Plans are in the making to establish an air and sea ambulance and a mobile hospital, says Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan. The initiatives, he added, were yet to be approved by Cabinet. He was speaking at the launch of a two-day Caribbean workshop on disaster management and risk reduction plans to address nutrition and food safety issues at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, on Monday.
Referring to the recent typhoon disaster in the Philippines, Khan said it should serve as a wake-up call for everyone in the Caribbean region as countries were still developing with limited resources. “In light of disasters experienced by Jamaica, Grenada and Haiti, we know that we should not underestimate our vulnerability here in the Caribbean region.
“In most cases, disasters, such as the ones experienced in those islands, result in compromised public health conditions due to interrupted and contaminated food and water supplies,” he added. Khan said any type of disaster would disorganise transportation systems, communications and social and economic routines and even though food stores may exist, the population may not have access to them. Emergency food interventions, he added, thus played a key role in saving lives.
Saying that most interventions to prevent nutritional problems during emergencies were designed as part of the immediate response, the Health Minister said what was also needed was a knowledge of the population, including those at risk and the preparation of adequate guidelines to maintain food supply. “Nutritional needs in terms of quantity and safety, including food rations for those who depend on food assistance, must also be covered,” Khan said.
He said when developing a response to disasters there were certain groups which must be given special attention, namely those from the lower socio-economic brackets, who may already be suffering from malnutrition, pregnant women and children. A food aid programme during a national disaster should also address issues of food stocks, transportation, storage and distribution, he added.