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

Activity tracking of AMDA personnel from the evening of 13 July to the following day revealed that there was no one that came in close contact with an aid worker from Kagawa Prefecture who was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19. As AMDA team finally got approval from authorities to carry on with its activities, the team resumed its relief work on the 15th at Dai-ichi Junior High School, an evacuation shelter in flood-hit Hitoyoshi City, Kumamoto Prefecture. Likewise, AMDA has also been assisting community health workers at the nearby Sagaramura village.

1. Dai-ichi Junior High School (Hitoyoshi City)
On the 15th, the team began offering acupuncture treatment to the evacuees. For most of the patients, the treatment was given combined with the judo therapy which had already been well received for the past few days. For those who were scared of the needles used in acupuncture, AMDA’s therapist carefully explained how safe and painless the treatment was. In the end, the combined cure was highly appreciated by the patients, so much so that some of them began recommending it to others.

Many of the patients were suffering from backache and shoulder pain that stemmed from clearing debris at home or sleeping on the floor until cardboard beds arrived at the shelter. One patient said the therapist’s caring words almost brought one to tears recalling all the plight one had gone through. Whereas, another patient, who was recommended to receive the treatment, said taking care of one’s family and agonizing over various matters had disturbed one’s sleep. In total, nine people received the cure that day. The services have been continuously offered as of the 16th.

2. Supporting community health workers in Sagaramura
On the 15th, AMDA personnel visited seven households in the Sagaramura village with two health workers from the locality. Two families, who had been coming back to their houses to clear the mess, revealed their despair of the present and hope for the future. “Although the damage is tremendous, we still want to live here,” they said.

The community health workers have been constantly occupied as they go about handling everything from preparing for infant health examinations to executing miscellaneous inquiries, not to mention the home-visits they conduct with AMDA personnel. The joint team was able to visit nine households in the morning of the 16th, learning that many of the residents had been taking shelter in their own houses.

On the 15th, AMDA donated three boxes of ORS to the municipality considering the hard days of clearing work ahead which are expected to continue for the time being.

 (Further updates will follow.)