Doctors Without Borders in the Philippines

Omega’s Christmas gift has supported Doctors Without Border’s international work in 2012 and 2013 Now, 159 aid workers from the organization are working on the Philippines helping victims of the typhoon destructions in November.

Doctors Without Borders letter from their field work in the Philippines:

Our aid workers are working on and around the islands of Samar, Panay, Leyte and Cebu.

Our priorities are the most affected remote areas and islands that have received little help. We reach more people every day.

Now, and in the time to come it is important to secure neonatal services and proper midwifery. Other important medical needs right now are towards airway infections, diarrhea, psychological trauma, lacerations, fractures and infections caused by untreated injuries. Doctors Without Borders also see many patients lacking medicines for chronic diseases. They lost their medicines in the typhoon.

One of our patients, is little Niño.

Three days ago, Niño got ill. He had a high fever, got a bad cough and red spots in his face. His parents brought him to the hospital on a motorcycle, 1,5 hours from his home in Buabua, to reach us at our recently opened tent hospital in Guiuan on the Samar island.

«We asked around in our home town, but there was nowhere we could find medical help for him. We do not have much money and were very happy to hear about the tent hospital in Guiuan. We only have one son,” says Niño’s mother. He is now admitted and the doctors suspect the five month old boy is suffering from dengue fever.

Samar Island

So far we have made more than 1 000 consultations and 60 simple surgeries in the health center in the city Guiuan. The city’s hospital was very badly damaged and we are working to rehabilitate it, in addition to getting our own tent hospital up and running.

Panay

Last night we sent three mobile clinics to the cities Estancia, San Dionisio and Calis in the badly affected Iloilo Province. There, our aid workers made 220 consultations, most of them concerning pneumonia, diarrhea and respiratory infections. Doctors Without Borders is also surveying the medical needs on the islands around Panay and organizing boats as mobile clinics on these islands.

Leyte

Doctors Without Borders is arranging mobile clinics in the slum areas east in Tacloban.

The city of Santa Fe is one of the most affected areas. Here, we now have to mobile clinics: one in an evacuation center and one nearby the city’s ruined health center. We helped patients who had suffered with infected wounds for several days. We also saw many with diarrhea and respiratory infections.

The people here need clean water and relief supplies. We also run mobile clinics in and around the cities of Palo, Talawan and Ormoc. In Ormoc we also rehabilitate the local hospital and secure water supplies to the evacuation centers.

The city of Burauen is as good as erased. Doctors Without Borders cooperate with official health personnel in the destroyed hospital and will also set up tent hospitals. In addition, the organization is trying to get an overview of the need in the surrounding cities.

With your financial and moral support we are contributing to help those who need it the most in the Philippines. We are very grateful for your trust!