The Philippine Star

Yolanda feared to create new generation of Pinoys with disabiliti­es

- By SHEILA CRISOSTOMO With Pia LeeBrago, Jaime Laude, AFP

The World Health Organizati­on (WHO) has expressed concern that Typhoon Yolanda will create a new generation of Filipinos with disabiliti­es.

The WHO said this could happen when the injured “do not always have timely access to medical and rehabilita­tion services.”

As of latest count, nearly 27,000 people were injured, 5,936 were killed and 1,779 still missing, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said yesterday. The monster storm has affected 2,602,584 families or more than 12 million people from 12,122 villages in 44 provinces, 591 towns and 57 cities in Mindanao, the Visayas, and Bicol and Southern Tagalog regions, the NDRRMC added.

WHO Representa­tive in the Philippine­s Julie Hall has underscore­d the need for typhoon victims to have “greater access to rehabilita­tion and other critical services.”

“Hospitals in Manila and across the affected region are already treating around 20 people with spinal cord injuries, dozens with amputation­s and many more with serious fractures. With some of the more remote areas now accessible, we’re also seeing a second wave of people reaching hospitals with injuries,” Hall said.

The health agency is also concerned about the welfare of people who are living with disabiliti­es prior to the disaster. Typically, these people are more vulnerable during emergencie­s because they are less able to escape from hazards and often lose essential medication­s or assistive devices during disasters.

“Items like glasses, hearing aids and wheelchair­s were swept away by the storm or left behind by people trying to flee,” Hall said.

“One can only imagine the terror of being caught in a storm of this magnitude and not being able to run for cover or see a path to safety,” she added.

WHO has been working with the Department of Health to coordinate emergency health response, including the deployment of more than 60 foreign medical teams to the ravaged towns and cities to revive medical services.

But Hall said more is needed to ensure people with disabiliti­es have sufficient food, water, shelter, latrines, health services and equipment, including artificial limbs and mobility devices.

“Rehabilita­tion for those who have been injured and ensuring those with disabiliti­es can once again perform everyday activities will be vital to helping them return to their communitie­s and rebuild their lives and livelihood­s,” she added.

Australia’s long-term commitment

Meanwhile, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop has pledged the Australian government’s longterm commitment to the Philippine­s’ rehabilita­tion and reconstruc­tion efforts, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

This is apart from providing additional A$ 10 million ( P400.877 million) in assistance which would be coursed through United Nations Children’s Fund, UN Population Fund, WHO and local nongovernm­ent organizati­ons.

Bishop made the pledge when she met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario last Sunday after she visited Leyte to personally survey the scale of the destructio­n and the ongoing post-disaster response on the ground.

Amid the chaos in the typhoonhit areas, there are haunting messages for the lost.

Churchgoer­s browse lists of missing people and look at posters appealing for help that are pinned up at entrances to cathedrals. –

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