Disasters & Humanitarian Action

Ramallah, 27-03-07: Six Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip today, drowned in a flood of sewage that swept over the village of Um Al Nasser in the Northern Gaza Strip as the banks of a nearby waste water treatment pool burst. Two elderly women, two children and a teenage girl were amongst the dead.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter."

This Update, by Kingston Reif, contains new information about the state of health and health care in Iraq. It is the latest in a series of reports in which Medact has monitored the impact of the war and has reported on its continuing effects.

This is a collection of narratives on various forms of healthcare crises that the Iraqi People face everyday, these days. "Another loud cry in a more and more deaf world!"

The author wrote this article after having worked for six months as a humanitarian worker in the war-torn region of Darfur, Sudan. At present the international community is debating a possible UN intervention in Sudan. Humanitarian intervention itself, although valid in complex emergencies, has serious side effects and can even leave the community fully dependent on international aid. The article promotes ‘appropriate’ intervention with a focus on individual communities. Besides assisting the affected individuals, communities must be supported in claiming their right to health as part of a larger human rights approach, holding the duty bearers accountable for the violated and neglected health determinants.

A Royal Air Force doctor who refused orders to return to Iraq was last week sentenced by a court martial to eight months imprisonment and dismissal from the air force.

Putting the needs of poor people at the centre of the world’s response to bird flu is crucial in defeating the epidemic.

“Katrina survivors are going through a trying time and the People's Health Movement stands in solidarity with them”, says a press statement from the People’s Health Movement (PHM-www.phmovement.org).

“Hurricane Katrina survivors need relief, not guns”, said a PHM spokesperson. “Deal with them with dignity”, the global body demands. Reports indicate that more bodies are being recovered today.

The Global Health Watch is a call to all health workers to broaden and strengthen the global community of health advocates who are taking action on global ill-health and inequalities, and their underlying political and economic determinants.