News from PAHO and WHO

New Publications

Health Services Organization in the Event of Disaster, Scientific Publication NO. 443, PAHO, Washington, D.C., 106 pp. Extensive Ref. (US $6.00) (English and Spanish)

When national disaster preparedness plans are developed, specific plans for safeguarding and strengthening the response capacity of health services are often overlooked. The purpose of this manual is to provide technical guidelines for planning to enable health services systems to cope with mass emergencies, whether they be caused by natural or man made disasters. Areas covered include a review of the structure of health delivery systems, on-site medical care in a disaster zone, planning for emergencies and mass casualty management at the rural, periurban and urban levels, hospital organization and resource requirements for mass emergencies and evaluation and training methods. Annexes include a treatment of social behavior in emergencies, hospital design considerations, a list of basic drugs and supplies, a checklist of energy and communications requirements and sample triage and tagging cards. Written with Latin American and Caribbean systems in mind, the organizational principles are nonetheless applicable elsewhere.

Disaster Reports: Hurricane David

The final analysis of data collected in Dominica after hurricane David struck that island-nation in 1979 has been issued by the Pan American Health Organization in a new periodic publication, Disaster Reports. The survey data were gathered and analyzed by researchers from Dominica and the WHO Collaborating Center for Disaster Epidemiology (Brussels). The intent of the study was to determine what, if any, were the health effects of the hurricane and what measures would be most useful in preventing increased morbidity. A limited number of copies are available (in English only) from the Editor of this newsletter.

To order, please write: Publications and Distribution, -Pan American Health Organization, 525 23rd St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037, U.S.A. Please specify language when ordering.

WHO Regional Course for Southeast Asia

The regional office of WHO for Southeast Asia (SEARO), based in New Delhi, India, will sponsor a course on health aspects and relief management of natural disasters for representatives of the health sector of countries of the region. The course is tentatively scheduled for the end of November of this year. For further information; write: Regional Director, SEARO, Indraprastha Estate, Ring Road, New Delhi-1, India.

Global Consultative Meeting on Emergency Medical Systems

An international meeting organized by the WHO Global Program on Prevention and Control of Accidents will take place at PAHO Headquarters on 12-15 September 1983. A small group of selected experts from developing countries will review the status of emergency medical systems in their countries, identify problems and propose solutions.

The working groups will focus particularly on the role of EMS in cases of mass casualties and emergencies caused by disasters. The experience of disasters in the Americas and an active preparedness program in many member countries of PAHO will be particularly critical for the success of the consultative meeting. Among other topics to be addressed is the role of EMS in prevention of accidents and traumas, a field where U.S. institutions, among them Johns Hopkins University, have played a leading role.

Direct letters of inquiry to the Editor of this newsletter.