International Medical Corps International Medical Corps http://www.imcworldwide.org/ Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:05:36 GMT SyntaxCMS via FeedCreator 1.7.2 Trainees work together in disaster simulation http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/media/detail/1717/ Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:00:00 GMT Paramedics practice emergency treatment procedure. http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/media/detail/1716/ Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:15:00 GMT Preparing for the Worst in Indonesia http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/article/detail/1715/
Photo: Sonia Walia
Emergency personnel work together to evacuate the victims from the disaster site during an emergency simulation. Involving all levels of disaster response, the exercise was created by IMC in its community disaster response training program in Lampung, Indonesia.
April 2008 -- Indonesia has harboured some of the worst natural disasters in recent history. The tropical archipelago teeters on top of the Ring of Fire, a loop of geological instability that encircles the Pacific Ocean. Indonesia – and its population of 220 million – is exposed to high levels of seismic activity, as the island string is positioned above the intersection of three mammoth crustal plates. Its shaky underwater footing, combined with a landscape that houses more than 500 volcanoes and 5,000 rivers, makes Indonesia one of the most vulnerable places in the world for natural disasters, creating a grab-bag environment with eruptions, earthquakes, flooding, landslides, droughts, and tidal waves.

With the catastrophic 2004 tsunami still in recent memory, the government of Indonesia has made natural disaster preparedness a national priority, drafting the National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction and establishing the Disaster Preparedness Law in 2007. While these efforts are a securing step for the islands’ residents, the national capacity still needs support. Most government agencies have little, if any, medical first aid and disaster preparedness training. Doctors, nurses, and paramedics face similar struggles in handling sudden events. Hospitals and their directors are also unequipped to manage their facilities during a disaster. Ambulance services, policemen, and search and rescue personnel also lack the basic skills that make the life-and-death difference at the site of the disaster.

International Medical Corps (IMC), with the support of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), has implemented a two-year program to help support Indonesia respond to disasters by building government capacity for swift, effective natural disaster response. The effort, Strengthening Emergency Preparedness and Response in Indonesia (SEPRI), collaborates at the local level with domestic NGOs and emergency response teams to create a strong network for the Indonesian government. As of the end of last month, IMC has supported the training of over 1,200 medical and non-medical personnel responsible for all aspects of emergency response.

“Through this approach, International Medical Corps is able to improve responsiveness at each level of the disaster,” says Nesya Hughes, International Medical Corps country director in Indonesia. “By increasing basic life support and first responder knowledge, we increase the likelihood that lives are saved at the disaster site or in-route to the nearest hospital. We help save lives in hospitals by training doctors and nurses in emergency care, and hospital administration in disaster management.”

Photo: Sonia Walia
Paramedics treat an injured victim at a disaster simulation coordinated by IMC in the final part of its preparedness and response training program.
This March, International Medical Corps and its Indonesian emergency response partner, Ambulan 118, consolidated 14 different trainings into a month-long program titled Safe Communities Training for Disaster Preparedness and Response. Held in disaster-prone Lampung, a province at the southern-most tip of the island of Sumatra, the conference brought together over 300 people for comprehensive disaster management education.

“With a wide variety of disasters, it creates a complex emergency need,” says the governor of Lampung at the training’s opening ceremony. “To prepare for disasters requires special skills and knowledge that can be developed through building the community capacity. For this reason, this series of trainings in Lampung Province has become one of the strategic ways to have preparedness at the local community.”

Creating a close to real-life experience, International Medical Corps and its local partner Ambulan 118 facilitated two disaster simulations allowing the trainees to put theory into practice. The first recreated a traffic accident where a gasoline truck driver collided with a motorcyclist. Both drivers were severely injured, and the emergency intensified when the gasoline truck exploded, increasing the number of casualties and victims. The second simulation was an earthquake and tsunami, paralyzing Lampung and disconnecting it from the rest of Indonesia. Local organizations, including the Indonesian Red Cross and the Provincial-Level Ministry of Social Affairs, also participated in the simulations, making them as realistic as possible.

This training followed a simulation that International Medical Corps carried out in September 2007 in Padang City, West Sumatra. Only three days following the simulation, a 7.1 earthquake rumbled across the region. In a later review, participants of the training reported that they felt more confident in the real-life response than their counterparts in other island cities.

“A disaster simulation is the perfect way for us to practice what we learned from the training, as well as to know how to coordinate with related institutions so that when a disaster occurs we are ready and able to minimize impact,” says training participant Siti Hazani.

While the trainings were carried out this March, West Sumatra faced a different kind of disaster, as torrential downpour stripped hillsides, covering roads in mud, rocks, and debris. The landslides were only one result of the heavy rainfall. Some of Sumatra’s island neighbors, including Java and Riau, experienced up to two meters of flooding, making some road networks impossible to travel.

According to the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, Indonesia experienced 15 emergency-level natural disasters in 2007. With flooding and earthquakes particularly common, and other natural disasters, like tsunamis, possible, International Medical Corps’ SEPRI program enables Indonesian authorities to come together as a collective body in the event of an emergency. With each disaster response entity knowing its role and how to carry it out effectively, the citizens of Indonesia are not only supported by more capable individuals, but by a more prepared emergency-response infrastructure.

“Besides the skills and knowledge, cross-sector strategic coordination also plays an important role in disaster preparedness and mitigation,” concludes the governor of Lampung. “Disaster preparedness or mitigation does not succeed without synergic coordination.”]]> Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:00:00 GMT Mother seeks treatment for malnourished child http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/media/detail/1714/ Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:00:00 GMT IDPs gather firewood outside camp http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/media/detail/1713/ Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:45:00 GMT Despite Agreement, Peace Still Unfelt in Democratic Republic of Congo http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/article/detail/1712/
Photo: Alyssa Banta
A man and a boy carry firewood outside Kibumba IDP Camp. After fleeing their homes to escape violence, Congolese IDPs resettle in communities like Kibumba where they live in makeshift homes with little to no social services. Operating a health center in Kibumba, IMC is one of the few support systems available to these IDPs.
April 2008 -- After 20 years of relentless fighting that left an estimated 5.4 million dead and another three million displaced, in late December the Congolese government set out to mend the crisis through diplomatic means. Inviting not only the international community, but also the 23 armed groups that have rivaled for land and power in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) North and South Kivu provinces, the formal peace conference represented the only bloodless attempt for the groups to reach a settlement in almost 10 years. Under the watchful eye of the United Nations, European Union, African Union, and United States, the Congolese government, and all rivaling militias signed a formal ceasefire that has been called “a process to achieve a sustainable path to peace.”

While the ceasefire nodded to the world that the disputing groups could come to an agreement, the Congolese people, and the NGOs who service them, have not yet found footing on the peaceful path that was hoped for. Nearly two months after the peace accord was signed, the hills of North Kivu, DRC’s most volatile province, are far from still, as armed groups have predatorily torn through the countryside, laying claim to whatever land they can before additional UN peace-keeping forces are deployed. While the militias try to sink their flags into another hillside, International Medical Corps (IMC) continues to support the victims of the Congo wars even as the merciless conflict takes an unexpected shift.

Active in DRC since 1999, International Medical Corps has taken a two-pronged approach to humanitarian assistance in North Kivu. Unlike other NGOs operating there, IMC works not only at the camp-level, but also in the communities to service approximately 150,000 internally displaced people (IDP) in the Goma Territory. Within camps, IMC creates temporary health facilities that offer 24-hour, immediate care to IDPs seeking treatment for malnutrition, disease, injury, and other sometimes fatal consequences of war. IMC also supports existing government facilities to meet health needs of vulnerable populations in he communities surrounding the camps.

This strategy furthers International Medical Corps’ mission to not only provide relief, but to build the local capacity so that long-term, sustainable development is achieved. By training locals and working with the Ministry of Health(MoH), IMC enables the community – and the government that supports them – to handle current and future challenges. In an environment where hundreds of thousands shift as a result of sporadic violence, this strategy is effective not only as an emergency response measure, but as a long-term development tactic.

“Providing assistance only in camps does not acknowledge that populations in DRC are constantly vulnerable to migration,” says Dr. Birame Sarr, International Medical Corps country director in DRC. “In a country where it is impossible to see the frontline, it is only a temporary solution to have a presence in IDP camps alone because these populations will likely move in response to violence. By supporting a network of community hospitals in North Kivu, we are working to ensure that permanent structures are available to provide reliable care, even as populations come and go.”

Photo: Alyssa Banta
Cradling one child in her arms and another strapped to her back, a Congolese mother seeks treatment from an IMC nurse for her malnourished child. While violence has killed thousands of civilians in DR Congo, the silent effects of war, like malnutrition and disease, has killed thousands more, particularly children.
Empowering the community, 80 percent of International Medical Corps’ staff members are themselves displaced, and all of its operations, from assessment to execution, are done in partnership with the MoH. Sarr believes it is this degree of community involvement that enables IMC to remain as a long-term, effective presence in DRC despite the environment’s constant volatility. “By training locals to become midwives, nurses, community health workers, and other aid workers, they become the permanent contributors to public health,” says Sarr. “If an IMC-serviced camp is forced to migrate, these skill sets move with them to help their next receiving community.”

“This is a strategy that not only treats those people who walk through our health clinic doors,” adds Woseh Gobeh, International Medical Corps program coordinator for North Kivu. “The model lays a foundation for the long-term health care development that is both adaptable and transferable. In an environment like DRC, it is these skill sets that can make the difference between life and death.”

Now, in the new dynamic that surfaced after the peace agreement, International Medical Corps is working to manage programs amidst the renewed scramble for territory. Surrounding IMC’s operations in Goma Territory, four armed groups are staking land rights with ferocious fervor, resulting in brutal, bloody clashes wherever those territory lines overlap. Encircled in the latest manifestation of instability, IMC expects more IDPs to escape the post-peace-agreement violence.

The deterioration in North Kivu’s security after the ceasefire has also made areas that were accessible to NGOs before the peace conference impenetrable. Even with the escort of UN peacekeeping forces, NGO access to some territories deep within the contested territories is impossible. The inability for NGOs to provide aid wherever needed, coupled by the reduced international presence following the ceasefire, has intensified the need for International Medical Corps’ strong local presence.

While the ceasefire was a hopeful development in DRC’s long-awaited peace, a recent study estimates that the death rates remain unchanged since civil war first erupted in 1998. Despite the international optimism that the peace agreement would push the rivaling groups to end their two-decade-long battle, the Congo wars still kill an estimated 45,000 each month – half of which are children – and produce some of the most vicious, extreme cases of rape and gender-based violence in the world.

“The peace agreement was good in the sense that everyone finally came together to debate and put something down on paper,” says Gobeh. “The agreement was only signed two months ago and positive things could still result, but whether the situation improves or declines, International Medical Corps is positioned to respond the immediate and long-term needs of DRC.”]]> Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:00:00 GMT BBC RADIO: Somali refugees in Ethiopia (PART 2) http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/resource/detail/1711/ Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:00:00 GMT BBC Diary: IMC Psychiatrist Lynne Jones (PART 2) http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/media/detail/1709/ Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:45:00 GMT BBC RADIO: Somali refugees in Ethiopia (PART 2) http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/resource/detail/1708/ Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:45:00 GMT IMC Becomes First American NGO to Operate in Syria http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/article/detail/1703/ Photo: IMC
Hussien Ibrahim, Country Director for International Medical Corps in Syria (left), signs agreement with the President of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Dr. Abdel Rahman Attar
Los Angeles, CA/Damascus, Syria – International Medical Corps has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), becoming the first American non-governmental organization approved to deliver direct humanitarian assistance in the country.

SARC has been designated by the government of Syria as the coordinating body for international humanitarian assistance, and since establishing a presence in Damascus six months ago, International Medical Corps has been working closely with SARC to reach the agreement signed last week.

“This landmark agreement represents a critical step forward in helping bring much-needed assistance to Iraqi refugees who fled their homeland, as well as to the Syrian host communities that have struggled with the strain of this population influx,” said Hussien Ibrahim, International Medical Corps Country Director for Syria.

An estimated 1.5 million Iraqi refugees have crossed the border into Syria, having fled violence that directly touched their lives, either through loss of a loved one or by being forced to leave their homes under threat of death. In addition to their physical wounds, many suffer from psychological stress, trauma, and depression caused from their experiences in Iraq. This is further exacerbated by the fact that they face exploitation and high rates of unemployment and 85 percent have little or no access to health care. Refugees with disabilities and rehabilitation needs and those with chronic illnesses suffer particularly under these conditions.

International Medical Corps will provide primary health care services to Iraqi refugees and host community members in three Syrian communities. This includes establishing two primary health clinics, and supplying them with equipment, medical supplies, and staff to enable them to provide outpatient services. To decrease maternal and child mortality, IMC will ensure that pregnant women seen at each clinic receive complete pre- and postnatal care. IMC also will provide support to two SARC dental units that serve these communities, including two dentists and two dental assistants.



Since its inception nearly 25 years ago, International Medical Corps’ mission has been consistent: relieve the suffering of those impacted by war, natural disaster and disease, by delivering vital health care services that focus on training. This approach of helping people help themselves is critical to returning devastated populations to self-reliance. For more information visit our website at www.imcworldwide.org.

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]]> Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:45:00 GMT Somalia Crisis Deteriorates, International Medical Corps Warns http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/media/detail/1702/ Tue, 29 Jan 2008 23:15:00 GMT The humanitarian toll in Somalia is rising http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/media/detail/1701/ Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:45:00 GMT Somalia Crisis Deteriorates, Aid Agencies Warn http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/article/detail/1700/ Statement comes as UN Security Council members meet to discuss Somalia

March 26, 2008
On Oct. 30, 2007, 39 NGOs warned of the rapidly deteriorating situation in Somalia and an impending humanitarian catastrophe. Since then, the crisis engulfing Somalia has deteriorated dramatically while access to people in need continues to decrease; 360,000 people have been newly displaced and an additional half a million people are reliant on humanitarian assistance.

There are now more than one million internally displaced people in Somalia. Intense conflict in Mogadishu continues to force an average of 20,000 people from their homes each month. This, combined with record high food prices, hyperinflation and drought in large parts of the country is leaving communities struggling to survive. Extreme water and food shortages are expected to worsen across the country if the seasonal rains (April - June) fail as they are predicted to.

As the crisis worsens, Somali and international aid agencies are unable to respond adequately to the needs. Attacks on, and killings of, aid workers, the looting of relief supplies, and a lack of respect for international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict have left two million Somalis in need of basic humanitarian assistance.

For too long, the needs of ordinary Somalis have been forgotten. The undersigned agencies are asking the international community and all parties to the conflict to urgently focus their attention on the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Somalia. They must ensure access for humanitarian supplies, live up to their responsibility to protect civilians and address the environment of impunity. The humanitarian crisis will become more and more complex and will continue to deepen in the absence of a political solution to the current crisis.

AGENCIES SIGNATORY TO THE STATEMENT
Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED)
Adventist Relief Development Agency (ADRA)
African Relief and Development Program (ARDP)
Cooperative Assistance for Relief Everywhere (CARE)
Concern Worldwide (CONCERN)
Coperazione Internazionale (COOPI)
Diakonie Emergency Aid Bread for the World (DBG)
Diakonia Sweden (Diakonia Sweden)
Development Initiative Access Link (DIAL)
Danish Refugee Council (DRC)
Gedo Health Consortium (GHC)
Global Organisation for Health and Development (GOHED)
Gothenberg Initiative (GI)
Gol Yome Rehabilitation & Development Organization (GREDO)
Humanitarian Action for Relief and Development Organization (HARDO)
Himilo Foundation (HIMILO)
HISAN – WEPA (HISAN)
Horn Relief (Horn Relief)
International Aid Services (IAS)
Institute of Education for Disabled People in Somalia (IEDSOM)
International Medical Corps (IMC)
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Interpeace/ War Torn Societies (Interpeace)
Medicins du Monde (MDM)
Mercy Corps Somali (Mercy Corps Somalia)
Merlin (Merlin)
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
Oxfam International (OXFAM International)
Progressio (Progressio)
Relief International (RI)
SAACID Australia (SAACID Australia)
Saferworld (Saferworld)
Save the Children UK (SC-UK)
Terra Nouva Association for international Cooperation to Development (Terra Nouva)
Education Small Scale Enterprise Food Security & Resource Emergency Response (TROCAIRE)
VETAID (VETAID)
WETHULNGERHILFE/ Formerly German Agro Action (GAA)
World Concern International (World Concern)
World Vision (World Vision)]]> Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:45:00 GMT Somalia Crisis Deteriorates, International Medical Corps Warns http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/article/detail/1699/ Patrick Mweki in Nairobi, Kenya pmweki@imcworldwide.org +254 733 620 958
Natalia Cieslik in Washington DC, USA ncieslik@imcworldwide.org +1 202 2308804

Photo: IMC
The number of patients at IMC clinics has increased by 67% over the last month. Cases of bloody diarrhea and intestinal parasites have more than doubled.
March 26, 2008, Nairobi, Kenya/Washington DC, USA – With fighting increasing, International Medical Corps (IMC) in Somalia has witnessed a fresh exodus of people fleeing Mogadishu over the last weeks. IMC medical staff close to the capital also reported a sharp increase in patients, the majority suffering from acute watery diarrhea, pneumonia, and intestinal parasites. In February 2008 IMC’s staff operating three mobile clinics in the displaced persons camps conducted 28% more consultations than during the previous month. The number of children under five coming for medical help rose by 40%.

International Medical Corps operates three clinics along the so-called ‘Afgoye corridor’ where more than 250,000 people have found refuge from fighting in Mogadishu. The 30 kilometer stretch of road between the Somali capital and the town of Afgoye has become the fastest growing displacement camp in the world.

The number of patients during the first two months of March rose even sharper – by 63% compared to the same time period in February. Cases of bloody diarrhea and intestinal parasites have more than doubled.

“We clearly see the humanitarian toll of the catastrophic situation in Somalia in our clinics. The long-term displaced people become more susceptible to diseases, and the new arrivals put further pressure on the overstretched aid infrastructure,” says Patrick Mweki, International Medical Corps country director in Somalia.

The number of malnourished children is also higher than in previous months. International Medical Corps is providing nutritional support to children with severe malnutrition who can still be treated as outpatients.

Amid the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Somalia, International Medical Corps is asking the international community and all parties to the conflict to urgently focus their attention on the devastating conditions in which Somalis live and agencies operate. In a joint statement with 38 other aid organizations of the Somalia NGO consortium, IMC expresses the urgent need that safe access for humanitarian supplies must be ensured, civilians must be protected, and the environment of impunity must be addressed. The humanitarian crisis will become more and more complex and will continue to deepen in the absence of a political solution to the current crisis.

“The security situation is deteriorating and we feel the impact on ground,” says Mweki. “Armed groups are not respecting civilians and aid workers. Our work is becoming more difficult and more dangerous by the day.”

To read the full statement click here]]> Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:15:00 GMT Iraqis in Jordan Struggle with Cost of Health Care http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/media/detail/1698/ Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:00:00 GMT