The second day of the Conference focused on building resilience in health emergencies: A community-based approach. The session was held by Dr. Pretesh Kiran, an Indian associate professor specialized, among other things, in disaster preparedness and emergency response.
Following the insights provided during the first day, we explored issues related to disaster response and the implementation of relief operations. The sharing of participants' field experiences allowed Dr. Pretesh to analyze in more detail the health aspects of populations affected by natural disasters.
An overview showed the variety of health problems, from physical ones caused by the spread of diseases to mental ones, which receive less attention but can have long-term consequences, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mental health problems have a strong impact on survivors because they cannot be identified immediately and manifest over a period of time.
To better describe the application of disaster management theories at the community level (CBDM) and to understand how different regions (of the participants) respond to emergencies, Siby Kaitaran, MI, CTF India coordinator, shared his experience on relief activities conducted in India. India is one of the countries most at risk of disasters in the world. CTF India's response to emergencies focuses on areas affected by floods and in border areas such as Manipur, where ethnic conflicts are prevalent and have caused population displacement.
We then moved to Ukraine, where Doriana Somma, international project coordinator of Missione Calcutta, a partner organization of CADIS, is part of the Ukrainian crisis response program. The organization is currently engaged in Ukraine, where it has witnessed not only the destruction of cities bombed by Russian armed forces, but above all the human drama that war brings with it, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, new disabilities due to physical mutilations, and the lack of tools for mental health. The sector of the population most affected is women. They are the most vulnerable. Many have been left widowed, or with children, who have become orphans of one or both parents.
Moving to Poland, still linked to the Ukrainian war, Iwona Warzyńska and Ania Suska-Jakubowska, respectively director and project manager of the Camillian Social Mission, CADIS partner in Poland, shared their assistance program for Ukrainian refugees.
They have been on the front lines since the beginning of the war, welcoming refugees at the main stations in Warsaw and providing them with information and food and medical assistance.
Finally, Dr. Grace Molina, member of FARDEC and VPHCS, associations based in the Philippines, presented the ongoing long-term project carried out by Visayas Primary Healthcare Services, Inc. (VPHCS) in collaboration with CADIS International and with the support of the Italian Episcopal Conference. The project integrates basic healthcare and food security in community disaster management in the four urban communities of Cebu City, Philippines.
