IsraAID deployed its Emergency Relief Team to assist with relief efforts and the long-term response strategy. It announced that it has opened its field hospital on Saturday evening.
IsraAID, an Israeli NGO committed to providing life-saving disaster relief and long-term support to persons in need around the globe, has deployed a relief team to Ecuador after it was hit by a devastating earthquake in mid-April.
On April 16, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near the coastal Ecuadorean town of Muisne, rapidly followed by 7.9 and 7.3 magnitude tremors, the first of more than 230 aftershocks that have hit the northwestern coast of this small South American country.
So far, over 600 lives were lost, and 2,527 injured, with numbers widely expected to increase significantly, as images and informal reports of mass devastation surface online.
IsraAID deployed its Emergency Relief Team to assist with relief efforts and the long-term response strategy. It announced that it has opened its field hospital on Saturday evening.
The mission will include veteran aid workers, a medical contingent, and a psychological team. Their mission will be to provide food and relief supplies, emergency medical assistance, and child friendly spaces and psychosocial support to the survivors of the quake with a focus on those who lost their homes, specifically women and children.
The first few days of a disaster are crucial toward minimizing its long-term destructive effects. Beyond that, as part of IsraAID’s core emphasis on long-term recovery, the team will coordinate and engage with local authorities and international response teams to build the long-term recovery strategy, and share the expertise and knowledge in the medical and psychological sectors that IsraAID has accrued in 15 years of operations across 35 countries.
The cost of the venture is estimated at about $100,000, and IsraAID has launched a fundraising campaign on GlobalGiving.
By: United with Israel Staff