Julia Greiner 2015-04-23 00:38:17
Cyclone Nargis, which happened in 2008, caused the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar. It wreaked havoc, created catastrophic destruction and caused at least 138,000 fatalities and involved approximately 2.4 million individuals. This number of deaths may be inaccurate due to those occurring after the natural disaster due to health issues such as disease and lack of resources for health care. The WHO reported that the Government of Myanmar formed an Emergency Committee that had priorities of providing adequate food, safe drinking-water and shelter to the affected people. The WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia and the WHO Country Office in Myanmar were also involved in response to the crisis. The WHO published that the major health problems in Myanmar are communicable diseases (malaria, dengue, measles) and malnutrition. The State Peace and Development Council in Myanmar spend less than US$1 (i.e. 60 cents) per person per year, on healthcare. Approximately, 1 in 4 households live below the poverty line therefore lack of healthcare resources are commonly found in Myanmar. The structural damage caused by the cyclone and the flooding of water supplies, there was also an increase of waterborne diseases affecting the populations. Subsequently, damage to infrastructure and distribution systems will increase the risk of foodborne diseases.
One report written by an international rescue team called Team Singapore found that the most common diagnoses seen amongst adults were: upper respiratory tract infection, gastritis/gastroenteritis, and lower respiratory tract infection. Many adults and children also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from the experiencing the crisis. Emergency rescue teams like Team Singapore broke into teams that focused on different cities to offer aid to due to the lack of government set up emergency plans. Injuries from the cyclone were the highest reported cause of death (lacerations, blunt trauma and puncture wounds). Doctors without Borders in the first two months, aided 460,000 individuals with primary treatments geared towards diarrhea, malaria, dengue fever, and malnutrition. The British Red Cross reports that in 2010, Myanmar is on its way to recovery and has rebuild 24 schools and has been working to make sure the most vulnerable (elderly, disabled, women) are given the right assistance and support. They are focused on providing clean water and improving sanitation which has been successful due to the improvement in water quality and prevention of water-borne diseases. The British Red Cross is now offering basic first aid courses to encourage community-based disaster risk management training. In times of crises, local government often have to take the initiative to make certain policy changes or implement programs and training, in alignment with being prepared as a community in case of another catastrophic emergency.
I can’t imagine being a healthcare provider in Myanmar at this time. It would have been in such a hectic state especially due to the lack of resources and government set up emergency agents. It would have been very important to maintain hand hygiene in the efforts to prevent the spreading of disease during the crises and to offer the best educational support to affected individuals especially when medical resources were scarce. I think that the United States is better set up for a natural disaster if one were to occur because of increased resources and different government set up agencies such as FEMA. I reflect on natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and hope that our government and the citizens of the United States are better equipped and educated about what to do during a natural disaster.
References:
Doctors without Borders. (2008). Myanmar: Two Months After Cyclone Nargis, Needs Remain
Critical. Retrieved from http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news-stories/field-
news/myanmar-two-months-after-cyclone-nargis-needs-remain-critical
Lateef, F. (2009). Cyclone Nargis and Myanmar: A wake up call. Journal of Emergency Trauma
Shock, 2(2), 106-113.
The British Red Cross. (2010). Myanmar recvering two years after Cyclone Nargis. Retrieved
from http://www.redcross.org.uk/en/About-us/News/2010/April/Myanmar-recovering-
two-years-after-Cyclone-Nargis
The Who. (2008). Communicable disease risk assessment and interventions: Cyclone Nargis:
Myanmar. Retrieved from
Click to access MyanmarCycloneNargis090508.pdf
Watson, J. T., Gayer, M., & Connolly, M. A. (2007). Epidemics after Natural Disasters.
Emergency Infection Disasters, 13 (1), 1-5.
