MSF AU Venezuela earthquake: Update on MSF’s response

Venezuela Earthquakes Update

While we are not currently sending funds from Australia/New Zealand to Venezuela, it is an excellent example of how we do respond when unexpected emergencies occur.

It has been one month since two powerful earthquakes struck the coastal state of La Guaira, and the nation’s capital, Caracas. Officials report that at least 5,208 people have died, and more than 23,800 survivors are living in camps as they have been displaced by the disaster.

MSF teams that were already working in Venezuela were quick to respond after the earthquakes struck, and remain committed to helping tens of thousands of people with not only urgent and primary healthcare, but also access to much-needed water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

A breakdown of MSF’s current activities is as follows:

Mobile clinics

• MSF currently has permanent mobile clinic teams in Playa Verde, La Guaira state, and in the centre of Caracas, while other mobile clinic teams are providing assistance in various affected areas, like Catia La Mar and Naiguatá.
• The mobile clinics teams include doctors, nurses, a psychologist, a health promoter, and an environmental health specialist, providing primary healthcare, mental health support, health promotion, and water and sanitation assessments for displaced communities.
• These teams are primarily treating cases of diarrhoea, respiratory illnesses, and skin conditions.
• Our teams have already provided more than 1,095 medical consultations - mainly for chronic health conditions, respiratory infections, and skin diseases - and hundreds of individual and group mental health and psycho-education sessions.

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)

• We are moving forward with a water, sanitation and hygiene strategy to prevent the outbreak of diseases, facilitate access to safe water, and install showers and toilets that allow people to live in dignified conditions.
• This already includes supporting four sites for water distribution and the installation of 38 toilets.
• MSF teams responding to previous earthquakes have treated outbreaks of cholera, measles, and respiratory infections among people forced into crowded displacement settings.
• In Venezuela, teams are now monitoring for waterborne diseases as well as mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya.
• To reduce these health risks, MSF teams are assessing water sources, sanitation conditions, and disease surveillance needs in affected communities.
• Activities may include water trucking, chlorination of water supplies, emergency latrines, hygiene kit distributions, and regular mobile clinic visits to shelters and gathering sites.

Ongoing assessment

MSF continues to observe significant needs among people staying in shelters, so we are continually assessing how to adapt our response to the evolving emergency.