By Sambi Shrestha | Development Officer
Our team in India has been busy serving the needs of people living in the hardest hit area of Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi. During the immediate aftermath of the event we partnered with The Medical Health and Family Welfare Department, The Himalayan Health Trust in Dehradun and The Corporate Social Responsibility of ACC cements to conduct several medical camps. During the month of June and July we treated over 600 patients in over 40 villages.
In the second phase of this disaster, upon the recommendation of the Uttarakhand state health authorities, AmeriCares chose to move forward with a focused 4-6 months intervention program. During this phase our attention was to complement the efforts of the local government in providing quality primary care and maternal and child care as this target population was identified as being the most vulnerable. Pre-existing conditions of malnutrition, anemia and improper hygiene was exacerbated by the crisis situation. Since August we have conducted several one week clinics and distributed over 375 Pediatric Health Kits, Maternal Health Kits and Family health kits which included items like vitamins, nutritional supplements, mosquito nets, water purification tabs and blankets. Our three regional partners have also distributed 800 of these kits in the region along with several medicines and medical supplies AmeriCares India Foundation donated for distribution.
As we move into phase three, we are working to address long term health care needs that might last several months. After carefully considering lessons learn and getting the insights of partner organizations and other stakeholders, we have decided to focus our efforts in five categories:
A lot of work still needs to be done in the region to address the needs of those affected by this deadly flood. We know from past experiences with disasters of this magnitude the extent of involvement and breadth of work that is needed. We are committed to stay in the region beyond the second phase and are now seeking resources to help us take action in the categories above. Our efforts will continue to focus on a defined sector in which we have expertise, partner and local government support. The extent of our impact is limited by our resources and the support of the Global Giving community is much needed and highly appreciated.
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