Appeals for international assistance

All appeals for health assistance should be endorsed by or issued through the Ministry of Health.

The Participants

The Participants,

Believing that one of the main problems in post-disaster health management is the often conflicting quality of the information available from the various sources for rapid decision-making by potential donors;

Recognizing the importance that requests or appeals for international assistance reflect genuine emergency health needs of the entire population affected by the disaster; and

Encouraged to note the considerable improvement in this regard following the disasters in 1985 in Latin America,

Recommend that:

1. Affected countries continue efforts to limit their appeals for international assistance in the health field to genuine needs for the emergency, clearly identifying the priorities but making a distinction between needs for rehabilitation and reconstruction.

2. Information on what has been requested or pledged be shared among all donors.

3. Affected countries take into account the time required to provide assistance from the international community and therefore, carefully request assistance that has the greatest probability of arriving in time to be used.

4. Affected countries specify, to the extent possible, the most urgently needed items (e.g., drug dosage, the manufacturer and the model of equipment) in order to avoid delays or misunderstandings.

5. All appeals for health assistance be endorsed by or issued through the Ministry of Health.