As a first step in the Portuguese Government's humanitarian assistance, a Portuguese Air Force C130 is expected to leave Lisbon today, January 15, bound for Port-au-Prince, carrying a multidisciplinary team to assist in the relocation and provision of medical care and medicine to the Haitian earthquake victims of last Tuesday.
The health care team is formed by five Civil Defence members, ten fire fighters, eight INEM personnel, a Legal Medicine specialist and five International Medical Assistance (AMI) members. Portugal is also sending camping gear, tents, camp beds, medical supplies, generators, bed sheets, blankets, hygiene kits and kitchen supplies.
Besides this joint effort of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Defence and the Civil Defence, Portugal will extend further humanitarian assistance to Haiti, through the support of AMI missions on the field.
Portugal is thus part of the joint effort of a large number of countries, which have been channelling emergency aid to the Caribbean country, considered one of the worlds' poorest and that was struck by an earthquake, affecting about three million people.
The Portuguese Government will remain vigilant to the latest developments of this tragedy in order to assess the best course in continuing to provide the necessary support to Haiti.