# 6027
With the release yesterday of the 2011 TFAH report (see TFAH: 2011 Ready or Not Report) we are reminded of just how complex the problems are in protecting a nation during a natural disaster, pandemic, or bioterrorism attack.
Although total preparedness for a severe pandemic eludes even the richest of countries, there are many places in the world where pandemic preparedness barely exists at all.
In many regions antivirals, vaccines, antibiotics and professional medical care are scarce or unavailable altogether, and even the lack of soap and clean water can complicate the most basic of advice given during a pandemic; to wash your hands.
History has shown that resource poor nations are apt to suffer greater losses during a pandemic, although a lack of good record keeping has obscured the full impact.
While the overall fatality rate during the 1918 pandemic in the United States was estimated to be about 2.5% (and less than 1% in some northern European countries), in places like India and Asia some anecdotal reporting suggests as many as 10% of those infected died.
Agencies like the World Health Organization, USAID, and NGO’s like CARE and Save The Children are engaged in a daily battle against disease and poverty around the world. The already have to contend with the death and suffering caused by poverty, cholera, malaria, TB, HIV, and scores of other diseases.
Adding a pandemic into this mix, even a `mild’ one, would undoubtedly stretch their resources even thinner - and despite their best efforts – could potentially claim hundreds of thousands of lives around the world.
This reality has inspired agencies and NGOs to create initiatives like the H2P project – a three-year effort which ran from October 2007 through September 2010 - geared towards promoting community & district-level pandemic flu preparedness and response in developing countries.
That project came through the hard work of a number of NGO’s and partner organizations, including USAID, IFRC, CORE Group (including American Red Cross, CARE, & Save the Children), AED, InterAction, & several UN agencies, including WHO, WFP, & UN OCHA:
Recently, Rudolph von Bernuth, Director of Programmes at Save the Children International, addressed a UN/USAID conference in Rome where he warned of the dangers and challenges of inadequate pandemic preparedness in resource-poor populations.
You can read his entire speech at this link on Save the Children’s Avian & Pandemic Flu Updates & Guidelines webpage, but I’ve excerpted a small portion below:
We believe that it is important to look at preparedness from the perspective of the resource-poor districts and communities in which we work around the world, and ask:
What kind of actions is it realistic to hope that these communities and districts should be able take in response to a severe wave of pandemic flu?
What kind of support will these communities and districts need to take these actions?
Are developing country governments and organizations around the world prepared today to provide this kind of support?
We believe, that in a severe pandemic scenario, when all countries around the world, and all organizations responding to the pandemic, are themselves struck or preparing to be struck, that it is not realistic to hope that most resource-poor communities will receive substantial quantities of additional supplies like vaccine, anti-virals, or antibiotics.
In the face of these likely deficits in pharmacological supplies and assistance from outside sources, Save the Children is advocating:
. . . the most important guidance includes that on non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce flu transmission at household and community levels, along with guidance on home-based care of the ill.
Basic, but potentially lifesaving, interventions.
Promoting pandemic preparedness in many resource poor nations has not been easy, or entirely successful, as internal resistance and donor constraints have limited what they can do.
But the threat of a severe pandemic has not diminished, and when one comes - ready or not – the world will have to deal with it.
And in many places around the world, much of that burden will be shouldered by NGOs.
As this is the time of year when many people give thought to making gifts or donations to worthy causes, I hope you’ll indulge my mentioning that agencies like the Red Cross, Red Crescent, CARE, Save The Children, UNICEF, and others are working around the world to combat poverty and disease, and are on the front lines every day.
They could use your support.
These NGO’s do a great deal with very little, and even small donations can help make a difference. You can find their websites and blogs in my sidebar.
Staff Writer
