Giuseppe
Emeritus
WHO - WHO spearheads health response to earthquake in Haiti
WHO spearheads health response to earthquake in Haiti
13 JANUARY 2010 | GENEVA
The severe earthquake that struck Haiti and the Dominican Republic has inflicted large-scale damage, including on hospitals and health facilities, and large numbers of casualties are feared.
Control of communicable diseases, such as diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory infections, will be another major concern in coming days.
WHO is working with local authorities, United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners to respond to the emergency. More specifically, WHO is supporting the Haitian government to best coordinate international health assistance to the country. WHO is also collecting data on the health impact of the earthquake to disseminate to other humanitarian aid providers.
In addition, WHO is deploying a 12-member team of health and logistics experts. The WHO experts being sent include specialists in mass casualty management, coordination of emergency health response and the management of dead bodies.
UN buildings, including the WHO premises, have suffered damage in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake, which struck on 12 January. The main force of the earthquake was felt 17 kilometres south-west of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.
Haiti is a country that has already suffered from years of humanitarian crisis and natural disasters, including a series of hurricanes that battered the country in 2008.
For more information:
Paul Garwood
Communications Officer
Health Action in Crises
World Health Organization
Telephone: +41 22 791 3462
Mobile: +41 79 475 5546
E-mail: garwoodp@who.int
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<cite cite="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2010/haiti_earthquake_20100113/en/index.html">WHO | WHO spearheads health response to earthquake in Haiti</cite>13 JANUARY 2010 | GENEVA
The severe earthquake that struck Haiti and the Dominican Republic has inflicted large-scale damage, including on hospitals and health facilities, and large numbers of casualties are feared.
Control of communicable diseases, such as diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory infections, will be another major concern in coming days.
WHO is working with local authorities, United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners to respond to the emergency. More specifically, WHO is supporting the Haitian government to best coordinate international health assistance to the country. WHO is also collecting data on the health impact of the earthquake to disseminate to other humanitarian aid providers.
In addition, WHO is deploying a 12-member team of health and logistics experts. The WHO experts being sent include specialists in mass casualty management, coordination of emergency health response and the management of dead bodies.
UN buildings, including the WHO premises, have suffered damage in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake, which struck on 12 January. The main force of the earthquake was felt 17 kilometres south-west of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.
Haiti is a country that has already suffered from years of humanitarian crisis and natural disasters, including a series of hurricanes that battered the country in 2008.
For more information:
Paul Garwood
Communications Officer
Health Action in Crises
World Health Organization
Telephone: +41 22 791 3462
Mobile: +41 79 475 5546
E-mail: garwoodp@who.int
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