The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the severe earthquake that hit Haiti and parts of the Dominican Republic on January 12th has resulted in large-scale damage, including the total destruction of several hospitals and health facilities, as well as a huge number of casualties.
The earthquake that struck Haiti was a 7 magnitude one – any earthquake between 7 and 7.9 is classed as a Major earthquake (8 or more is Great, 7 to 7.9 is Major, 6 to 6.9 is Strong, 5 to 5.9 is Moderate, 4 to 4.9 is Light, and 3 to 3.9 is Minor).
WHO says the immediate health priorities in Haiti are:
- Search and rescue of survivors trapped underneath rubble
- Treatment of people with major trauma injuries
- Preventing the infection of wounds
- Provision of clean water and sanitation
- Ensuring breast-feeding is continued
Control of communicable diseases, such as diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory infections, will be another major concern in coming days.
WHO is working with local authorities, United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners to respond to the emergency. More specifically, WHO is supporting the Haitian government to best coordinate international health assistance to the country. WHO is also collecting data on the health impact of the earthquake to disseminate to other humanitarian aid providers.
In addition, WHO is deploying a 12-member team of health and logistics experts. The WHO experts being sent include specialists in mass casualty management, coordination of emergency health response and the management of dead bodies.
UN buildings, including the WHO premises, have suffered damage in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake, which struck on 12 January. The main force of the earthquake was felt 17 kilometres south-west of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.
Haiti is a country that has already suffered from years of humanitarian crisis and natural disasters, including a series of hurricanes that battered the country in 2008.
Source: World Health Organization (WHO)
Edited by Christian Nordqvist