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

On 29 July 2018, fortunately the typhoon passed Soja City and Mabicho without causing any damage despite the secondary disaster was initially feared. Each evacuation shelter was well maintained during the time.

AMDA continued to provide aid work in Sunwork Soja (Soja City), Mabi Community House Sono Branch and Okada Elementary School (both in Mabicho).

Activity report (29 July 2018):

-Mobile medical consultation in 10 locations (Soja City)

A team of medical personnel from AMDA (two doctors and one coordinator) and local health workers visited 10 locations to provide the mobile medical consultation service. As the arrival of the typhoon was concerned, AMDA closely stayed in contact with Soja City Government. The team went to Showa Community House, Soja City Hall, Kushiro Community House and seven other locations, seeing 28 patients in total.

AMDA was well appreciated by the people at the shelters as many of them said AMDA’s relief work gave them a sense of relief. Unlike the quick consultation in the emergency phase, this time the team spent a good amount of time listening to their concerns. They were able to ask questions they had hesitated to ask before such as about their medication or illnesses they had been dealing with. For those who complained of insomnia, frequent urination at night and high blood pressure (all stemming from accumulated stress), the team advised them to seek medical help at nearby hospitals. Overall, the consultation service ended in success as some said they would sleep better that night or their appetite was coming back after venting their anxieties.
 

-Acupuncture service at Sunwork Soja (Soja City)

On the 29th, one health worker and one coordinator from AMDA teamed up with local health personnel to visit evacuees in person to see how they were doing. There were some people who newly came to seek shelter because of the typhoon as well. While active communication with evacuees helped them calm down, there seemed to have been a gap in information-sharing especially among elderly people as they could not use the Internet. Likewise, those who are out during the day for the clearing work tend to miss some of the most important information that had been announced (which also causes frustration). To complement this, AMDA is planning to hand out flyers to each household.

Meanwhile, AMDA’s two acupuncturists provided the treatment from the morning, seeing seven people at the end of the day. AMDA’s health worker helped the visitors filling out a questionnaire prior to the treatment. For AMDA staff, this also helped understand the patient better, thereby leading to quality medical assistance.

Other than noted, activities in Mabi Community House Sono Branch (nurse’s rounds and recreational activities) and Okada Elementary School (general monitoring of evacuees) have been up and running.