Pan American Health Organization - Organizaci?n Panamericana de la Salud - Situation Report on Haiti - January 29, 2010 (edited)

[Giuseppe]

Pan American Health Organization - Organizaci?n Panamericana de la Salud - Situation Report on Haiti - January 29, 2010 (edited)

Situation Report on Haiti - January 29, 2010

Emergency Operations Center Situation Report #16 - Haiti Earthquake


GENERAL OVERVIEW

• Cases of tetanus have been reported; suspected cases of measles were later confirmed as chicken pox.
• The Government of Haiti estimated that at least 500,000 people are still in need of shelter and for the short term, at least 30 sites have been identified to establish temporary tent communities in Port-au-Prince.
• UN-HABITAT plans to implement a transitional housing technology developed during the Tsunami, using available rubble and debris in Haiti.
• UNEP reports that in areas highly affected by the earthquake, the percentage of destruction or severe damage to buildings is around 60-80%. Estimates of demolition waste are around tens of millions of tons.
• MSF reports that a post-operative "village" has been assembled in tents in Delmas 30.
• The Haitian Ministry of Health and Nutrition Cluster have approved messages for the promotion of breastfeeding and the use of infant formula. In addition, priorities include needs in orphanages, blanket feeding for malnutrition, list of institutions that need artificial milk, among others.
• The WFP announced that it will extend emergency operation for another six months to further assist vulnerable Haitians, including young children at risk of malnutrition, and to support essential rehabilitation measures.
• The earthquake had major disruptive effects on transportation, communication, and the activities of the government and a host of organizations already working in Haiti. It has been enormously challenging to receive and distribute unsolicited aid in any efficient way. If donations are not based on identified needs or are not well coordinated, they can be ineffective and in some cases even do more harm than good. PAHO and WHO have clear guidelines on how to be a ?good donor.? These guidelines are available on both the PAHO and WHO websites.

PAHO/WHO RESPONSE

• Health Services
  • PAHO/WHO has been compiling information on health facilities and their locations. A dataset of over 900 facilities in Haiti, including geographic location and unique identifiers based on codes generated by the Ministry of Health in Haiti, is being shared with partners in order to improve coordination of health services.
  • According to PAHO/WHO reports, over 1,300 units of blood have been supplied by the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, American Red Cross, Blood Center of Wisconsin, Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, Memorial Blood Center, LifeSource Blood Services, Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, among others.
  • At this time, PAHO/WHO is not recommending a national mass vaccination campaign because it will divert resources from urgent care. In the meantime, PAHO/WHO is working with Haiti?s Ministry of Health to overcome challenges related to the cold chain as well as the distribution and deployment of vaccines and will work with partners to do urgent, targeted vaccination campaigns. A high concentration of people in confined resettlement areas, with poor sanitary conditions, and low coverage before the earthquake requires these specific strategies.
  • Priority age groups (particularly children under 5) will be targeted first for vaccination. A pilot effort in one or more settlements next week, with PAHO/WHO and UNICEF supporting Haiti?s Ministry of Health, will be done using vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, and rubella.
  • Rabies vaccination is being given to animals along the border, and so far over 12,000 dogs and cats have been immunized.
  • The risk of a measles outbreak will depend upon the reintroduction of the measles virus into the population. Therefore, PAHO/WHO is insisting that all aid workers going to Haiti should be vaccinated against both measles and rubella to prevent any well-meaning volunteer who is not immunized from bringing measles or rubella into the country.
• Dominican Republic and border region
  • A PAHO/WHO expert arrived in the Dominican Republic to strengthen coordination with the WASH Cluster as well as support environmental health activities along the border area. Additionally, PAHO/WHO consulted with its 29 Collaborating Centers to address major concerns and identify priority areas for assistance to Haiti in the field of environmental health and sustainable development. Currently, the Ministry of Health of the Dominican Republic and the WASH Cluster are solving problems related to water and sanitation in Fond Parisien.
  • The hospital in Jiman? has 65 patients and the Buen Samaritano Hospital has 206. The number of patients in the post-operative recovery center in Fond Parisien, Haiti is 195 patients, and each one has a companion with him/her. Other family members or companions are located in a temporary shelter close by where the capacity is 500 people.

Read today?s Haiti Health Cluster Bulletin #10 at (LINK)
The information in this report is a summary of current issues.

For further information on the overall situation in Haiti,please go to (LINK) and http://twitter.com/pahoeoc
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<cite cite="http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2411&Ite mid=1926">Pan American Health Organization - Organizaci?n Panamericana de la Salud - Situation Report on Haiti - January 29, 2010</cite>