Aid in Action
USAID and U.S. Military work together to care for earthquake victims
USAID and the U.S. military are working together to provide urgent medical care for earthquake victims in the Yogyakarta region.
Yogyakarta |
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
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USAID/Environmental Services Program
USAID personnel, US Marines and TNI in front of the medical supplies for the US Military Field Hospital in Sewon, Bantul.
USAID and the U.S. military are working together to provide urgent medical care for earthquake victims in the Yogyakarta region. This close cooperation has resulted in expanded medical coverage in heavily damaged areas.
Immediately following the earthquake, USAID and military staff worked together with local government officials and the Indonesian military to identify a site to base a U.S. military field hospital in close proximity to earthquake victims. Within days, a team of 175 military medical and support personnel established a state-of-the-art field hospital, and were treating patients, offering surgical, trauma and other medical care to over 1,000 patients in its first four days.
USAID has contributed significantly to the field hospitals’ daily operations. Many of the hospitals’ patients have been identified and referred from USAID-funded relief supply distribution sites. Working with its implementing partner, the International Organization of Migration, USAID has secured a fleet of vehicles to transport patients to and from the field hospital, providing a safe and rapid way for patients and their families to access medical care.
USAID continues to help the hospital function smoothly, supplementing it with WHO-approved medical kits that include basic first aid materials as well as more advanced antibiotics and drugs. U.S. military doctors describe the kits as among the most useful and comprehensive disaster relief supplies available. USAID has also funded a staff of interpreters who translate the doctors’ directions for patients, many of whom only speak the local dialect.
Dr. Tom Davis, Navy Commander and Trauma Surgeon at the field hospital described the value of the tight cooperation between the military and USAID in this effort, “I’ve worked with USAID three times in disaster situations across Asia, including following the tsunami. In each case, we’ve worked together in a seamless fashion to do the most we can for those affected.”