Anguilla
Disasters
In many ways, 2017 was a special year seen through the lenses of mental health and psychosocial support in the IFRC. International attention has never been so strongly focused on psychosocial support at field level, in research and at policy level.
In severe crises, such as the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, the Rakhine crisis and the protracted crisis in Libya, mental health and psychosocial support is repeatedly mentioned as being key elements in the overall response.
Wednesday, May 30 – The impact of the 2017 hurricane season on member states of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) was reviewed at a two day After Action Review (AAR) meeting on May 28 and 29.
During this meeting, health representatives from the impacted countries of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands and the BVI also developed a plan for improving health response in the Caribbean region.
by OECS
A SERIES OF WHITEBOARD ANIMATIONS ARE BEING AIRED THROUGHOUT THE REGION.
The OECS Get Creative with Climate Change and Sustainable Land Management GCCA iLAND Resilience Project, is launching a major climate change and sustainable land management awareness initiative in the form of whiteboard animations.
In 2017, EM-DAT data indicates that 318 natural disasters occurred, affecting 122 countries. The impact of which resulted in 9,503 deaths, 96 million people affected, and US$314 billion in economic damages.
The human impact of natural disasters in 2017 was much lower than the last 10 year average, where events with extremely high mortality occurred, such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti (225,570 deaths) and the 2008 Nargis Cyclone in Myanmar (138,400 deaths).
Tras el devastador paso de los huracanes Irma y María por el Caribe Oriental, UNICEF emprendió un innovador sistema para ayudar a los niños y las familias necesitados: las transferencias de efectivo, que permiten cubrir las necesidades más urgentes.
PANAMA CITY/GENEVA, 19 March 2018 - Thousands of children, adolescents and their families affected by the devastating effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, six months ago, in the Eastern Caribbean islands, Cuba and Haiti have been supported by UNICEF and its partners thanks to the US$11.5 million raised through international donations during this time.
Situation in numbers
+357,000 children in need of assistance in Cuba, ECA, Haiti and Dominican Republic.
+39,000 children in need of assistance in ECA, with 20,000 children affected by Hurricane Maria in Dominica.
Highlights
In September 2017, category 5-hurricanes Irma and Maria caused devastation and extensive breakdown of essential services across several Caribbean countries, leaving at least 1.4 million people
Highlights
The United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team is part of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the international emergency response system for sudden-onset emergencies. UNDAC was created in 1993. It is designed to help the United Nations and governments of disaster-affected countries during the first phase of a sudden-onset emergency. UNDAC, as a tool of OCHA, also assists in the coordination of incoming international relief at national level and/or at the site of the emergency.
Key findings
UN agencies, NGOs, and government employees sharing the same workspace helped collaboration and information sharing.
Sector-specific and cross-sector coordination meetings allowed agencies and government actors to share information that reduced delays and increased collaboration between actors.
The lack of reliable baseline data greatly hampered efforts and delayed carrying out assessments and distributions properly during the response.
Highlights
Almost four months since hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the Caribbean islands, the return of some critical services remains slow in some countries. In Dominica, only around 10 per cent of people, mainly in the cities of Roseau and Portsmouth, have access to electricity, while in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) only one fifth of the population has restored power.
The steering committee established to spearhead the recovery process of countries hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, in September of 2017, have been moving ahead in the venture, information coming out from the CARICOM Secretariat stated.
Following the successful staging of the CARICOM-UN High-Level Pledging Conference at UN Headquarters in New York on November 21, 2017, the Steering Committee has continued to meet with a renewed focus on translating pledges into concrete programmes and initiatives.
Contenido
Enfoque 2
Perspectiva 4
Países Miembros 5
Recursos de Información 11
Próximos Eventos 12
Huracanes Irma y María:
Hurricanes Irma and Maria: health sector response
In the space of one month, several nations of the Caribbean were ravaged by two category 5 hurricanes packing winds of up to 160 mph (260 km/h). Hurricane Irma passed through 11 islands in the Caribbean starting on 5 September 2017, followed a week later by Hurricane Maria, which impacted six islands, including three in Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, that had already been hit by Irma. The total population of the islands is 37.2 million people.
The Pan American Health Organization commissioned a study of the wind speeds in several Caribbean islands during the passages of Irma and Maria; the wind maps developed provide estimates on various islands. These were developed using a combination of the hurricane track data provided by the National Hurricane Centre (central pressure and position) coupled with estimates of the radius to maximum winds (RMW) and the Holland B parameter. Wind speeds are presented as estimates of maximum 3-second peak gust wind speeds over land.
Review the biggest health stories from WHO in 2017. Relive some of WHO's major achievements in the past year.
See the timeline here
Situation in numbers
39,000
# affected children in need of assistance in Irma- and Maria-affected countries
19,800
# affected children in Dominica
169
# children in temporary shelters in Antigua, British Virgin Islands, Dominica
Highlights
