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Natural Disaster in Colombia Impacts
Population Already Displaced by Violence
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| The temporary modular
family unit is quick and easy to set up, can house a family
of 5-6, and can be expanded by adding additional modules.
The unit includes an ecologically safe latrine, shower
and sink until an more permanent sewage system can be
set up. Water tanks are included to capture rainwater. |
The department of Santander,
Colombia has a population slightly in excess of 2 million
and is home to 66,500 IDPs, those who have been internally
displaced due to the ongoing violence in the region. Bucaramanga
(population 568,000) is the capital of the department and
is one of six Colombian cities with a large IDP presence in
which PAHO/WHO maintains a field office. These field offices
(also in Cali, Soacha, Medellin, Montería and Pasto)
help to assess and improve access to health services, strengthen
coordination among all actors working in health—government,
NGOs, bilateral and UN agencies, etc.—and document and
disseminate information on the impact of displacement on public
health.
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In February 2005, an already
difficult situation was compounded by serious flooding and
landslides, particularly in the municipalities of Bucaramanga
and Giron in the department of Santander. On 9 February, rainfall
continued unabated for more than 12 hours and caused the Oro
and Frio Rivers to overflow their banks, flooding nearby settlements,
particularly those housing the internally displaced population.
Just as municipal authorities were activating their emergency
response plans, a second disaster struck. Two days later,
heavy rainfall and rising flood levels caused much more dangerous
and severe landslides and avalanches, affecting a much broader
area. An Emergency Operations Center was set up to conduct
a detailed census of the affected population, initiate an
epidemiological surveillance system, prepare recommendations
to prevent disease outbreaks and serve as a repository for
data collected. The SUMA system was set up to track incoming
relief supplies and basic sanitation equipment was made available.
As a result of early intervention measures, no serious public
health problems occurred in the affected municipalities.
The most pressing need
is to relocate the families still living in shelters and camps.
PAHO has developed a prototype for low-cost, healthy housing
as a temporary solution, with a view toward making it more
permanent. Municipal authorities have welcomed the proposal
and are discussing its adoption. A prototype model has been
constructed to familiarize the affected population with the
design and to estimate actual construction costs. Read the
after-action report (Spanish only) of the floods in Santander
at www.col.ops-oms.org/desastres/2005/inundaciones/boletininundaciones.pdf.
| Health and Displaced
in Colombia
PAHO’s Country Office in
Colombia recently published the series Health and Displacement
in Colombia, in collaboration with the School of Public
Health at the University of Antioquia. The series of
13 modules present sociodemographic and epidemiological
information on the displaced population in six urban
areas of Colombia. A separate foldout chart provides
basic health indicators. The first module compares these
health indicators between the displaced and resident
population. Among the findings: more than half of the
IDP homes are headed by women; in general, illiteracy
rates among IDPs are three times the national average;
and only two of every 100 children aged 1-4 years of
age have completed their vaccination scheme. Both the
first module—which contains an executive summary
in English—and an accompanying annex can be downloaded
in PDF format from the Health and Displacement—Colombia
and Neighboring Countries website: www.disaster-info.net/desplazados. |
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