Key Resources for Haiti Disaster Efforts
Cochrane Evidence Aid, Risk Management, Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Management Communication and Media Resource Materials

Incorrect ORS Mixing Instructions on Posters in Haiti

Posters showing incorrect instructions for making an oral rehydration solution using salt, sugar and water are being widely distributed by the Ministry of Public Health and other organizations in Haiti. Half (1/2) teaspoon of Salt and Six (6) teaspoons of Sugar should be dissolved in 1 Litre of water. (Not 1 Gallon of water as the poster says) For further clarification, please see: http://factsforlifeglobal.org/07/5.html The following actions need to be taken immediately: 1. The current posters need to be withdrawn and replaced. 2. A communications campaign to inform everybody locally that the old poster had incorrect information and they should use 1 Litre and not 1 Gallon. Your help is requested to inform everybody in Haiti of the correct way to make this life-saving solution.

Contact Information

Seeking information about relatives in Haiti: +1 (888) 407-4747 Red Cross Missing Persons

Contact list Haiti earthquake
Organizations and responsible people working on the ground with e-mail addresses and mobile telephone numbers. If you aren't a registered user with OneResponse, click on cancel in the pop-up window asking for your login id.

UNICEF: A Haiti fit for children

Call for support for appropriate infant and young child feeding in Haiti The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Food Programme (WFP) have released an important joint statement calling for support for appropriate infant and young child feeding during the Haiti emergency to prevent malnutrition, morbidity, and mortality among children. The message emphasizes the following points: Breastfeeding is the safest feeding option for infants during an emergency. Every effort should be made to support mothers to breastfeed and avoid the use of breastmilk substitutes, which should be a last resort only after fully exploring safer options. Relactation should be prioritized for infants under six months of age who are no longer breastfed. When this is not possible (e.g., for orphans), or when skilled personnel identify a need for artificial feeding, breastmilk substitutes must be accompanied by training for caregivers on hygienic preparation and use. Liquid ready-to-use breastmilk substitutes are preferred over powder mixes. In an emergency, the use of breastmilk substitutes can endanger children’s lives and, in accordance with international guidelines, they should not be donated. UNICEF is the coordinating agency in Haiti for the appropriate use of breastmilk substitutes and can provide guidance to organizations. Children older than six months of age require nutritious, age-appropriate, and safe complementary foods in addition to breastmilk. Priority should be given to providing local, culturally-acceptable foods. When cooking facilities are unavailable, ready-to-use fortified foods are an option. However, once cooking facilities have been set up, fortified blended food is recommended. Summary: UNICEF, WHO, and WFP call for support for appropriate infant and young child feeding in Haiti and caution about unnecessary and potentially harmful donations and use of breast-milk substitutes. Download the statement Please share this information with colleagues working on relief efforts for Haiti.

UNICEF: First-person account: Young Haitian earthquake survivor dreams of normalcy

Resource Materials

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Reference Books Guidelines are available in French and Spanish as well as English Click here to purchase MSF Reference Books Essential Drugs - 2010 English / Français / Español Refugee health - 1997 English Rapid health assessment of refugee or displaced populations - 2006 English

Tuberculosis - 2008 English / Français Clinical guidelines - 2010 English / Français / Español Management of epidemic meningogoccal meningitis - 2008 English / Français Obstetrics in remote settings - 2007 English / Français

The Haiti Relief Toolkit is a one-stop source for technical and practical information that will help health workers respond to the earthquake relief efforts underway in Haiti. The toolkit covers the vital sectors in emergencies, including health, water and sanitation, food security, and shelter. It also covers key field activities supporting the operations, such as logistics. Haitian Creole edition of Where There is No Doctor - pdf 23Mb.
Haitian Creole edition of Where Women Have No Doctor - pdf 8.8Mb.
Haitian Creole edition of Sanitation and Cleanliness booklet - pdf 3Mb.
Cholera fact sheet in English - pdf

Other health materials in English and Spanish can be downloaded here

APHA - American Public Health Association
Public Health Emergency: Haiti Earthquake Response Is Urgent

CDC has updated several fact sheets that provide information health care providers and responders can utilize before, during and after an earthquake.

• Guidance for Relief Workers and Others Traveling to Haiti for Earthquake Response
• Emergency Wound Management for Healthcare Professionals
• After an Earthquake: Management of Crush Injuries & Crush Syndrome

CDC's Earthquake Web page includes many other resources for responders.

Additional earthquake resources for clinicians from CDC include the following.

• Health Recommendations for Relief Workers Responding to Disasters
• Public Health Issues and Priorities for the Haiti Earthquake
• Travel Health Warning
• CDC Emergency Twitter account
• Haiti Disaster Volunteering

APHA is providing free access to its Public Health Management of Disasters: The Pocket Guide here as a resource.


Risk Management, Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Management Communication and Media materials:
Global Home Page English - América Latina Spanish - Risk Management (Gestión del Riesgo) Theme Site Spanish


US National Library of Medicine - Disaster Information Management Research Center

You can reach the list moderator at [email protected] Resource Guide for Public Health Preparedness at NYAM in partnership with NLM Management of Dead Bodies After Disasters: A Field Manual for First Responders - pdf

Cochrane Evidence Aid: resources for Haiti earthquake
All countries in Latin America and the Caribbean can access The Cochrane Library for free via the Virtual Health Library BIREME interface (in English, Spanish or Portuguese.

Prevention of waterborne infections

• Improving water quality; diarrhoea

Wound management

• Tissue adhesives for traumatic lacerations,
• water for wound cleansing,
• honey as a topical treatment

Fracture management

• Distal radius – fixation method, anaesthesia, bone grafts and substitutes, conservative interventions, fixation method, percutaneous pinning, in children
• Humeral fracture – proximal fracture, shaft fracture
• Tibial fracture – ultrasound for healing
• Rib – epidural analgesia
• Hip and femoral shaft – nails, pins, plates, and screws, in children
• Lower extremity long bone – reamed versus nonreamed intramedullary nailing, with concomitant vascular injury
• General fracture – calcium phosphate bone cement, resting injured limbs, antibiotics in open limb fractures
• Children – sedation and analgesia, femoral shaft fractures, wrist fractures

Physical trauma (excluding fractures)

• Fluid resuscitation – colloids versus crystalloids
• Brain injury – corticosteroids, hypothermia, mannitol, psychological treatment for anxiety
• Spinal cord injury – steroids, gangliosides

Blood transfusion

• Minimizing peri-operative allogenic blood transfusion – anti-fibrinolytics, cell salvage, desmopressin, fibrin sealant
• Prevention of bleeding – recombinant factor VIIa
• Transfusion thresholds and other strategies

Post-traumatic stress disorder

• Pyschological treatment, psychological debriefing

Renal

• Hyperkalaemia, renal replacement therapy

Donate

Comprehensive List of Key Organizations Taking Donations for HAITI Child Health Foundation - Haiti Action Network, Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, Project Medishare, Doctors Without Borders, Catholic Relief Services, Lamp for Haiti, Partners in Health - Grassroots International, Earthquake Relief Fund for Haiti .... More places to give here - Independent evaluations: CharityNavigator.


Donate to a cause on Facebook
Doctors Without Borders | Friends of the World Food Program | International Rescue Committee


Give a Haiti relief charity gift to a Facebook friend.
Water for Haiti from Oxfam | Light a Candle for Haiti from UNICEF | Food for Haiti from CARE | Shelter for Haiti from the American Red Cross | Survival Kit from World Vision | Visit the Facebook Charity Gift Shop

Volunteer

The following organizations have solicited volunteers either for acute emergencies or for long-term commitments. However, the American Medical Association (http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/haiti-earthquake-response.shtml) warns that the spontaneous volunteer has no place in a disaster response. Volunteers must be part of the solution -- not the problem. The AMA is planning to develop a clearing house for appropriate volunteering.

• Project Hope
• Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas (FAVACA)
• International Medical Corps
• Community Coalition for Haiti
• Beyond Borders
• Mercy Ships

Stay Up-to-Date on Current Information

The following are key organizations focusing on the health impact of the earthquake in Haiti

• Doctors Without Borders Sending Personnel, Inflatable Hospitals - Learn more
• HealthMap is providing a focused view of the latest health-related news from this area
• American Medical Association Has produced a webinar for medical public health responders.
• Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) A key resource for public inquiries on information and donations for major disasters
• Pan American Health Organization Provides ongoing situation reports and guidelines for response to earthquakes
• Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) A key international medical humanitarian organization providing on-the-ground information in Haiti
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Provides current information and general fact sheets on disaster assistance for clinicians
• InterAction Members Respond to the Earthquake in Haiti
• News Aggregation

Spaces to Discuss and Debate

BloggersUnite For Haiti

Twitter - Poll votes - Forum debate - Blog Comments
As a medical professional, what is your response to a major disaster such as the earthquake in Haiti?

Check Your Association for More Ways to Become Involved

The following professional organizations have initiated efforts for helping the people of Haiti. It is by no means a comprehensive list. Please continue to check your own association for current information if it is not listed here.

• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• American Academy of Family Physicians
• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American Association for the Surgery of Trauma
• American College of Emergency Physicians
• American College of Physicians
• American College of Surgeons
• American Nurses Association
• Society of Critical Care Medicine

updated: 4 July, 2014