Urban slums

This is a powerful website that looks at the issues people living in slums (across the world) face:

http://www.theplaceswelive.com/

It's quite well-done.

Haiti news

The Government has declared the search and rescue phase over. There were 132 live rescues by international search and rescue teams.

CNN reports that another man was rescued, 10 days after the earthquake.

The number of people leaving Port-au-Prince is increasing daily. More than 130,000 people have taken advantage of the Government's offer of free transportation to cities in the north and south west. FAO estimates that the number of people leaving cities for rural areas could reach one million, putting pressure on already vulnerable communities.

WHO reports that despite difficult conditions, there are no reported outbreaks of communicable diseases including cholera, measles and rubella.

- There are enough fuel supplies in country for the next two-three weeks until the port is likely rehabilitated to receive new supplies.

From http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MYAI-7ZY7VE?OpenDocument&RSS20=18-P

"Starting on the day after the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, major American charities have received donations at the average rate of $1.64 million per hour.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy yesterday released a report indicating donations of $355 million for the period Jan. 13 through Jan. 21. Do the math and it works out to an average of $1.64 million per hour.

Keep in mind these donations are independent of the US government support and this report excludes international donations. Among Christian groups on the COP list, Catholic Relief Services and World Vision were top recipients, with $19 million and $15 million in gifts, pledges, and cash respectively."

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2010/01/us_donations_to.html

Updates on Haiti

According to a report this morning by OCHA:

Banks are now opening in Haiti. This is a very important step so that people can withdraw money, and families and friends can transfer funds down to Haiti.

Patients are starting to flood into the Dominican Republic, overwhelming the health capacity in that country.

The security situation in PAP is generally stable, with pockets of violence.

The port is operational but not fully up to capacity. They are currently able to accept about 250 containers per day, with a goal of 350 per day.

UNICEF is on the ground registering displaced children.

Aid is getting through to more and more locations. Water is available at many water points

throughout Port-au-Prince but quality remains an issue.

• WFP has provided around 3 million meals to more than 200,000 people. The goal is to distribute 10 million meals over the next week, reaching 100,000 people a day.

• Tens of thousands of people still do not have access to shelter. The Government is identifying sites for temporary settlements.

• Untreated injuries, infectious diseases and sanitary conditions remain a priority concern to prevent death.

• Some 150 planes are landing daily at the Port-au-Prince airport and another 1,000 planes are

waiting to get in. The road from the Dominican Republic remains the best option for the majority of incoming cargo.

Haiti news

From USAID on Twitter: PaP airport has received flights from: Belgium-Bolivia-Brazil-Canada-Cuba-France-Mexico-Portugal-Spain-Sweden-Turkey-US-Ukraine, & the UN

From the White House:

The USNS Comfort arrived in Haiti today. The Comfort brings a hospital with a capacity for over 1,000 beds on board and has already started to receive patients by helicopter.

The airfield is open for 24/7 operations – 153 flights were expected for today. The U.S. was using 38 of those slots.

• The major focus of military efforts is establishing water distribution sites, and delivering fuel, food, and medicine.
• As of January 20, approximately 11,500 military personnel (2,000 ashore and 9,500 afloat) are a part of the relief effort.
• To date, more than 6,174 Americans have been evacuated.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/21/continuing-updates-haiti-earthquake-disaster-response

USAID update on Health in Haiti

On January 15 at 1800 hours local time, four of the five 35-member U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) arrived in Port-au-Prince to commence rapid response medical care operations, as had a 35-member International Medical Surgical Response Team and a 35-member Incident Response Team. The aircraft transporting the remaining DMAT and a Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team was diverted to Turks and Caicos due to air traffic congestion. The group is scheduled to depart for Haiti later on January 15.

 According to PAHO, at least eight hospitals and/or health centers are unable to function due to earthquake-related damage. Functioning health facilities are overwhelmed, forcing individuals to seek treatment in makeshift areas.
At least 13 countries in North and South America have confirmed the deployment of medical teams, and 24 international search and rescue teams are operating in Haiti, with four additional teams en route.


Health and Human Services (HHS) and USAID are recommending donations to Red Cross and CIDI.org (Center for International Disaster).

Thoughts on H1N1 resposne

There's a really good editorial in the latest NEJM that reviews the US response to the H1N1 virus.
The Need for Science in the Practice of Public Health
Nicole Lurie, M.D., M.S.P.H.

In short, the US response revealed several "areas for improvement", including the turn-around time for the flu vaccine production and distribution, and evidence-based analysis of decisions to shut down schools etc.

The take-home message:
"We will all have the opportunity to learn lessons from the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus. Although we would like to believe that pandemics occur rarely and that we have plenty of time until the next one, new infectious diseases, as well as other kinds of threats, can emerge at any time. One challenge will be to continue to invest in science — whether that means basic virology; surveillance; mitigation measures; vaccine development, manufacture, and distribution; operations and logistics; or communication — so that when the next pandemic or other emerging infectious disease appears, we will have the data we need to make informed decisions about how to confront it. A second challenge will be to strengthen the nation's public health infrastructure so that we can rapidly turn scientific knowledge into action."

Global Health News

Here are some interesting bits of news:


Global Measles mortality cut dramatically in past decade



From Foreign Policy--Top 100 Global Thinkers



GHANA: Cell phones cut maternal deaths



New (pdf) PEPFAR 5 year strategy just released