MoH holds coordination meeting on possible storm disasters in Bay of Bengal

The Public Health and Medical Services Department heads in regions and states and medical superintendents of hospitals held a coordination meeting on possibility of the storm in the Bay of Bengal yesterday morning at the Ministry of Health in Nay Pyi Taw.
At the meeting, Union Minister Dr Thet Khaing Win said that the State Administration Council is working hard to reduce the loss of property of the people in disasters.
The meetings of the Health Care Management Work Committee on 27 April and 5 May focused on preparedness against the disasters, he said.
Preparedness, emergency response, and rehabilitation must be implemented step by step in accordance with the procedures of the work committee. Region and State Public Health and Medical Services Departments must carry out close field supervision, he stated.
Public health departments must coordinate with related departments and make preparations in advance under the guidance of the relevant governments. People need to collect clean drinking water in advance for environmental sanitation and personal hygiene in order to prevent the occurrence of water-borne diseases, including diarrheal disease, which may occur after a natural disaster.
Necessary equipment and personal hygiene items that will be used in emergency situations must be stockpiled in advance, and distributed to disaster-prone areas in time, and health education activities must also be carried out, he added.
Medicines and equipment may be needed in areas prone to natural disasters. Disaster Medical Kits, Family Kits, Clean Delivery Kits and Dignity Kits must be distributed to rural health branches in advance, the Union minister commented.
In hospitals, plans must be implemented to ensure that treatment operations, including emergency surgery and childbirth, should not be delayed or failed, and the necessary emergency medical teams must be formed and prepared in advance, he said.
The routes to transfer emergency patients must also be coordinated with related departments, and regional and state public health and treatment centers must also cooperate with Tatmadaw medical units, the Union minister stated.
He said that the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre and Public Health Emergency Control Centres in the regions and states have been established so that they have to communicate with each other in a timely manner.
After that, the Deputy Minister for Health Professor Dr Aye Tun discussed that the various levels of health workers have been assigned duties and they must supervise their relevant sectors.
Health officials also discussed specific operations and regional and state hospitals’ preparedness status, situations where emergency plans have been schemed, conditions under which public health emergency control centers are open, requirements for the storage of emergency drugs and medical supplies, and collaborations. —MNA/KZL