Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
ARC manages a camp, Terrain Acra, built on 15 acres of open land owned by a plastic and metal factory in central PaP. The land had been used to dispose wastes, plastic, metals, acids and other unknowns. The owners allowed about 9-10,000people to erect tents and shacks for 1 year. Pigs, goats ,seep and a bull also live there . Last week a registration process found 24-25,00 in and around the camp. The factory is preparing to reopen soon and manufacture galvanized roofing, discharging the wastes, including hydrochloric acid into the area. The residents and ARC would like to move elsewhere and negotiations are hoped to start soon.
The clinic in the camp has one large tent for regristration, emergencies and wound care. Consultations and pharmacy is in another tent abour 8 by 20 meters. As you see on the photo there are plastic dividers making an exam area. mostly without a door flap. It is staffed by 7 physicians, 13 nurses and 3 pharmacy techs. We have no lab except for blood sugars and malaria tests. We do send out some simple tests. Of course we have no x ray , also no electricity. The temperature in the tent at mid day with about 35 people is over 100 degrees F. The tent will be repositioned tomorrow in order to improve airflow.
The most common illnesses are colds, diarrhea, hypertension, anxiety, arthritis, skin infections and abdominal pain. We have simple charts, no educational materials , no vaginal speculums, one plastic container for handwashing and basic medicines. We lack several classes of hypertension meds, have no psych meds and no steroid creams. We obtain drugs from a branch of the World Health Org. for a low price but must jump thru several hoops to obtain it.
I have seen many people with BP over 200/110 who have run out of meds.
Last week ARC received notice of approval of a 4.4 million dollars for transitional(1-3 yrs) housing. They have 1 by 4 inch frames, plywood sides, concrete floor and a metal roof. The grant will build 2500 houses for an average of five people each. This should help to move people from camps back to their properties and give them protection from rain and storms.
The clinic in the camp has one large tent for regristration, emergencies and wound care. Consultations and pharmacy is in another tent abour 8 by 20 meters. As you see on the photo there are plastic dividers making an exam area. mostly without a door flap. It is staffed by 7 physicians, 13 nurses and 3 pharmacy techs. We have no lab except for blood sugars and malaria tests. We do send out some simple tests. Of course we have no x ray , also no electricity. The temperature in the tent at mid day with about 35 people is over 100 degrees F. The tent will be repositioned tomorrow in order to improve airflow.
The most common illnesses are colds, diarrhea, hypertension, anxiety, arthritis, skin infections and abdominal pain. We have simple charts, no educational materials , no vaginal speculums, one plastic container for handwashing and basic medicines. We lack several classes of hypertension meds, have no psych meds and no steroid creams. We obtain drugs from a branch of the World Health Org. for a low price but must jump thru several hoops to obtain it.
I have seen many people with BP over 200/110 who have run out of meds.
Last week ARC received notice of approval of a 4.4 million dollars for transitional(1-3 yrs) housing. They have 1 by 4 inch frames, plywood sides, concrete floor and a metal roof. The grant will build 2500 houses for an average of five people each. This should help to move people from camps back to their properties and give them protection from rain and storms.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
The earthquake of January killed 240,000 people and displaced another 1.3 million of the total 3 million in the Port au Prince metro area. Currently there are many fully or partially destroyed buildings on every block. Buildings next to unstable buildings are unsafe to use. People have moved to any open areas, parks, sidewalks, and empty lots with tents and shacks. Water supplies and latrines are slowly being brought to these areas, however electricity is almost unheard of. There is almost no rental property available. Clearing rubble has only begun. Titles to properties are unclear and owners have little capital to invest. All these factors have led to a grid lock in relocation of people and the construction of temporary and permanent housing.
Leaders, infrastructure and institutions have been destroyed or disrupted. Many leaders have been killed or disabled. All schools and higher education in the area are closed. Government agencies are just beginning to function. The main port is closed and all shipping enters thru a small private port. Import taxes and regulations also inhibit aid shipments.
The American Refugee Committee(ARC) sent people to Haiti a few days after the quake and started camp management the end of January and now manages a camp and surrounding area(about 30 acres) which has about 19,000 people. ARC is responsible for overall management, sanitation, child protection and primary health care. Other agencies add water, food and security.
Next time I’ll write more about the medical situation.
Leaders, infrastructure and institutions have been destroyed or disrupted. Many leaders have been killed or disabled. All schools and higher education in the area are closed. Government agencies are just beginning to function. The main port is closed and all shipping enters thru a small private port. Import taxes and regulations also inhibit aid shipments.
The American Refugee Committee(ARC) sent people to Haiti a few days after the quake and started camp management the end of January and now manages a camp and surrounding area(about 30 acres) which has about 19,000 people. ARC is responsible for overall management, sanitation, child protection and primary health care. Other agencies add water, food and security.
Next time I’ll write more about the medical situation.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
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