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Vol. 19, No. 4
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December 1998 |
MEETING OF THE CENTRAL AMERICAN MINISTERS OF HEALTH ON HURRICANE MITCH
THE COSTA DEL SOL DECLARATION
- The undersigned Ministers of Health from the Central American countries affected by Hurricane Mitch (BELIZE, COSTA RICA, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS and NICARAGUA), gathered on this day, Sunday, 6 December 1998, in Costa del Sol, El Salvador, do declare:
- That this hurricane
caused irreparable and permanent damages to the populations, including loss
of human life, disruption of families and communities, and destruction of
the infrastructure in exceeding proportions.
- That the immediate
heroic and generous response, not only from the inhabitants themselves but
also from the international community, to confine damages and rapidly reestablish
services affecting people and the environment, has been effective and timely.
- That the progress
achieved in health during the past decade (decline in infant mortality,
increase in life expectancy, eradication of polio and control of measles)
is seriously threatened and we cannot allow these attained levels of health
to regress.
- That the experience
of joint and unified collaboration in health among all Central American
countries, opening new roads to the integration process, has been a fundamental
element for the organization of the response to this disaster.
- That technical cooperation,
coordination and the permanent presence of the Pan American Health Organization
(PAHO/WHO) have been enormously important throughout this period.
Therefore, we
are committed to:
- Immediately implementing
an emergency program to control CHOLERA in all the affected countries, given
the importance of this disease in the context of economic development.
- Accepting the proposal
from PAHO/WHO to avail us of the amount of US$ 1 million to initiate primary
actions and to request PAHO/WHO to urge other agencies to join efforts and
accomplish a rapid and effective result.
- Ensuring that the
need to reduce vulnerability of drinking water and sanitation systems, and
health services is taken into account in the reconstruction stage.
- Making the necessary
efforts for health sector considerations to be prominent in all the discussions
on the reconstruction of our countries in the national and international
fora beginning with the forthcoming Consultative Group.
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