Field hospital serves needs of cyclone victims in Gonaïves (Haiti)

Eighty tonnes of medical material and equipment arrived at the Port-au-Prince airport last week, and was then shipped by boat, to provide essential medical assistance to cyclone victims in Gonaïves, the region in Haiti hardest hit by Hurricane Jeanne.

This material was in fact a joint Canadian-Norwegian ERU (Emergency Response Unit) field hospital, accompanied by 13 Norwegian technical and medical staff including a surgeon.

The fully-equipped 100-bed field hospital was sent in response to the International Federation's revised floods appeal for Haiti launched on October 5, 2004 to assist the people in the northern city of Gonaïves and surrounding communes.

While the basic infrastructure of the only referral hospital, La Providence, is still in place, it was severely damaged. All the equipment and furnishings were been destroyed by mud and flood waters, the generator has been lost and it water sources (wells) were contaminated.

The Canadian and Norwegian Red Cross Societies will rehabilitate the hospital. In the meantime, the ERU hospital, headed by local staff from "La Providence" and supported by expatriate staff from Canada and Norway , has begun providing essential primary and secondary health care to the population.

Says Brynjulf Ystgaard, a Norwegian surgeon, member of the ERU team: "We worked hard to have the hospital and medical equipment ready to receive the first patients. We will provide good services to the population based on the level of medical services which existed before the disaster - this is the only reasonable way to look at it."

The hospital provides the typical services of a referral hospital: general surgery, reanimation, pediatrics, maternity services and internal medicine with all technical and support services.

Once the local hospital is rehabilitated, the field hospital will be dismantled and all medical equipment and activities transferred to La Providence Hospital.

On the ground in Gonaïves, the eight people members of the Federation-deployed Spanish Red Cross ERU, specialized in water and sanitation, has worked round the clock in preparation of the arrival of the hospital to ensure high quality water, showers and latrines for the hospital and for the staff living quarters.

The site in Gonaïves where the hospital is set up was made available by the owners at no cost for a six-month period, thanks to assistance from the ICRC.

Eleven medical Canadian delegates, including an anesthetist and five ward nurses, have joined the team, completing the Canadian/Norwegian partnership. "This is an example of excellent Movement cooperation with the active involvement of all partners", says Charlie Musoka, Canadian Red Cross Emergencies Officer.

"It is the first time that the Canadian Red Cross embarks on a joint project of such a magnitude, but it will certainly not be the last. I hope that this project will become an inspiration for all members of the Red Cross Movement".

The field hospital is expected to run for six months. Tents from the hospital and living quarters will be donated to the Haitian Red Cross to boost the relief stocks of the National Society, whose material resources have been depleted after having suffered three consecutive disasters in less than a year.