The Pan American Health Organization is working to help those displaced by Hurricane Dorian by securing food,
water, and other supplies. Fernando Llano/AP
PAHO supports Hurricane Dorian
response in the Bahamas
Caribbean L 2 ife, September 13-19 2019
By Nelson A. King
The Canadian Government said
on Thursday that Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau has discussed the
onslaught of Hurricane Dorian
on the Bahamas with the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) Chair
and Prime Minister of St. Lucia
Allen Chastanet.
“The Prime Minister expressed his
sympathy for the loss of life and for
all those affected by the destruction
caused by Hurricane Dorian, mentioning
his call with Prime Minister
Hubert Minnis of The Bahamas earlier
in the day, and Canada’s offer of
CAN$500,000 in initial support and
expertise to the disaster relief effort,”
said the Canadian Government in
a statement about the discussion
with Chastanet.
“The prime ministers discussed
the need for innovative solutions
and greater resilience to address
the devastating impacts of extreme
weather events felt by the Caribbean
and other Small Island Developing
States,” it added.
It said Trudeau underscored Canada’s
ongoing commitment to “building
back better” and support for the
region, noting in particular Canada’s
2017 pledge of CAN$100 million for
Caribbean Reconstruction and Climate
Resilience.
“The prime ministers also discussed
their desire for stability in the
broader region and a peaceful resolution
to the crisis in Venezuela,” the
statement said.
The Bahamas Government has
confirmed 30 deaths to date from
the Category 5 hurricane.
In updating the toll late Thursday,
Minister of Health Dr. Duane
Sands said the death count “could
be staggering.”
“We are embalming bodies so that
we have more capacity as new bodies
are brought in,” said Dr. Sands,
warning that the government is
bracing for further influx of bodies.
“We need to get coolers into
Abaco and Grand Bahama, because
we believe that we may not have
the capacity to store the bodies,”
he added.
The health minister said some
neighborhoods have been reduced
to rubble by the catastrophic storm,
adding that 95 percent of homes
in other neighborhoods have been
damaged or destroyed.
Dr. Sands said thousands of
Bahamians are currently homeless
because of the killer hurricane and
that they are taking refuge in gymnasiums
or churches.
By Nelson A. King
The Washington, D.C.-based Pan
American Health Organization (PAHO)
says it is focusing on providing clinical
care to save the lives of persons who
survived Hurricane Dorian and keeping
people safe, with three Emergency Medical
Teams arriving in the Bahamas.
“Clearly it is a desperate situation for
some persons on Abaco,” said Dr. Esther
de Gourville, PAHO’s representative in
the Bahamas.
She said PAHO is working with the
Bahamas Ministry of Health and emergency
teams to help those who survived
secure food supplies, safe drinking
water and sanitation.
Even before Hurricane Dorian
struck, Dr. de Gourville said PAHO
“pre-deployed” water and sanitation
experts and health services experts to
Bahamas and had experts in logistics,
disease surveillance, coordination,
information (data) management and
civil-military cooperation in place in its
Bahamas office.
She said assessment of needs has
begun, and that a structures expert is
looking at damaged health facilities.
PAHO said it has pledged health sector
infrastructure and public health
support, and is acting quickly with
the support of the Bahamas Ministry
of Health to assess needs and
damage assessments.
PAHO has also established an
Incident Management System in its
country office.
“Due to floodwaters and potential
contamination with sewage and lack
of safe water, the risk of diarrheal and
waterborne diseases is high,” warned
PAHO, stating that Rand Memorial
Hospital in Grand Bahama is flooded
and supplies damaged, and other clinics
on Grand Bahama and New Providence
are also flooded.
PAHO said it has used its extensive
experience in emergency preparedness
to improve disaster relief operations,
setting up the structures to deploy
emergency teams to support public
health measures.
With several health centers flooded
and unable to receive patients, a
full hospital-capable Emergency Medical
Team from Samaritans Purse has
arrived in the Bahamas for a threemonth
stay, PAHO said.
The team includes six physicians and
two surgeons, 16 nurses, two anesthesiologists,
allied health personnel, and
logistics and management staff.
Another Emergency Medical
Team from Team Rubicon has been
deployed to Abaco for a 15-day mission,
PAHO said.
Abaco aerial surveillance
shows vast devastation to the
island’s infrastructure.
More than 1,200 people are reported
in various shelters in Great Abaco and
Grand Bahama and an additional 800
are sheltering at Marsh Harbor Clinic,
PAHO said.
Meanwhile, the United States government
said it is working in partnership
with the Government of the
Bahamas, including the National
Emergency Management Authority, to
deliver emergency supplies to address
the immediate needs in the wake of
Hurricane Dorian.
“The U.S. Mission to the Bahamas,
working through multiple agencies
of the U.S. government, is providing
humanitarian assistance, search and
rescue operations, and other disaster
response measures, as well as assisting
U.S. citizens in the affected areas,”
said the U.S. Department of State in a
statement.
At the request of the Bahamian government,
the State Department said the
U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) sent a Disaster Assistance
Response Team “to coordinate
the U.S. response and provide technical
support to the National Emergency
Management Authority, which is managing
the overall relief effort.”
The State Department said this is
“part of a broader international response
effort that includes Caribbean partners,
the United Kingdom and Canada, so
that the government of the Bahamas
can provide lifesaving and life sustaining
care to their people.”
As of Sunday, reports indicate that at
least 43 people were killed as a result of
the Category 5 storm.
Officials, however, indicate that the
number could increase significantly, as
hundreds are still missing.
Canada PM
offers aid
to Bahamas