Irish healthcare professionals have returned from a week providing care for Haiti’s earthquake survivors and training volunteers and staff.
The Caribbean country is still suffering the devastating effects of the earthquake on 12 January 2010, which killed 300,000 people and left 2.1 million displaced from their homes.
A group of 10 Irish health workers travelled to the stricken country to work with agencies partnered with the Christian relief charity Tearfund.
“When we arrived and saw that so many people were still living in camps it first appeared that little had been done,” said Dr Anne Wilson, a consultant from Belfast. “When we met survivors, however, we began to appreciate the complexities of disaster response in a country where the infrastructure has been all but wiped out by the earthquake.”
Since her return, Dr Wilson has met with Northern Ireland MEP Jim Nicholson to update him about the ongoing relief response to what was one of the world’s biggest humanitarian catastrophes.
Her meeting follows Nicholson’s own visit to Haiti in August 2010 in his role as vice president of the Africa Caribbean Pacific/European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
“The assessment of UN and other agencies was that Haiti’s recovery would take ten years,” says Jean Claude Cerin, Tearfund country representative in Haiti. “Although we never lose sight of the scale and this context, we are now seeing hope and real progress among communities that we are working with.
“Their resilience and sheer determination has been extraordinary as we have helped them, and continue to help them, rebuild their homes, schools and their livelihoods. ”
During their visit, the Irish team delivered seminars to staff, student nurses and community volunteers on issues including public health, nutrition, environmental health and post traumatic stress. GPs gave support to outpatient clinics and an anaesthetist also worked in theatres.
