On the fifth day on their response to the disaster in Haiti, the MSF teams remain focused on trying to cope with the huge demand for life-saving surgery from those who suffered terrible injuries in the quake. They are doing that by stretching their existing resources, running operating theatres to the limit by working around the clock, while at the same time trying to create more capacity by finding new premises and transporting in mobile structures.
In the newly working hospital in the Carrefour district, the MSF surgical team carried out 90 operations within 24 hours of getting the theatre usable. And that was only two hours after they found the hospital. The surgical team at Choscal hospital also completed around 90 operations so far. Another team is working from a container and carried out twenty. More capacity is on its way, but the twin theatre inflatable hospital has been delayed because one of the planes it was on did not get permission to land at Port au Prince airport and was re-routed to the Dominican Republic. The other half of the hospital did arrive today but MSF is still concerned that vital supplies are being held up.
A 12 year old girl undergoes a leg amputation after part of her leg was cut by debris and gangrene started. Choscal, Haiti. 16th Jan 2010 Photo by Julie Remy/MSF
The conditions in towns outside of the capital, some of which were even closer to the epicenter of the earthquake are becoming clearer. An MSF team plans to go today by helicopter to the town of Jacmel, on the southern coast of the island. Others have been to assess the needs in Léogâne, about an hour outside of Port au Prince. In Saint Marc, an area less damaged by the quake where thousands of people from the city have fled, there are hundreds of injured in the hospital.
Despite the transport problems, MSF has managed to get in over a hundred extra international staff to help the teams who were working in Haiti before the earthquake. The specialists include surgeons, aneasthetists, nephrologists and psychologists. Many of these have had to come by road from the airport in the Dominican Republic but MSF has managed to get four cargo planes into Port au Prince since last Wednesday with staff and tons of relief material.
The teams on the ground say that conditions are certainly not improving yet for the sometimes desperate people on the streets. The lack of food and clean water is causing further stress.
MSF is continuing to try to get a full account of its Haitian staff. We know that some have not survived the quake but communications remain difficult and we have not yet been able to trace all our colleagues.
Support our work
Thank you for considering supporting our emergency medical work - donations from the public make it possible for MSF to react immediately to disasters.
It is possible to give specifically to MSF’s work in Haiti. We are now asking donors to consider contributing instead to our general fund. Such contributions – be they regular or occasional - allow MSF to react immediately to life-threatening disasters, including the most recent devastating earthquake in Haiti. It is the commitment of our supporters that paid for the three hospitals we were running in Port-au-Prince prior to the eathquake, and their money that enabled us to have vital medical supplies, including our inflatable hospital, already when they were needed.
In short they allow us the flexibility to respond immediately to health needs as they arise and to make sure we are able to get to the people who need us most, when they need us most, wherever in the world they may be. By making a regular donation to MSF, you can make this possible, now and in the future. That commitment is as important to our work as the help given by our volunteer doctors, nurses and logisticians.
If you would like to make a regular monthly donation to MSF, please click here. If you would like to give a one-off donation to MSF click here. Donations specifically for our work in Haiti can be made here.