Pan American Health Organization With El Salvador on Quake

Washington, January 16, 2001 (PAHO) - The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is mobilizing staff throughout the hemisphere to work with health officials in El Salvador on earthquake recovery efforts and is appealing for funds to help the health sector.

The office of the Pan American Health Organization in El Salvador has been working with government officials since the quake struck last Saturday afternoon to assess damage to the health facilities and to protect the health of the population. Preliminary reports indicated damage to hospitals throughout much of the small Central American nation.

Dr. Claude De Ville, head of PAHO’s Emergency Preparedness Program, pointed out that earthquakes have a profound health effect on the population. He urged citizens not to rush to DISPOSE OF(bury) the dead before identification, adding that “while the presence of dead bodies is unpleasant, the cadavers do not cause disease.” Much more worrisome is the emotional impact to the survivors, who may suffer by not knowing if a loved one is missing or dead, he added.

De Ville said the PAHO-designed SUMA program was in place. The humanitarian supply management system manages and tracks goods, supplies, and donations coming into disaster-ravaged countries.

The Pan American Health Organization said that on the health situation side, the pre-existing gastroenteritis and dengue hemorrhagic fever in El Salvador still presented serious problems. The country was experiencing a major outbreak, with more than 5,000 cases, of retrovirus gastroenteritis prior to the earthquake. Easily transmissible through water, food, or direct contact, this outbreak could be exacerbated.

PAHO, which has offices in almost all the countries in the Western Hemisphere, frequently works with nations struck by disaster to not only put the health sector back together but to mitigate future problems. Since Saturday, PAHO has experts working with the Ministry of Health in the areas of environmental health, epidemiological surveillance, health promotion and mental health, and hospital infrastructure including laboratory services and blood banks.

PAHO urged cash donations, which can be sent directly to the Pan American Health and Education Foundation, a non-profit that works with PAHO. Gifts to the Pan American Health and Education Foundation are tax deductible.

The Pan American Health Organization, founded in 1902, works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and raise the living standards of their peoples. It also serves as the Regional Office of the World Health Organization.