, South Pacific Adventist Record
The Adventist
Development and Relief Agency, or ADRA, is establishing two temporary medical
camps in Nepal to help 5,000 people as it seeks to counter a growing health crisis
caused by deadly flooding.
Flooding after days
of torrential rain in late August killed at least 32 people and affected
180,000 others, including 30,000 families that were left homeless.
As the country
struggles to clean up and remains on alert for additional flooding, authorities
have reported a rapid increase in potentially deadly illnesses, including
diarrhea and malaria.
“Contaminated water, animal carcasses
and the poor facilities available to those living in make-shift shelters place
people at significant risk,” said Beryl Hartmann, a program coordinator for the
Australia branch of ADRA, which is setting up the health camps.
Medical teams, which
include doctors, nurses, public health educators and other staff, will provide
immediate relief and treatment in the region and refer more serious cases to
hospitals.
ADRA’s main work is
focused on the districts of Bardiya and Banke, where floodwaters destroyed all four
local health facilities. ADRA is helping those facilities get back on their
feet by providing basic equipment and medicine, Hartmann said.
“Street-drama, group
discussions and demonstration lessons will also be used to promote preventative
and positive health behaviors,” she said.
ADRA said more than 5,000
people will directly benefit from its efforts.
ADRA, which responds
to disasters across around the world, has a number of ongoing projects. It is
providing medical help amid an Ebola outbreak in West Africa, assistance to Syrian
refugees who have fled violence in their homeland, and relief and
reconstruction work after Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
