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

On 26 August, AMDA Headquarters in Japan sent two medical coordinators to Haiti in response to the quake that devastated the southwestern part of the country. With one of them also being a certified nurse, the two will each leave Japan on the 28th and at the beginning of September.

According to UN OCHA, the quake which struck the Central American nation on the 14th has left over 830,000 people affected. Starting on the 18th, AMDA in collaboration with AMDA Haiti conducted emergency relief for three days. The ground team provided medical services and distributed relief supplies in Jeremie and its surrounding areas.

Besides the above, AMDA is currently looking into carrying out medical relief on a mid-to-long-term basis considering the scale of the damage. For this reason, the two medical coordinators will be taking charge of the necessary assessment and liaison work on the ground. 

  Prior to their departure, the two coordinators had a briefing at AMDA Headquarters in Okayama. The dispatch marks the third mission in Haiti for coordinator Ms. Kanako Morita whose past experiences include emergency response for the 2016 hurricane and 2010 earthquake. “Through working with AMDA Haiti chairperson Dr. Mac Keven Fredric, it helped me grow both as a person and a specialist. I hope to reciprocate by doing my utmost for Haiti,” she said. 

Ms. Morita will be dropping by the Embassy of Haiti in Tokyo for securing her safety (upon reaching the destination) on the 27th, and getting her PCR test done on the 28th before flying. After the expected arrival in Haiti on the 30th (via Dallas and Florida), she will join the AMDA Haiti chairperson for the disaster assessment and discuss further relief efforts.

On one hand, Ms. Saori Yamaguchi, the other coordinator (a certified nurse), will leave Japan in September based on the result of the aforementioned assessment.
  

In Haiti as of now, AMDA Haiti’s second relief team is scheduled to be dispatched on the 26th, as it was reported that emergency needs had not been fulfilled in many locations.