 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
UN plans for potential swine flu impact on relief crises
Geneva (AFP) July 21, 2009 The United Nations on Tuesday raised the prospect that the swine flu pandemic could hit countries undermined by poverty, conflicts or famine and trigger a "major" new crisis in those areas. "This is something we are concerned about and planning for," UN humanitarian chief John Holmes told journalists. The bulk of the planning focuses on either relief staff being affected by flu or the prospect of a pandemic infecting people already in need of aid. Holmes noted that many were "crowded into camp situations and therefore particularly vulnerable" to the fast spreading virus. But Holmes, the UN under secretary general for humanitarian affairs, also raised more serious concerns about disruption to health care, education, as well as food and water distribution in such strife-torn settings. "There's a wider concern that if a pandemic, for example the current H1N1 pandemic, spreads into a very poor and vulnerable country, and has a much more dramatic effect there than on the countries where it has been present so far, then we would have a major new humanitarian crisis on our hands," he explained. Although local governments had the primary responsibility to prepare for a pandemic, Holmes said the UN recognised that they "might not be so effective so we're trying to do some contingency planning ourselves. "Clearly if it's one or two countries, we would be able to regard it as a classic humanitarian crisis and do what we could to help. "If this was happening in several countries simultaneously, then we clearly would not have the resources or the capacity to cope. "That's why it's one of the worrying scenarios which could happen, I don't say it could happen because we're not in that particular situation with this pandemic." The World Health Organisation has already raised concerns about the potential impact of the new A(H1N1) virus as it spreads in poor countries, especially in the southern hemisphere. Apart from having more vulnerable populations already suffering from ill health and poor care, they are also less able to detect the onset of the virus and afford treatment or vaccines. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters A world of storm and tempest When the Earth Quakes
Bangladesh seeks 1.15 bln dollars for cyclone victimsDhaka (AFP) July 19, 2009 Bangladesh made an international appeal Sunday for 1.15 billion dollars to help one million families affected by Cyclone Aila that hit the country and part of India in May. Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzak made the appeal at a meeting with envoys of foreign missions in Dhaka and donors such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. "The response was quite ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook