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Disaster Relief and APSARecent earthquakes in Haiti and Chili have caused widespread damage, loss of life and severe health crises. It is estimated that 40% of the Haitian population is under age 16. Read more about the Haiti earthquake here, here or here. Read more about the Chilean earthquake here or here. Nearly 20 APSA members put their lives on hold to travel to Haiti and provide specialized medical assistance for Haiti's youngest victims immediately after the earthquake. APSA members have been working with the federal government, the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions and the National Commission on Children and Disasters to help identify the immediate and longer term medical needs in Haiti and to coordinate the response from U.S. pediatricians. How can you help?* A number of organizations are collecting donations and providing relief and aid to Haiti in this time of crisis. The list below is by no means exhaustive, and we encourage you to contact any organization you wish to support that is not shown here. Read more about the American College of Surgeons’ Operation Giving Back effort here. Regardless, please consider offering your support. If you aren't able to help at this time, please know that the rebuilding process is a long one, and the need for aid will remain great going forward. International Red
Cross AmeriCares Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) - HAS provides medical care and community health and development programs for more than 300,000 impoverished people in the Artibonite Valley of central Haiti. International Red Cross - The American Red Cross is also collecting donations via cell phone -- Text "Haiti" to the cell number 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti. The charge will appear on your cell phone bill. Partners in Health - This group dedicated to providing the global poor with preferential health care options is collecting donations to provide supplies to hospitals and health groups in Haiti. Help is urgently needed. If you are thinking about traveling to Haiti to participate in relief efforts, please review the CDC Guidance for Relief Workers and Others Traveling to Haiti for Earthquake Response, issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Jan. 16. The following humanitarian agencies also request support to respond to the earthquake's aftermath: Catholic Relief Services, Direct Relief, Friends of the Orphans, Health Empowering Humanity, Heart to Heart, Samaritan's Purse, CRUDEM Friends of the Orphans - Friends of the Orphans supports a network of nine orphanages and their outreach programs in Latin America and the Caribbean, including one now-damaged pediatric hospital in Haiti, Hôpital Saint Damien – Chateaublond. * Posting of any of the above organizations is not meant to imply endorsement by APSA. APSA is not responsible for the use of funds donated to these entities. |
