Dear Chris,
Thanks for your forum post and bringing this to our attention! It will be gone from international news in a couple of days so all the more important to hear from someone who is in the "know".

You asked:

Do any of you work in institutions that will be participating in emergency relief and reconstruction after the Ecuador Earthquake? Among others, I have seen that the Red Cross, UNDP and the USA are actively involved.

It would indeed be interesting to hear from those who are now actively involved in Ecuador, particularly in the reconstruction part. We don't have many people from Red Cross or UNDP or USAID posting on this forum - it would be good to change this somehow.


Dear Neal,

thanks a lot for letting us know about this guide! This is learning from another sector (in this case "health"), at its best. The powerpoint is really simple and clear to read.

For those who don't like to access Dropbox links, I have downloaded it and added it below. I also compressed the powerpoint file to make it more manageable. And I've added below the report itself, from which the powerpoint file was derived.

Regards,
Elisabeth

Dear Chris and all,

I facilitate a global network called HIFA (Heaalthcare Information For All) that collaborates with SuSanA. This week a guide was distributed called 'Dos and Don'ts in Disasters'. (with thanks to Fiona Stephenson, Nepal)

"When disasters such as the recent earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador strike, there is always a huge amount of goodwill from rehabilitation professionals around the world who wish to use their skills to support those affected. This brief guidance, developed with and endorsed by ISCOS, ISPO, ISPRM, WCPT and WFOT, is aimed at all those who are interested in responding to disasters. It highlights key questions to consider, and emphasises that rehabilitation professionals should only respond internationally to disasters as part of established international organisations, or as a member of a registered emergency medical team."

ISPRM have also kindly turned the guide into a presentation that you can download for your own societies to use here:https://www.dropbox.com/s/xl7d9yryez98172/Responding%20Internationally%20to%20Disasters.ppt?dl=0

With best wishes, Neil

Let's build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare knowledge - Join HIFA: www.hifa2015.org

Dear all,

The earthquake last Saturday registered a huge 7.8 on the Richter Scale. Over 400 fatalities have been counted so far and the physical damage is also immense.

I live on the Amazonian side of Ecuador, where we barely felt the quake, so I and my family are all fine.

It would be great to help apply Sustainable Sanitation during the relief effort and the reconstruction of cities and homes.

During the relief effort, simple and inexpensive UDDTs and Waterless Urinals (as I have published on inodoroseco.blogspot.com) would be very practical and environmentally friendly.

During reconstruction, ABRs, treatment wetlands, up-scale UDDTs (incl. in high-rise apartments, for which I have plans in mind), and maybe even Closed-loop Blackwater Recycling could be applied. The affected areas were already suffering from water scarcity, questionable drinking water quality, and a general lack of adequate wastewater treatment. This is all the more critical since tourism is very important in the affected areas and this hinges on the environment being clean. Many people depend on shallow wells, with wastewater going back into the aquifer at close range.

Do any of you work in institutions that will be participating in emergency relief and reconstruction after the Ecuador Earthquake? Among others, I have seen that the Red Cross, UNDP and the USA are actively involved.

Let's try to mobilize solidarity during this sort of natural calamities.

All ideas and suggestions would be very welcome.

Best wishes,
Chris Canaday