Re: Bush accused of undermining the UN with aid coalition

From: robert j. kolker (nowhere_at_nowhere.net)
Date: 01/01/05 

Date: Sat, 01 Jan 2005 08:55:43 -0500

Gactimus wrote:
> http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3944374
>
> United States President George Bush was tonight accused of trying to
> undermine the United Nations by setting up a rival coalition to
> coordinate relief following the Asian tsunami disaster.
>
> The president has announced that the US, Japan, India and Australia
> would coordinate the world’s response.
>
> But former International Development Secretary Clare Short said that
> role should be left to the UN.

Right. And this is what happens:

Experts Fear Wasteful Tsunami Efforts
Fri Dec 31, 9:40 AM Listen to Audio
By JEFF DONN, Associated Press Writer

- Some public health experts watching the aftermath of the tsunami
disaster fear the outpouring of emergency relief supplies and the rush
to head off outbreaks of disease will prove misguided or wasteful in
some respects.

Many useless donations of food and clothing may pile up, and public
health authorities may devote too much time right now to vaccination
drives, overestimate the danger of diseases like malaria, and
underestimate more desperate needs, such as counseling for those
suffering from mental anguish, they say.

"Not uncommonly, do-good countries will send in all kinds of supplies
that have no value, like tons and tons of clothing, food that people
can't eat because it's not their custom, even hospital-style equipment
that they can't possibly use," said Dr. Philip Brachman, at Emory
University, in Atlanta. He used to oversee mass disease fighting at the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In one of the worst natural disasters in history, last weekend's
earthquake and tsunami killed more than an estimated 110,000 people and
forced up to 5 million from their homes.

The disaster has also made conditions rife for outbreaks of disease.
Human sewage, rotting animals, trash and other contaminants washed into
drinking wells and reservoirs. Toilets and places to clean up were
ruined. Crops, cooking equipment and refrigeration were lost, making
safe food scarcer. Survivors are weakened by cuts and broken bones and
huddled together in shelters where germs can easily spread in the heat.

The World Health Organization had detected no sign of an outbreak of
disease so far, agency spokesman Oliver Rosenbauer said Thursday at the
U.N. agency's Geneva offices. But it may yet come within days, most
specialists agree, and WHO has asked for $40 million for initial relief.

The agency has predicted that deaths from disease could eventually reach
those caused by the quake and the floods themselves. Some American
health experts agree, but others are skeptical.

Deaths from disease have generally fallen short of that mark in past
tidal waves, floods and earthquakes, said Brachman at Emory University.

While acknowledging many deaths from disease are possible, some public
health experts said there are factors that could hold down the death toll:

_ Unlike hurricane flooding familiar to Americans, the tsunamis
generally washed over a thin band of coastline and retreated quickly.

_ Saltwater does not breed the nastiest disease-spreading mosquitoes,
such as the ones that carry malaria. Where clean water, food and shelter
can be supplied quickly, the dangers of disease will diminish, some
experts say.

_ Disease germs soon die in a human corpse, so bodies probably will not
spread much disease, especially away from water.

Many survivors in poor regions already have some immunity to diseases
likely to proliferate in a natural disaster, and some stricken areas
already vaccinate heavily. As a result, some experts say vaccination
drives this early could prove a waste of time and energy.

"You have to be very efficient. You have to think like a rifleman, not
somebody who comes in with a shotgun," says Dr. William Schaffner, the
head of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
in Nashville, Tenn.

The worst immediate threats probably stem from a range of diarrheal
diseases like cholera and dysentery, especially where pure water fails
to reach survivors quickly, the specialists say. Other big worries
include respiratory diseases, like measles and pneumonia, within about a
week of the disaster. In a month or so, outbreaks are likely from food-
or water-carried ailments, like salmonella and hepatitis.

The experts say clean water _ along with water-purifying tablets and
equipment _ are urgent priorities.

Several health specialists also appealed for more attention to mental
health counseling, which tends to be overlooked in undeveloped areas.

Though many survivors in such places have known misery, storms and
natural horrors before, this catastrophe struck with extraordinary
suddenness and intensity and took many children. Depression will
probably prevent some survivors from joining in the rebuilding, some
specialists say.

The overwhelming impulse to Do Good does not Do Well.

Bob Kolker

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