New from the Caribbean

CD-ROM . . .
Building codes from selected countries have been compiled on a new CD, which also contains a report that compares the building codes and practices in use in the Bahamas, CUBiC (the Caribbean Uniform Building Code), the Dominican Republic, the French Antilles, and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, with a focus on design and construction of healthcare facilities. In addition, the CD-ROM contains a selection of hospital vulnerability assessments carried out in Aruba. Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Saint Lucia and Grenada have already implemented some of the recommendation made in the assessments.

...Manual on Environmental Health Contingency Planning and Rapid Needs Assessment for Floods in the Caribbean

Floods are the most frequently occurring natural hazard globally and in the Caribbean. Because flood events can adversely affect environmental health, contingency plans are critically important. PAHO, in collaboration with the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), has prepared a manual for environmental health contingency planning and rapid needs assessment for floods in the Caribbean.
Intended primarily to help environmental health units develop flood contingency plans, the manual outlines basic steps and key management issues in the contingency planning process and provides instructions on the structure and elements of the plan. The manual deals with all major environmental health topics: water quantity and quality, sanitation and hygiene, vector control, chemical hazards, food safety and epidemiological surveillance. The manual also includes tools to conduct environmental health rapid needs assessments following floods. These tools are being published separately as a booklet for field use. Download the manual from http://www.disaster-info.net/carib/ehrna.htm or request a print copy from CRID