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© 2005 American Academy of Pediatrics
Academy reaches out to countries affected by tsunami
The Academy is reaching out to pediatric societies in devastated southern Asia, giving planning grants to assess children's needs and how pediatricians can help ease the plight of children in the aftermath of the deadly tsunami. The Academy has contacted the pediatric societies in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand with offers of financial support for relief efforts in the affected areas through its Friends of Children Fund. Some AAP member pediatricians have expressed a willingness to visit the region to offer their services. However, according to the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, AAP pediatricians are advised not to travel to the region to volunteer until after the pediatric societies complete their needs assessments. In an e-mail this week, the President of the Sri Lanka College of Pediatricians, Manouri P. Senanayake, M.D., thanked the AAP for its "prompt offer to help mitigate the effects of this disaster." Dr. Senanayake noted, "Immunization against hepatitis A, chicken pox and typhoid are NOT included in the (Sri Lanka) National Schedule. Hence, the estimated 80,000 displaced children currently in make-shift refugee camps are vulnerable to these infections." If vaccines become available, he said the college's pediatricians would work with the national ministry of health on distribution and vaccination. As well as contacting the pediatric societies, the AAP is collaborating with the International Pediatric Association (IPA), of which it is a member, and is contact with UNICEF and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent. This week, Jane Schaller, M.D., FAAP, the IPA's executive director, will join two other IPA officers in Calcutta at the annual meeting of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics for extensive discussions on conditions in southern Asia. The IPA, guided by Karen Olness, M.D., FAAP, and in conjunction with the AAP Section on International Child Health and Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute LLC, has provided emergency response training to pediatricians from India, Malaysia and Thailand. These trained pediatricians are now participating in relief efforts in their own countries in collaboration with government and UN agencies. Dr. Schaller said that Srivieng Pairjokul, M.D., co-chair of the IPA child health and humanitarian emergency committee and a university professor from Thailand, and colleagues were forming a team with the UN relief agencies and the Thai government. "They have been part of an early needs assistance for children and people in Thailand, and they will also define their role in the emergency assistance, with attention not just to the acute problems, which are very real, but to the long-term problems that children may be traumatized by, seeing death and destruction, losing their homes and so on." Commenting on the need for disaster response training courses, Dr. Schaller said, "This is very important. These efforts have to be done at country-level with as much international help that is required. But there are a number of pediatricians in that part of the world who are already trained in child health and humanitarian emergency (through these courses). "We want to train people all around the world and get a mechanism going so the major agencies will have to call on us, because children are neglected in disaster situations, not willfully, but its just the people who respond are not specific experts in respect to children. We want to make people available to help who really understand the needs of children in disaster situations. The best way to do that is to train people in a number of countries around the world and to make it known to major agencies that we have people and we expect them to be used." Dr. Schaller added, "There is a huge need for advocacy with governments, with agencies, and with the public for the needs of children in disaster situations, and there is a need for written materials. These are all things we are either addressing now or will address." Swati Bhave, M.D., FAAP, of India, chairperson of the IAP disaster group, will be at the Calcutta conference to discuss relief efforts in the aftermath of the tragedy. From there, Dr. Bhave will leave for Delhi. The AAP's Section on International Child Health has sent copies of "Helping the Children," the Academy-endorsed handbook for complex humanitarian emergencies, to Thailand for use in hospitals and clinics. For updates, visit the AAP Member Center (www.aap.org/moc) and see February's AAP News. To donate to the AAP Friends of Children Fund for tsunami relief: www.aap.org/donate, call (888) 700-5378, or mail checks payable to AAP Friends of Children Fund (write Tsunami Relief Efforts in the memo line), American Academy of Pediatrics, Development Lockbox, 38367 Eagle Way, Chicago, IL 60678-1383.
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