Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoHAITI / HEALTH UPDATE
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: HAITI / HEALTH UPDATE
TRT: 2.00
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 1 FEBRUARY 2010, PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI
1. Wide-shot, health facilities at temporary settlement site in Port-au-Prince
2. Close up of child lying on ground with balloon
3. SOUNDBITE (French) Dr Henriette Chamouillet, Haiti representative, World Health Organization (WHO):
“There are still a lot of people injured by the earthquake that have not been given health care and of course this is still the emergency at the moment. Slowly, we are also going to enter a second phase, the post emergency phase, which will force us to resume slowly our usual activities with the other emergencies. Because one should not forget that aside from the emergencies linked to the earthquake, there are other emergencies such as appendectomies, Caesarean sections or road accidents which also are emergencies.”
4. Med shot, operation on amputated leg
5. Med shot, foot wound treatment
6. Wide shot, Medicine Sans Frontiere medical staff caring for patient
7. SOUNDBITE (French) Dr Henriette Chamouillet, Haiti representative, World Health Organization (WHO):
“We are about two weeks after the earthquake and for the moment we have no outbreaks, we have no signs of a beginning of an outbreak. However, we have resumed vaccinations, in particular, vaccination for children in the framework of the expanded programme on immunization.”
8. Wide shot, injured man in white singlet
9. Wide shot, injured woman being stretchered and moved away
10. SOUNDBITE (French) Dr Henriette Chamouillet, Haiti representative, World Health Organization (WHO):
“This type of disaster, an earthquake, generates a lot of problems in terms of mental health. The WHO will bring very shortly an expert on mental health to conduct an evaluation of needs and we will try to bring some support to the response to this very important problem which is mental health.”
11. Wide shot, traumatized child being held by mother
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Dana van Alphen, Health Cluster Coordinator:
“I don't think everybody has access to primary care services because of the rural displacement, because of people who are in host families, and because there are so many sites where people gathered. In future we hope that when the temporary settlements, the organized settlements, will be ready then each settlement will have a health centre and at least one health centre for 10,000 persons, this is what we aim towards.”
13. Wide shot, displaced placed at temporary settlement site and medical facility
Multiple health challenges ranging from disease control to mental health, are being identified and responded to by the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) /World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Cluster partners in Haiti since the 12 January earthquake.
Treating and caring for people who have suffered injuries and undergone surgery, including amputations, is a priority concern for healthcare providers in Haiti, as is ensuring primary health care services are delivered to people who have left the capital, Port-au-Prince, to remote outlying areas.
WHO representative in Haiti Dr. Henriette Chamouillet said that the number of wounded was still high and not all had been treated.
No epidemics have been reported following the 12 January earthquake, but health providers have established a disease early warning system and are undertaking a staged, targeted immunization campaign for children aged under seven years in temporary settlements, including for measles, diphtheria and tetanus.
Urgent needs exist, particularly for post-surgical care. People suffering from chronic diseases, like HIV/AIDS, diabetes and cancer, need to have their routine care resumed. Mental health in terms of post traumatic trauma that people are suffering, especially children is something WHO is also trying to cope with.
Health facilities are being assessed for their safety and efficacy, and studies are already being carried to establish how the medical centers in the future settlements will work.
The 12 January earthquake caused widespread damage in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince and exacerbated an already precarious health situation. WHO is leading the coordination of the health sector response to the emergency to support Haitian government.
