From the Wonca President:
Good Lord, Deliver Us
2
From the CEO’s Desk
:
Wonca’s Response to the Asia Tsunami
Disaster
3
From the Editor
:
Wonca’s Family Doctors:
5
Caring for Tsunami Victims
FEATURE STORIES
6
•Catastrophic Tsunami Claims 300,000 Victims and Challenges Global
Response
•Wonca’s Family Doctors Respond to the Tsunami Disaster
Wonca REGIONAL NEWS
10
•Carribean College of Family Physicians New Full Member of Wonca
•Register Now for the May 2005 Asia-Pacific Regional Conference In
Japan
•The Greek Island of Kos to Host September 2005 Europe Regional
Conferfence
HEALTH AND HEALTH SYSTEM NEWS
13
•Sometimes Governments Work for You: A Big Change for Family
Medicine in Turkey
•UK Federation of Primary Care Research Networks Maps the Future
MEMBER AND ORGANIZATIONAL NEWS
14
•The College of Family Physicians of Canada Celebrates 50 Years!
•International Federation of Primary Care Research Networks
Continuing Global Growth
RESOURCES FOR THE FAMILY DOCTOR
17
•News from ‘Global Family Doctor’
•Dutch Health Council Presents European Primary Care Report
WONCA CONFERENCES 2005-2010 AT A GLANCE
20
GLOBAL MEETINGS FOR THE FAMILY DOCTOR
21
VOLUME 31
NUMBER 1
FEBRUARY 2005
CONTENTS
Wonca President
Prof Bruce Sparks, South Africa
2 Cruden Bay Road
Greenside
Johannesburg 2193
South Africa
Tel: 27 11 646 2140
Fax: 27 11 717 2558
Email: brucespa@global.co.za
Wonca Chief Executive Officer
Dr Alfred W T Loh
Wonca Administrative Manager
Ms Yvonne Chung
World Organization of Family Doctors
College of Medicine Building
16 College Road # 01-02
Singapore 169854
Tel: 65 6224 2886
Fax: 65 6324 2029
Email: admin@wonca.com.sg
Wonca News Editor
Marc L Rivo, MD
Wonca President-Elect
Prof Chris van Weel, Netherlands
Wonca Immediate Past President
Dr Michael Boland, Ireland
Honorary Treasurer
Richard Roberts, MD, USA
Wonca Regional Presidents
Dr Abra T Fransch, Africa
Warren A Heffron, MD, Americas
A/Prof Goh Lee Gan, Asia Pacific
Prof Igor Svab, Europe
Dr Shatendra K Gupta, Middle East
South Asia
Dr Adolfo Rubinstein,
Iberoamericana-CIMF
Wonca Executive Members at Large
Dr Javier Dominguez del Olmo, Mexico
Prof Michael Kidd, Australia
Richard Roberts, MD, USA
Chair, Bylaws and Regulations
Dan Ostergaard, MD, USA
Chair, Publications & Communications
Dr Geoffrey D Martin, Australia
Wonca News Editorial Office
Marc L Rivo, MD
4566 Prairie Avenue
Miami Beach Florida 33140 USA
Tel: 305 671 7327
Fax: 305 671 4770
Email: marcrivo@aol.com
Wonca website:
http://www.GlobalFamilyDoctor.com
FROM THE WONCA
PRESIDENT:
GOOD LORD, DELIVER US
From lightning and tempest;
from plague, pestilence, and
famine; from battle and murder,
and from sudden death, Good
Lord, deliver us. The Book of
Common Prayer 1662
This edition of Wonca News
carries numerous testimonies and
reflections on the events of the
devastating morning of 26
th
December and the aftermath of
flood damage and loss of life. We
were all shocked and numbed by
the graphic news reports and video
images. Indeed, I must admit that
initially that morning I felt totally
impotent and powerless regarding
the role of Wonca in such circum-
stances – Wonca is not an aid-
organisation but a network of
organisations and individuals
involved in practice, research,
education and training!
I consulted members of our
Executive Committee and also
colleagues in the affected countries
for their assessment of the health
and humanitarian needs in the
region. As the New Year unfolded,
we were enormously heartened by
the gathering support and
generosity of our members and
member organisations who began
informing us of their meaningful
support. Wonca is also enormously
grateful to those who responded so
quickly to our CEO, Alfred Loh’s call
to action which he described in the
CEO’s Column – the Wonca network
had worked!
We are equally heartened by the
apparent early recovery of the com-
munities and economies in some
areas in the tsunami-affected region.
While infrastructure is being rebuilt
and tourists return, is such
WONCA
News
FROM THE WONCA PRESIDENT
2
‘recovery’ a reality to these com-
munities. I am always personally
astounded by the video footage of
apparent resilience and almost
fatalistic acceptance of communities
affected by disasters. The survivors
seem to have a remarkable reservoir
of courage and strength. I once
asked Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
who lead the Truth and Recon-
ciliation Commission in South Africa
about the effects that testimonies of
torture and suffering had on him
and other commissioners, and he
replied, “I often wonder how much
truth a person can take.” How much
tragedy can these communities take
and yet “recover”. It is difficult to
comprehend fully the enormous
legacy of loss and sadness that
must be felt by the individuals and
families in the affected region –
feelings that must endure for years.
What then is the role of the
family doctor in such circumstances?
Obviously, there was an immediate
response of donations from general
practice/family medicine organi-
sations and individual doctors to
assist those who had suffered loss
and injury, and for the early phases
of reconstruction. Many family
doctors also immediately entered
the affected areas to offer their
assistance where possible. How-
ever, there is still a need for recon-
struction of practices and clinics and
the restoration of primary health
care services by multidisciplinary
teams. Wonca is endeavouring to
obtain funds to assist local practi-
tioners who lost their practices.
Within my department in
Johannesburg, the head of the
division of emergency medicine is
involved in disaster management
programmes of a multidisciplinary
nature in Indonesia. The initiative
includes teams of medical and
nursing personnel, sanitary
engineers, urban planners, water-
purification experts and others.
The family doctors of the region will
be dealing with the effects of post-
traumatic sequelae within their
communities for many years to
come. They will need training and
support. I hope that Wonca can
facilitate that.
In the December edition of
Wonca News released just prior to
the disaster, my message began
with a quote from Shakespeare,
which on reflection may seem ill-
placed and premonitory, “There is a
tide in the affairs of men which,
taken at the flood, leads on to
fortune .... on such a full sea are we
afloat ... etc”. I also made a plea for
family doctors globally to consider
their role in HIV/AIDS, the UN
Millennium Goals and the challenges
of the IMCI programme to reduce
the 10 million deaths annually in
under five year olds. The sentiments
expressed there were brought home
to me by our gardener, who is from
Zimbabwe, and who is grieving the
loss of a sister who had AIDS. We
were discussing the tsunami
disasters and he reflected that the
world was pouring in sympathy and
funding for the victims and sur-
vivors, and yet there seemed little
global reaction and sympathy about
the nearly ten thousand deaths
annually from AIDS. He then thought
for a while and said, “It is not the
same, is it? Those with AIDS are
sick, these people were not sick!”
That is the reality of this tragedy – it
was so sudden and affected healthy
people of all ages. The reflections of
Harold, my gardener put things in
perspective for me.
I hope that we can continue to
be proud of how our family doctors
around the world responded early
this year, and yet hope that we will
not forget nor neglect those who
also die slowly from poverty,
pestilence, hunger, violence, war
and a simple lack of caring.
Bruce Sparks, M.D.
President
World Organization of Family
Doctors
WONCA
News
FROM THE CEO’S DESK
3
FROM THE CEO’S DESK:
WONCA’S RESPONSE TO
THE ASIA TSUNAMI
DISASTER
At noon on that fateful Sunday
of 26th December 2004, news of the
earthquake and resulting tsunami
started circulating throughout the
world’s press and mass media. But
the early news reports did not
provide any indication of the
tremendous degree of destruction
and very high numbers of fatalities
that had resulted from the
earthquake and tsunami.
By the next day, 27th December
04, it became clearer that this was
likely to be one of the greatest
natural disasters to hit the world in
recent memory. The very rapidly
increasing numbers of confirmed
deaths from the tsunami reported in
the Indonesian Province of Aceh, the
coastal regions of Sri Lanka, India
and Thailand, and to a lesser degree
the coasts of Bangladesh, Myanmar,
Malaysia, the Maldives and Eastern
Africa shocked the rest of the world.
It became clear also to the world
that massive amounts of
coordinated emergency aid were
needed immediately to help the
victims of the affected regions. To
this need, national governments and
world aid agencies responded well
and quickly.
With its very limited resources in
terms of staff and finance, there was
very little Wonca, as a world
organisation, could do to help
directly. It also became clear that
family doctors and their professional
staff would among those who had
lost their lives and loved ones and
their livelihood in the disaster in the
coastal towns and villages affected
by the tsunami.
What Wonca as an NGO could do was to express its support and
sympathy to its Member Organisations in the affected countries, and then to
help rally and mobilize an effective response. So on the morning of the third
day, 28th December 04, the Wonca Secretariat sent off the following e-mail
on behalf of the Wonca World President, Central Executive Committee, World
Council and Members to the Member Organisations of Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
Malaysia and Thailand who sustained the vast majority of fatalities and
damage. The letter read:
Dear Mr President:
On behalf of the Wonca World President, the Central Executive and all
Members of the World Organisation of Family Doctors (Wonca), I would like
to express our deepest condolences for the very large number of lives lost
in the recent tsunami disaster in your country
The degree of devastation is beyond belief and the pain, suffering and
hardship of those in the disaster areas must be very great indeed. Our
thoughts and prayers are with you, your members and people at this time
of national disaster.
We hope that all members of your Association are safe and well. We
are sure they will, at this time of national need, be doing their best where
ever possible to extend some help and relief to those in pain and mental
anguish.
The Wonca Secretariat will shortly be requesting all its global
membership of over 160,000 Family Physicians to be actively involved in
whatever national programmes of aid that their respective countries may
undertake to extend help and financial assistance to the affected areas.
As an organisation with limited resources, this is the best that we can
do at this time of international disaster.
With abiding good wishes,
Dr Alfred Loh, CEO,
Wonca
These letters of support and sympathy were followed by an appeal from
the Secretariat to all Member Organsiations to assist in any way possible to
help alleviate the sufferings of the victims of the disaster. The following
appeal letter was e-mailed to all Wonca Member Organisations and
Organisations in Collaborative Relations with Wonca on 29th December 04.
WONCA
News
FROM THE CEO’S DESK
4
To:
The Presidents
Wonca Member Organisations &
Member Organisations in Collaborative Relations
Dear Presidents:
The Wonca World Secretariat, on behalf of the
Wonca World President, the Central Executive and all
Member Organisations, had earlier sent e-mails and
letters expressing sadness and concern at the human
sufferings and tremendous loss of lives in the countries
affected by the Sumatran earthquake and the ensuing
tsunami. These were sent to the Presidents of Member
Organisations in the affected countries of Indonesia, Sri
Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia.
In that letter it was also mentioned that Wonca, as
the world organisation representing all family
physicians / general practitioners, would request its
global membership of over 160,000 doctors to actively
support any local initiatives or programmes in their
respective countries that aim to provide aid to the
devastated regions.
In line with Wonca’s motto “World Family Doctors,
Caring for People”, it is very appropriate that we
involve ourselves in any moves to alleviate the
sufferings of the unfortunate souls affected by the
tragedy.
I would be most grateful if you could convey this
appeal to all your members and to involve your
organisation in such aid projects if possible.
It is during times such as these that we need to
show our solidarity as a global medical professional
organisation caring for those grieving and suffering.
Warmest regards,
Alfred Loh, CEO,
Wonca
The responses to the above appeal were most
encouraging and undoubtedly demonstrated that the
global spirit of the “Wonca Family” truly exists with the
family doctors of the world keen and ready to help their
fellow doctors and the peoples of the world in times of
dire need.
You may want to read more of how the various
Member Organisations had responded to the appeal in
this edition of Wonca News under ‘Feature Stories –
Wonca’s Family Doctors respond with compassion to the
Tsunami Victims’
Wonca has proven itself faithful to the tagline that
accompanies its logo:
“World Family Doctors – Caring for People”.
The days of emergency medical aid and heroic
surgeries much loved and publicized by the press and
media are now over. There is now less media coverage
of the still suffering victims of the affected areas. The
world seems to have forgotten the tragedy. But ahead
lie the pressing need to return to the victims some
semblance of normalcy in their daily lives. And this
means the long and arduous task of rebuilding and
rehabilitation.
The task ahead is mammoth and will need significant
long term commitments by those keen to help the
rebuilding process. In Aceh Province alone, we know
that about 20 family doctors had lost their lives and 218
family medicine clinics were completely destroyed by
the earthquake and tsunami.
Whilst it was not able to do much during the acute
phase of the disaster, Wonca is currently exploring the
possibility of helping the family doctors in the affected
regions of Aceh, Sri Lanka and India to rebuild their
practices with help of financial support from the
pharmaceutical multinationals. These multinationals
have expressed interest in committing to the long term
needs of re-establishing the primary healthcare services
in the affected areas. The discussions are still very
preliminary. The Wonca Secretariat was able to collect
some data and statistics from local sources and have
conveyed these to the multinationals.
We will have to wait and see if there will eventually
be the opportunity for Wonca to be the catalyst to help
improve the lives and practices of our fellow colleagues
in the devastated areas. And in doing so, the lives of
the survivors will also be made better with the
availability of adequate primary health care. What
Wonca needs is the financial support. We clearly have
the resolve and dedication from our family doctors and
member organizations around the world.
Dr Alfred Loh
Chief Executive Officer
World Organization of Family Doctors
WONCA
News
FROM THE EDITOR
5
FROM THE EDITOR:
WONCA’S FAMILY DOCTORS: CARING FOR TSUNAMI VICTIMS
The sun arose on December 26, 2004 ushering in what appeared to be a normal day for the world’s six billion
people. When it ended, the world was forever changed. That day, as stresses unseen at the bottom of the Indian
Ocean reached untenable levels, the India tectonic plate suddenly slid beneath the overriding Burma plate to
continue its slow descent into the earth’s mantle at the Sundra trench. This enormous yet short and brief, undersea
movement of the earth’s mass forever and imperceptibly (except to a few scientists) speeded up the Earth’s rotation,
decreased the length of day by 2.68 microseconds, flattened by one in one billionth parts the planet’s shape and
shifted the exact location of the North Pole east by 2.5 centimeters.
What did capture the world’s attention in a cruel and devastating manner was the tremendous force of the
undersea earth’s movement on the ocean. The sudden movement of the earth’s plates generated a tsunami – a
series of extremely powerful, fast-moving waves – that crested as they reached the shores of Asia and Africa. When
the day ended, the earthquake and tsunami had snuffed out the lives of almost 300,000 innocent human beings,
washed away entire villages and regions, and left millions physically and emotional damaged forever. Pictures of
the innocent victims of this catastrophic and senseless natural disaster, beamed via satellite and internet almost
instantaneously around the world brought the news of this unimaginable tragedy into the lives of billions of people.
When the sun set, the world was forever changed.
We cannot explain why such a natural disaster had to occur at that time and cause these senseless deaths. The
only thing we can control is how we choose to respond as individuals and members of a larger community. This
February 2005 issue of Wonca News records forever this global tragedy. Yet, it also records in specific and tangible
ways the stories of how the world community, including Wonca’s family doctors and member organisations,
responded with compassion and caring. In his Presidents Column, Bruce Sparks reflects upon this theme and the
role of Wonca and the family doctor. So too does Alfred Loh in his CEO’s column. The pages of Wonca News recount
the disaster. Most importantly, published in this issue are the uplifting stories sent to me by publication deadline of
the many tangible ways that Wonca’s family doctors responded individually and as a community. These stories give
us all reason for hope and optimism.
Please send me additional examples of how you and your family medicine organisations respond with
compassion and caring in the wake of this unimaginable global tragedy and in response to other health needs of
our fellow human beings. I will be delighted to publish them in future issues of Wonca News. Your stories give us all
strength and courage as we respond to that which we cannot control or explain by doing what we can to bring a bit
more health, hope, joy and peace into this world.
Marc L. Rivo, MD, MPH
Editor, Wonca News
marcrivo@aol.com
4566 Prairie Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33140 USA
1-305-674-8839 (fax)
WONCA
News
FEATURE STORIES
6
FEATURE STORIES
CATASTROPHIC TSUNAMI CLAIMS
300,000 VICTIMS AND CHALLENGES
GLOBAL RESPONSE
On December 26, 2004, a massive undersea
earthquake off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh Province
and resultant Tsunami triggered one of the greatest
natural disasters in human history. The earthquake, west
of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, measured 9.0 on
the Richter scale, making it the largest quake worldwide
in four decades. In one short, terrible day, the enormous
quake generated waves claimed almost 300,000 victims,
captured global attention and reminded us of our
common fragility and need for collective action.
Hundreds of bodies are still being found daily, nearly
seven weeks after the December 26 earthquake and
tsunami devastated Indonesia’s Aceh province and hit 10
other Indian Ocean countries. As of February 12th, the
number of people believed killed in December’s tsunami
disaster rose to 285,993. Indonesia was hardest-hit with
a total of 232,732 people listed as dead or missing, the
health ministry said in its latest figures. The number of
people confirmed dead and buried rose by 791 to
117,810 while those missing and presumed dead
remained at 114,922.
The death toll in Sri Lanka, second hardest hit by the
catastrophe, stood at 30,957, according to their Centre
for National Operations. The number of people listed as
missing was 5,637, but many were expected to be
among those never formally identified, hurriedly buried
and included in the confirmed death toll. In neighboring
India, the official death toll was 10,749 with 5,640 still
reported missing and feared dead.
Thailand’s toll remained at 5,393 confirmed dead. A
further 3,071 people were listed as missing, more than
1,000 of them vacationing foreigners from all around the
world. The gigantic tsunami even claimed victims
thousands of miles away along the shores of east Africa.
Eleven countries ringed by the calamitous
earthquake have estimated 285,993 confirmed and
presumed earthquake and tsunami related. These
include Somalia (298), the Maldives (82), Malaysia (68),
Myanmar (61), Tanzania (10), Bangladesh (2) and Kenya
(1). However, the human toll, including the emotional
impact on those who survived this calamity, and the
societal toll, including the impact of entire families,
villages and provinces virtually wiped away, is
immeasurable.
The Tsunami’s Health Impact
The earthquake, aftershocks and subsequent
tsunamis left millions homeless in coastal areas of Asia
and will affect the region for decades. WHO estimates
that between three to five million people in Asia and
Africa were immediately affected. Immediately after the
tsunami receded, at least 300,000 people were injured
and in urgent need of medical care. Drinking water was
in very short supply in some areas, due to
contamination by salt water. The risk of disease
increased substantially, with diarrhoea diseases,
respiratory infections, malaria and dengue fever being
particular threats.
In response, the WHO, global relief organizations and
countries dispatched expert teams to assist the affected
countries and their UN Disaster Assistance Coordination
teams to assess the health needs of affected
populations, ensure adequate supplies of safe drinking
water, maintain disease surveillance and coordinate aid
assistance.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned about
an increased risk of vector-borne diseases such as
malaria and dengue fever across tsunami-affected areas
in Southeast Asia. With the rainy season onset, stagnant
water creates favorable conditions for mosquito vectors
to multiply to sufficient levels to cause severe public
health problems in these endemic areas.
So far, no major disease out-breaks have been
reported. As the acute emergency relief needs subside,
WHO is working with countries to strengthen longer
term responses such as mental health assistance and
rehabilitation of damaged health systems.
The Global Community Responds to the
Tsunami Disaster
United Nations’ Secretary General Kofi Annan issued
a “flash” appeal for 977 million dollars in immediate aid
in the wake of the tsunami. In response, some 850
million dollars were pledged by 53 donor nations. So far
less than half the amount pledged — 423 million
dollars — has actually been paid out or disbursed
among UN agencies.
Yet, the money pledged to the United Nations was
from nations and their governments only. It did not
include millions and millions of individual and collective
WONCA
News
FEATURE STORIES
7
private donations to non-governmental relief agencies,
which have managed to collect considerably more.
When those contributions are factored in, UN relief
officials estimate that some 5.4 billion dollars have
been pledged in total. That figure includes a record 1.2
billion dollars collected by the Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies. Relief agency Oxfam said it has
raised 200 million dollars while Medecins Sans Frontiers
(Doctors Without Borders) said it has raised 117 million
dollars.
Separately, the Asian Develop-ment Bank said it will
hold a high-level ministerial meeting in Manila next
month to coordinate how best to use 775 million dollars
it has set aside to help tsunami-ravaged countries.
Annan’s “flash” appeal was for money to see the
relief effort through to June, after which more appeals
will be launched. The United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) overseeing long-term reconstruction
efforts says that the initial donations will not be enough
to rebuild the Indian Ocean coastal communities
shattered by the December 26 tragedy. “Once these
countries have got through the relief phase we have a
long, long way to go before people are moved out of
tents and into homes and before towns, jobs and lives
are rebuilt,” UNDP spokeswoman Cherie Hart said.
“There is much more work ahead.”
The generous outpouring of donations has tangibly
aided recovery. For example, in the most devastated
affected region of Banda Aceh alone, some 100,000
insecticide-treated mosquito nets, 20,000 rapid
diagnostic tests for malaria and 150,000 treatment
courses of artemisinin-based combination therapy – the
most effective available antimalarial treatment – have
been made available by private donors and UN
agencies.
With money now being directed towards
reconstruction programmes after a successful emergency
response, Hart said the relief effort is now entering a
critical phase. “We are in that gap between relief and
reconstruction when we have to start turning our
attention to getting these people’s lives and businesses
back on track — we have to start planning for the long-
term.”
(Editor’s note: For the latest health related
information on the tsunami disaster and for a list of
organizations providing information and aid, readers
may wish to wish to go to www.who.int/en/ or
http://www.google.com/tsunami_relief.html)
WONCA’S FAMILY DOCTORS RESPOND
TO THE TSUNAMI DISASTER
In the Tsunami affected regions and around the
world, Wonca’s family doctors, family medicine
departments, post-graduate training programs and
member organizations responded immediately and
generously, while continuing support for other worthy
global health causes, such as HIV-AIDS. The following
are examples that had been forwarded to the Wonca
News Editor by the end of January publication deadline
in response to a letter to Wonca member organizations
from Wonca CEO Alfred Loh.
College of General Practitioners of Sri Lanka
Many thanks for your e-mails and letters, expressing
your concern and care after the tsunami disaster, which
hit our country so badly. We have been overwhelmed by
the expressions of sympathy, and assurances of support
from you, and all other WONCA member countries.
The General Practitioners / Family Physicians,
especially members of our College have risen up to the
occasion, and been at service in the camps for the
displaced, all these days, and hence the delay in
replying.
It has been a difficult and trying time for all Sri
Lankans. I think the Family Physician has such an
important role to play at this juncture, and we are doing
our best. Members of the College have reached out to
many camps for the displaced all over the coastline and
extended their services. Not only the family physicians
but all doctors in the country have been working hard,
moving from one area to the other doing whatever they
could, to alleviate the pain and suffering of these
unfortunate fellow countrymen. A great feeling of
nationalism, patriotism and sacrifice has sprung up in
every body. The College has established a tsunami relief
and rehabilitation fund, and also set up a disaster
management task force. This is only the beginning of a
long and tedious task of rehabilitation and re-settlement
of victims. The College, as a committed profession-al
body with a strong sense of social responsibility, is
planning out a long-term programme.
At the moment there is plenty of food, medicines
and clothes flooding in. We are looking at long term
resettlement and rehabilitation – building houses,
looking at long term psychological consequences,
addressing problems of the orphaned children, and the
role of the general practitioner in a public health
programmes in the affected areas. Our first course of
WONCA
News
FEATURE STORIES
8
action is a CPD programme for the general practitioners
to educate them on these subjects in a few days time.
Next, is to discuss with government about the plan to
allocate land, build houses, resettle communities, begin
schooling, and address all the social problems and the
needs of all the unfortunate victims.
So the Council and I are on a long arduous task for
the future. We shall keep you informed of all our
activities. The joy of giving and helping those in need
and relieving pain is truly a family physician’s inherent
quality, and I am proud to lead such a team to the
future. I am sure there is a silver lining over these
clouds.
Thank you once again for all your concerns and
prayers.
Dr. Preethi Wijegoonewardene
President
College of General Practitioners of Sri Lanka
The Indonesian Association of Family Physicians
Attached are photos taken recently of some
Indonesian family doctors from Jarkata who flew over to
the Aceh Province to try to assist the local doctors. The
family doctors brought some simple equipment and
medicines to treat the sick in the affected areas of
Banda Aceh and Maelaboh where almost everything was
destroyed, including medical practices and polyclinics.
These urban doctors from Jarkata are loading the equipments and
medicines onto a “sampan” or small wooden boat to cross a river
after the bridge had been washed away on their way from Medan, the
capital of Sumatra to Aceh.
As the roads have been destroyed and land transport is very limited
and use regulated by the local authorities and with the foreign aid
agencies monopolizing any commercial transport available, these
doctors had to carry the goods themselves along some parts of the
route to the affected areas. Their limited financial means also do not
allow them to hire the transport needed in most cases
In some stretches of the route, even boats are not available and the
doctors had to use makeshift rafts to cross water obstacles.
I hope these photos give some idea of the difficulty
faced by anyone trying to introduce some degree of
normalcy to the people’s lives in the affected areas.
