PAHO/WHO Teams Assist in U.S. Katrina Response

Emergency response experts from the Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) traveled to the southern United States in early September to assist efforts to cope with the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Katrina.

The Category-4 hurricane struck the U.S. Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, causing widespread destruction and provoking flooding that shut down the city of New Orleans.

The PAHO/WHO deployment followed an official offer of assistance by PAHO Director Mirta Roses, which was accepted by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Mike Leavitt.The PAHO/WHO staff also formed part of a United Nations team sent by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

In all, PAHO and WHO deployed nine health disaster experts to sites in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

Robert Lee, an epidemiologist at PAHO's Caribbean Epidemiology Center in Trinidad, traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, to work in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was the first time a PAHO representative was invited to observe the CDC's EOC in action during a crisis. Lee says the experience provided an opportunity to explore future avenues of cooperation between PAHO and the CDC in the area of disasters.

PAHO epidemiologist Keith Carter, an expert on malaria and other vector-borne diseases, traveled to Arkansas and Texas, where he worked with staff from the Office of Foreign Development Assistance of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Carter surveyed shelters and visited a logistics center in Little Rock, Arkansas, and reported his findings to the regional office of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Rony Maza, an environmental health specialist with PAHO's country office in Belize, traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as part of the U.N. team. He worked closely with disaster teams from FEMA and HHS, providing advice on offers of foreign assistance, shelter assessment, and the development of a recovery health plan. He also spent two days in Mississippi working with disaster officials from that state and from Florida, which has extensive experience in hurricane relief.

In addition to the staff deployment, PAHO helped HHS develop public service announcements in Spanish and made PAHO technical publications and other materials available through the U.S. National Library of Medicine and on the Web.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the United Nations Children's Fund also sent staff for the U.N. team.

	The Pan American Health Organization Promoting Health in the Americas