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

As of 26 July 2018, while the acupuncture treatment has been up and running in Okada Elementary School (Mabicho), AMDA newly launched the same service in Sunwork Soja (Soja City) as well. It was initiated in response to the growing needs in the shelter where people have been exhausted from the prolonged evacuation life. A lot of people made a reservation for the acupuncture treatment since day one. Now that approximately 20 days have passed since the disaster struck, it is hoped that the acupuncture service in two locations further enhance the assistance on the ground.

In Mabi Community House Sono Branch, one nurse from AMDA has been working around the clock to take care of the elderly people who were evacuated from the nearby nursing home.

In addition to the above three locations, AMDA has dispatched its medical personnel to Mabi Kinen-Byoin Hospital where they are seeing patients in a mobile medical vehicle.

Being part of *AMDA’s Platform for the Great Nankai Trough Disaster, municipalities and organizations such as Kuroshiocho Town in Kochi Prefecture, Kaiyocho Town in Tokushima Prefecture, Seto Kenshin Clinic (Kagawa), and Sakura Clinic (Tokushima Prefecture) have been rendering support.

(*AMDA’s Platform for the Great Nankai Trough Disaster is a disaster-response platform in preparation for the expected Nankai Trough Disaster which is said to hit Japan in the near future.)

On the 24th, two student volunteers from Okayama Prefectural University joined AMDA’s activities. One staff who was sent via Kaiyocho City Office in Tokushima Prefecture said, “In our city, we have had the countermeasures for earthquakes and tsunami, but not floods. After seeing this, I was convinced that my city needs to be well prepared for this kind of disaster as well. It was also a rare opportunity to talk to the disaster victims in person.”

A graduate school student who took part in the relief gave more than a passing thought to what he saw. “It was my first time to visit the evacuation shelter set within the elementary school. The scenery I watched on TV was spreading before my eyes. As a volunteer, I helped with the footbath service. And through the conversations I had with the victims, it made me understand deeply what they had been going through,” he said.


Activity report (25 July 2018):

-Acupuncture and footbath (Okada Elementary School):

It has been two weeks since AMDA’s acupuncturists started offering treatment at Okada Elementary School. Now, the acupuncture service has been playing an important role in maintaining the well-being of the people in the area. Those who have been receiving the treatment said their physical condition has certainly improved. The visitors to the acupuncture service have been increasing by word of mouth in which 21 people came to receive the treatment that day (seven people were first-timers). Acupuncture has proved its effect as the treatment helped relieve constipation, one of the major symptoms among the evacuees (mainly due to the lack of vegetable intake). Meanwhile, seven people used the footbath that day.

-Health-related assistance (Sunwork Soja):

As of 25 July, 38 people from 18 households have been seeking shelter in Sunwork Soja. One health worker and one coordinator from AMDA have been continuously working there to provide medical and health-related assistance. On the 25th alone, the team went around the shelter and saw about 10 people to check if they were doing okay. As usual, the regular physical exercises have been held every day to keep them away from getting inactive. In addition, they cleaned the part of the shelter which were left unnoticed. The team also gave a sanitation guidance, because maintaining the sanitary condition in the shelter takes priority in the prolonged evacuation life.

In accordance with the start of the acupuncture service on the following day, the team of therapists held a briefing prior to the launch, and started taking reservations for the morning session on the first day (10am – 12 noon).