Association of Medical Doctors of ASIA, founded in 1984, Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC since 1995

From 26 May 2017, AMDA Sri Lanka conducted disaster relief to help the victims of floods and landslides triggered by the relentless rain that struck Sri Lanka’s southwest. Relief personnel from AMDA Japan joined the ground team on 07 June to work in Ratnapura and Kalutara.

 

On 09 June, the team comprising AMDA personnel and local community nurses visited Paradola, a village 100km southeast of Colombo.  First, they went to a clinic where prenatal checkups have been held twice a month. Amidst the power-cut due to the flood, doctors and nurses were conducting the checkups as usual which seemed to have put a lot of expectant mothers at ease. According to the residents, the area is flood-prone which gets affected almost yearly. From this experience, they had learnt to evacuate promptly whenever there is a heavy rainfall. This time, however, people were in deep remorse as not a few lives were lost when the landslide swept away the village. Now that the rain has calmed down, many people have returned to their homes, trying to clean up or repair their residences.

 

On 10 June, the team was joined by Gamini Costa, a local NPO, to visit Paraduwa village in Kalutara District approximately 40km south of Colombo. It was reported that 850 people (which consist of 70% of the village population) were afflicted by the flood. Overall, two local doctors, one nurse, two medical students and nine volunteers took care of 90 patients, providing free medical treatment and relief supplies to those in need. The common symptoms were, namely, 1) dermatitis, 2) upper respiratory infection, 3) muscle pain, and 4) joint pain. The residents thanked the team as there are no medical institutions nearby where they could take their children to. Among the relief supplies were 50 mosquito nets and school goods for 200 children which included water bottles, book bags, stationery, and lunch boxes. As many of the children had lost their belongings, these supplies seemed to have made them feel exhilarated.

 

The next destination was Kooragoda village in Kalutara. The villagers had earlier escaped to the mountains until the flood water receded. However, as most of the houses were submerged, the villagers later found out that the household goods were no longer usable. The team provided free medical consultations and aid supplies, including the school goods for children. The locals thanked AMDA for its work as it was the first relief team to reach the site.

 

The team completed the mission and withdrew from the region on 10 June.