September 20, 2004 (OPS)—The Pan American Health Organization in collaboration with the Division for International Development (DFID) is providing two emergency kits for 20,000 people, comprising a range of essential drugs and medical supplies, and disposables, as part of its hurricane relief effort in Grenada. The emergency kits represent part of stepped-up support by PAHO in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in Grenada and DFID in response to reports of several cases of diarrhoea, fever and rash at many of the nearly 140 emergency shelters. Several church groups and other non governmental organizations are collaborating with the Health Ministry and PAHO in the distribution of the kits to the shelters. "Each kit is sufficient to provide basic medical care for a population of 10,000 for approximately three months," explains David Taylor, PAHO's Hospital Management Advisor and part of the organization's team in Grenada. "They will be used at health centres and in the emergency shelters. They are pre-packaged so that they can quickly and conveniently be shipped to the affected area without the need to define a list of drugs and supplies," the PAHO adviser affirmed. In addition to the kits, a team of doctors and nurses organized by PAHO in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, visit the shelters ever three days to treat patients there and to collect data on occurrences of illnesses among survivors. The team includes volunteers from the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The PAHO team will be joined today by its former Regional Vector Control Advisor, Dr. Marco Suarez, Environmental Engineer Harry Philippeaux, and the Director of the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) Mr. Victor Sweeney. Mental health services are also now a part of the response to health concerns in Grenada. These concerns were expressed in a report by a psychologist on PAHO's mental health team Dr Virginia Rubien. Dr. Rubien's assessment followed visits to the shelters where she identified the need for mental health support for many of the victims there, but also for the medical staff. "Many of the people there are mentally traumatized," she said. In response, PAHO deployed renowned Grenadian-born psychiatrist, based in Barbados, Dr. George Mahy and a Management Consultant/Motivator Mr. L. Griffith to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the conditions. The two are now working with the clinical psychologist and nurses, also from the BVI, in conducting regular visits to the emergency shelters and to the mental hospital. PAHO has already secured substantial financial resources from a range of other donor partners, besides DFID, that are being used to acquire equipment such as generators and water tanks; additional essential drugs and medical supplies. Other donor agencies and organizations supporting the health sector include USAID/OFDA (Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance), the European Union (EU)/European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). PAHO has already established a Humanitarian Supply Management System (SUMA) sites at the airport, and the central warehouse to inventory relief supplies arriving in the country. SUMA is a tool developed by PAHO, currently being used to assist in verifying initial projections of needs, supplies and distribution, especially in emergency situations. The system allows managers and donors to retrieve information tracking the use of their donations. Emergency operations in Grenada was depending on SUMA to assist in verifying the country's initial projection of needs, supplies and distribution. SUMA teams work at warehouses and distribution hubs, managing information on the distribution of items from central to peripheral points. Information gathered in the field is forwarded in an electronic format to the central level, where the emergency is being managed. Reports are generated for disaster coordinators, so they can monitor pledges from donors and identify gaps or duplications. With SUMA, a simple computerized system collects information on supplies at airports, seaports, or borders, and the SUMA team assigns a priority to each item based on how it meets the needs of the disaster victims. Items are classified by category, subcategory, and item. Reports are generated for disaster coordinators, so they can monitor pledges from donors and identify gaps or duplications, PAHO officials explained. The donors can also receive reliable information about the use of their donations. "Countries, like Grenada, that have experienced a disaster or an emergency often face further problems when huge amounts of unrequested or unneeded supplies arrive, causing bottlenecks at airports and ports and forcing hard-pressed emergency workers to sort, evaluate and classify supplies," according to the Caribbean Program Coordinator of PAHO/WHO, Mrs. Veta Brown. While there is much to be done to help stabilize medical conditions in Grenada, PAHO and several of its Regional and international partners are collaborating with the Ministry of Health and non governmental organizations in the country to provide much needed relief to thousands affected by Hurricane Ivan. SOURCE: PAHO.ORG