DOH issues guidelines for local, international medical teams

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) is now requiring local and international medical teams to seek accreditation from the agency before they carry out humanitarian missions in areas devastated by Typhoon Ruby.

The department also noted that foreign medical teams from West African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia or Mali that have treated Ebola patients must notify the agency “in advance and await further instructions.”

In its newly issued interim guidelines, the DOH said it will assess the capacity of medical teams and only those accredited will be allowed to deploy.

The guidelines provide for a system on the acceptance and deployment of the teams to complement the ongoing response efforts of the local government units and the national government.

For foreign medical teams (FMTs), the DOH will only accept Type 2 (Inpatient Surgical Emergency Care) teams and groups with existing partnerships with local government units of deployment sites.

The DOH maintained at the moment, adequate numbers of Type 1 (Outpatient Emergency Care) teams from national and local health authorities are available.

Foreign medical teams, however, must be able to ensure their “self-sufficiency and sustainability of their operations including provisions for food, water and fuel for the duration of their deployment.”

The DOH added that it will assess the capacity of local and foreign medical teams and only registered organizations would be deployed.

Red Cross and Red Crescent

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is ready to deploy teams for humanitarian relief operations for the victims of the typhoon.

“At this stage, we don’t know the full extent of the damage caused by Typhoon Ruby. It will linger over the Philippines and we can expect incessant rains to continue for the next few days,” said Philippine Red Cross (PRC) chairman Richard Gordon.

Gordon noted that the Red Cross is concerned about the safety of people living in low-lying and mountainous areas who are at a high risk from flash floods and landslides.

Kari Isomaa, head of the delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Philippines, said assessment teams visiting Samar and Southern Luzon found roofs blown off, trees brought down and electricity and communication lines cut in some areas.

There are concerns that the impact of the storm could be more severe in remote areas of northern Samar that are still isolated due to blocked roads.

For ICRC head of delegation in the Philippines Pascal Mauchle, it is too early to give an accurate assessment of the over-all needs but food, clean water, emergency shelter materials and primary health care could be among the priorities.

“The typhoon hit areas where poverty and vulnerability levels are very high, in particular within communities suffering the consequences of protracted armed conflicts,” Mauchle added.

Hundreds of Red Cross volunteers have already been mobilized to pack relief items and provide cooked meals to thousands of people who remain in evacuation centers.

PRC secretary general Gwendolyn Pang said it is re-assuring to have the support of partners in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

“Over the past year they have stood with us to support the recovery of thousands of people who were affected by Typhoon Yolanda and they have also been helping us to meet humanitarian needs elsewhere in the country,” Pang added.

Swift measures cited

The United Nations and the European Union lauded yesterday the swift measures taken by local authorities to save many lives when Ruby hit the country.

The UN praised the government for its swift and efficient first response efforts that saved many lives.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) said the government “pulled together to save lives and minimize the damage being inflicted by this disaster event.”

Although the full extent of the damage continues to remain unclear in certain provinces due to poor communication, the number of reported casualties appears to be relatively low, with media reporting 21 deaths compared to the more than 6,000 killed by Super Typhoon Haiyan that also hit the Visayas last year.

“UNISDR believes that the Philippine government has done an excellent job of putting into action the lessons learned from Typhoon Haiyan,” said UNISDR head Margareta Wahlström.

“We have been telling this story since the Indian Ocean tsunami 10 years ago – that nations and communities have the power to reduce their losses if they are well-organized, understand the nature of risk and develop the capacity to deliver early warnings and evacuate groups at risk ahead of the disaster event,” she added.

Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, said immense efforts have been invested in disaster preparedness work in the Philippines in the past year, and the population is more aware of the need for a timely evacuation from coastal areas.

“Let me commend the Philippine authorities who have taken swift measures and did an excellent job in relocating people from the exposed areas at the first signs of the storm approaching,” Stylianides said.

He said the European Commission would deploy of a team of humanitarian experts to the Philippines to support relief operations.

The Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) in Brussels is closely monitoring the situation and is coordinating with humanitarian organizations.

“The EU supported the emergency response and recovery efforts in the aftermath of last year’s Super Typhoon Haiyan and we will again do our best to assist those who need our help,” he said.

Lotta Sylwander, the Philippine Representative of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said children and their mothers remained in urgent need of emergency aid.

“The government’s swift evacuation response has saved many from injury and even death,” Sylwander said in a statement, “but there are still almost a million people – many still recovering from Yolanda – who have been driven from their homes.”

Among the most pressing threats to children’s health, the UN agency explained, were poor sanitation and unclean water, meaning that a restoration of existing water sources is considered a “top priority in the critical days after the storm.”

The agency added that it had strategically prepositioned supplies in warehouses in Tacloban, Manila and Cotabato, including water kits, hygiene kits, water pumps, generators, water storage and treatment facilities as well as nutritional therapeutic food items to combat malnutrition, oral rehydration salts and tarpaulins for at least 12,000 families.

The British embassy in Manila activated its crisis management plan, together with officials from government departments in London, with a focus on dealing with any emergencies that might affect British nationals as well as wider humanitarian relief for people in the path of the typhoon.

British Ambassador Asif Ahmad said their network of community wardens in the areas where Ruby went through provided real time accounts of the impact of the wind and rain. There were no reports of injury or loss affecting UK nationals.

With over 700,000 people evacuated as a precautionary measure by government authorities and forward positioning of relief supplies, the impact has been less severe than it otherwise could have been on people living in Samar, Masbate, and Mindoro. – With Pia Lee-Brago