Press Release
Emergency Health Care and Supplies Urgently Needed to Save Women's Lives in Aftermath of Hurricane Stan
13 October 2005
UNITED NATIONS, New York — UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is seeking just over $1 million for emergency health assistance for women affected by Hurricane Stan in Guatemala and El Salvador. The request to donors is part of joint United Nations emergency appeals launched in the two countries, and includes urgently needed supplies and equipment to protect the lives of pregnant women and their infants, and hygiene supplies for people who have lost their homes.
“Pregnancy and childbirth are always associated with relatively high health risks,” said UNFPA Representative in Guatemala, Nadine Gasman. “These risks multiply during an emergency situation, and we are extremely concerned that a lack of adequate reproductive health services and medicines could add to the devastating death toll.”
The confirmed death toll following hurricane Stan in Guatemala is nearing 700 people, but as many as 1,400 people are believed to have died. More than 134,000 people are displaced or living in temporary shelters. In El Salvador, 71 people are confirmed dead as a result of the disaster. About 300 communities were flooded and more than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have sought refuge in temporary shelters.
UNFPA Guatemala is seeking a total of $650,000 to meet immediate reproductive health needs, and has already allocated $20,000 for hygiene kits containing personal hygiene products, including soap, toothbrushes, and sanitary napkins. The kits are being distributed through CONRED, the national emergency response body of Guatemala. According to Ms. Gasman, lack of sanitary supplies is not only an issue of dignity: it can also prevent women from being as mobile as they need to in order to take care of their families.
UNFPA is also collaborating with UNICEF and PAHO, the Pan-American Health Organization, to provide financing for medicines, and helping to send aid personnel to the most affected areas.
The maternal mortality rate in Guatemala -- more than 150 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births -- is one of the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean. Maternal and infant deaths are even more common in rural, poor indigenous communities – the group that has been hardest hit by the disaster.
In addition to items for safe deliveries, the UNFPA appeal will also address emergency obstetric care. Fifteen per cent of all pregnant women develop complications requiring emergency obstetric care to protect the health of mother and child. Access to this care becomes even more urgent in times of disaster, as the physical and psychological trauma they cause can lead to higher rates of miscarriage and premature labour at a time when medical care may not be available.
UNFPA is also taking steps to address sexual violence, which typically increases during the aftermath of a disaster. In Guatemala, UNFPA is initiating violence prevention programmes and providing care for victims of sexual and gender-based violence.
In neighboring El Salvador, UNFPA is requesting $400,000 for medical personnel, equipment and supplies to meet the reproductive health needs of 70,000 hurricane victims living in temporary shelters. The Fund has already provided hygiene kits for part of the displaced population, and conducted assessment missions to the most affected areas. As soon as the situation stabilizes, UNFPA will help lay the groundwork for longer term development by helping to restore reproductive health services to promote safe motherhood, adolescent reproductive health, and access to family planning services.
“Many of those who have sought refuge in temporary shelters are women, many of them pregnant and in need of prenatal care, proper nutrition and access to qualified medical personnel for delivery," said Alanna Armitage, Country Director for UNFPA in El Salvador.
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UNFPA is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.
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Contact Information:
Omar Gharzeddine
Tel.: +1 (212) 297-5028
Email: gharzeddine@unfpa.org
Trygve Olfarnes
Tel.: +52 55 5250-7977
Email: olfarnes@unfpa.org
