Tsunami relief Japan: update 14th April 2011

 

After one month has passed since the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that hit north-east Japan, people in the afflicted regions participated in a silent prayer on Apr. 11th. Even now, innumerable aftershocks are shaking the country which is causing the delay in the recovery of infrastructures and giving people high level of stress. Meanwhile, schools and hospitals are gradually getting back to normal with people making efforts towards it.

Iwate Prefecture (the town of Ohtsuchicho):

In order to uplift children's mood, toys and stuffed animals of a popular Japanese cartoon character was donated in response to the call for help from AMDA's pediatrician. The "Anpanman Program", named after the character, was initiated in line with the ongoing mobile clinic services which provides recreation time for children besides medical treatments. While a number of stressed-related ailments are seen among patients, the program aims to take care of children's mental health and put them at ease.

Other than the above, many patients complain of troubles with their eyes as they are exposed to the powder dust from the rubble. A nutritional program has also been implemented to improve the unbalanced diet of the evacuees and plans are underway to provide vitamin supplements as well.

Miyagi Pref. (the town of Minamisanriku-cho):

While mobile clinic services were delivered to Omori district in Minamisanriku-cho, the local Shizugawa Hospital has taken over the temporary prefabricated clinics from the Israeli medical team. The hospital has put its hands on resuming their regular operations and is expected to be normalized gradually.



Norovirus is still prevalent in Minamisanriku-cho, however, the preventive/hygiene measures implemented by AMDA have been effective in controlling the outbreak. From now on, hygiene awareness will be very important due to the arrival of a warmer season. There are 5 norovirus patients out of 360 evacuees at Shizugawa Elementary School.

After receiving the above report, AMDA sent relief goods such as vitamin supplements, dust-proof goggles and paper towels to both Iwate and Miyagi.

Latest dispatch of AMDA personnel:

23rd group: 1 acupuncture therapist, 1 nurse (Apr. 11th)

24th group: 2 doctors (including AMDA President) (Apr. 12th)

Total number of AMDA¡Çs relief personnel (as of Apr. 12th): 131

48 doctors, 27 nurses, 3 midwives, 2 assistant nurses, 3 pharmacists, 2 psychotherapists, 43 coordinators (including interpreters), 2 careworkers, 1 acupuncture therapist

AMDA-Japan tsunami relief: update 29th March 2011

(2011-03-29) In response to an increasing number of requests coming in from foreign organizations in joining AMDA's relief work, AMDA has started to collaborate with the overseas relief teams. Iwate Prefecture (Kamaishi City and the town of Ohtsuchicho): Relief supplies and medical services have been relatively fulfilled at the larger evacuation centers in Kamaishi City, however, the stock management of the aid goods has been an issue. On the other hand, communication lines have not yet recovered in the town of Ohtsuchicho where some of the evacuation shelters in the remote area are left deserted. AMDA team uses electric vehicles to deliver mobile clinic services to these shelters and uses other means to enter the sites in a mountainous area where road access is difficult. Most of the patients are the elderly who cannot go to the hospital even after their medicines ran out. For this reason, health conditions of the patients with chronic diseases have been worsened as they were left untreated. Hence, AMDA team is delivering mobile clinic services to these sites on a regular basis. Miyagi Prefecture (the town of Minamisanriku-cho): Minamisanriku-cho AMDA personnel have been working in two teams at Shizugawa Elementary School and Shizugawa Junior High School. The team in Shizugawa Elementary School is working with a local doctor who is spearheading the medical relief. They are also providing mobile clinic services to smaller evacuation shelters. Ailments such as depressive symptoms, panic disorders and suspected influenza cases were found among some of the patients, however, the most pressing issue is the fulfillment of medicines for those with chronic diseases. The patients have no means to obtain their medicines after they ran out. Likewise, AMDA tries to complement this by delivering mobile clinic services. As of now lifelines including electricity, gas and water have not yet recovered in the area. Latest dispatch of AMDA personnel (as of Mar. 29th): 14th team: 4 doctors, 1 psychotherapist, 2 coordinators, 2 nurses (Mar. 27th) 15th team: 2 doctors, 1 pharmacist, 3 nurses, 1 coordinator (Mar. 28th) Teams from the overseas (Mar. 28th-29th): 1) Korean team (Korean Medical Association, Medipeace): 3 doctors, 2 coordinators, 1 interpreter 2) Malaysian team (MERCY Malaysia): 2 coordinators 3) AMDA Indonesia team: 2 doctors (including AMDA chairperson), 2 medical students The number of AMDA's relief personnel thus far: 88 35 doctors, 14 nurses, 2 midwives, 1 assistant nurse, 3 pharmacists, 1 psychotherapist, 30 coordinators, 2 medical students Stay tuned for more updates.