 1991, MSF has opened five hospitals, including this one, and fought a widespread cholera epidemic in the country since a massive earthquake struck in January 2010. More than 3,000 staff are providing orthopedic surgery and post-operative treatment to earthquake survivors and emergency obstetric and neonatal care to mothers and children, among other services. The cholera epidemic continues—after a mid-May spike in cases in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in the country, MSF reopened cholera treatment units in several areas to relieve the pressure on existing facilities.

Photo: Haiti 2011 © Yann Libessart/MSF

Before the earthquake, the situation was already difficult in Haiti. Now, there is nothing left, there are no opportunities. But having to wait in Tabatinga is even worse.
32-year-old Olga, from the small room she shares with four other Haitians in Brazil. MSF teams have been monitoring the situation of Haitians in this small town, located at the border between Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, since November. The Haitian asylum seekers first began arriving in Tabatinga in March 2010, escaping a country devastated by a massive earthquake.

The first few days after the earthquake January, 12, 2010, MSF set up operating theatres under plastic sheeting and in shipping containers to stand up to the emergency in Port-au-Prince. Caesarean sections, amputations or wound disinfections… Each day, MSF teams performed an average of 50 operations. Such a situation was unheard of.

MSF launched the largest emergency aid operation in its history in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, in which it attended more than 358,000 patients, carried out about 16,000 surgeries and assisted the birth of 15,000 babies. In the 12 months after cholera broke out in Haiti in October 2010, MSF treated more than 160,000 cholera patients, or 35 percent of the total cholera cases reported in the country.