4th Annual Trauma Anesthesia and Critical Care Symposium Baltimore, 2–5 May 1991

The Symposium is sponsored by the International Trauma Anesthesia and Critical Care Society and the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services. For further information, contact MIEMSS, Office of International Development, 11 South Paca Street, Suite 303, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. Telephone: (301) 328–2399. Fax.: (301) 328–8514.     

Public health aspects of volcanic hazards; Evaluation and prevention of excessive morbidity and mortality due to natural disasters

This is a summary of the proceedings of sessions on Volcanic Hazards at the First International Symposium on Public Health in Asia and the Pacific Basin, held 3–11th March 1983, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Symposium was sponsored by the Association of Schools of Public Health, the U.S. Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the South Pacific Commission, and the East–West Center of the University of Hawaii. The full proceedings are being prepared for publication. The Symposium was supported in part by: The Pan American Health Organization and The Amoco Foundation.     

CONFERENCE REPORTS

International Conference on Disasters and Development: The Philippines Experience, Tagaytay City, the Philippines, 28–30 March, 1993
1993 Simulation MultiConference on International Emergency Mangement and Engineering, Arlington, 29 March – 1 April 1993     

CONFERENCE REPORTS

Symposium on the Social and Economic Aspects of Mass Voluntary Return Movements of Refugees, Addis Ababa, 15–17 September, 1992.
First Workshop on the Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets in Disaster Relief, NATO, Brussels, 14–15 December 1992.
Flood Hazards in Bangladesh: Hazards Forum Seminar, Institution of Civil Engineers, London, 23 March 1993.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Catastrophes naturelles en Savoie by Yves Bravard.
Landslides and Their Control by Quido Zàruba and Vojtêch Mend.
The Fight Against Shutdowns , Youngstown's Steel Mill Closings by Staughton Lynd.
Shutdown at Youngs town. Public Policy for Mass Unemployment by Terry F. Buss and F. Stevens Redburn.
Self Help Housing – A Critique , Edited by P.M. Ward.
The Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption, Geological and Geophysical Data 1975–1976 , Edited by S.A. Fedotov and Ye. K. Markhinin.     

Drought in Bangladesh: Lessons for planners and administrators

The 1978–1979 drought in Bangladesh affected three crop seasons, reducing rice production by an estimated two million tons. Rainfall deficiency varied regionally and locally, and drought effects varied with soils, crops and management. Farmers used new practices such as irrigation of crops normally grown rainfed, cultivation of famine millets, and – when rain eventually fell – transplanting crops that normally are direct seeded (including replanting to fill gaps in drought-affected fields). Crop rotations also were adjusted to compensate for crop losses or late planting and to take advantage of reduced flood-levels or changed market prices. The various and location-specific responses by farmers provide useful lessons for planners and administrators in a disaster-prone country: production plans and programmes must be flexible; relevant environmental factors, crop areas sown and crop condition must be closely monitored and the implications promptly assessed; and the farmers' repertoire of disaster-mitigating practices should be recorded so as to provide a basis for more pragmatic research, extension and development programmes. A method for monitoring and assessing rainfall is described.     

III A Disaster for Whom?: Local Interests and International Donors During Famine Among the Dinka of Sudan

The 1985–88 famine amongst the Dinka is described and shown to have been rooted in the long term exploitation of the south by northern Sudanese and international interests. This process of exploitation served, and continues to serve, important functions for particular groups. Some of the ways in which the 1985–88 famine was functional – for the central government, the army and merchants – are outlined and the implications for relief operations considered. It is argued that international donors had considerable "room for manoeuvre" which they could have used to adopt more effective policies. They only did so after the worst of the mortality was over.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Chernobyl: Law and Communication. Transboundary Nuclear Air Pollution – The Legal Materials , edited by Philippe Sands.
At the Desert's Edge: Oral Histories from the Sahel , edited by Nigel Cross and Rhiannon Barker.
Famine and Survival Strategies: A Case Study from Northeast Ethiopia , by Dessalegn Rahmato.
Multilingual Dictionary of Disaster Medicine and International Relief by S. W. A. Gunn.     

Death and injury in earthquakes

The assumption that the ratio of mortality to morbidity will approximate 1:3 in earthquake disasters is investigated. When it occurs, a 1:3 ratio is most likely to coincide with a Richter magnitude in the range 6.5–7.4, but many other ratios of death to injuries may instead be probable. For each individual disaster the pattern of casualties is likely to be very heterogeneous, but it would be easier to discover regularities if a more standardized definition of 'injury' could be found.     

The United nations and disaster relief in the sahel, 1973-75

This research is part of an extensive study entitled 'International Disaster Response: The Sahelian Experience', which was made possible by a grant number 1711–520147 of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of State. The opinions expressed are solely the responsibility of the researcher and do not necessarily represent the views of the organizations studied or the sponsoring institutions.     

The role of Confucianism in South Korea's emergency management system

Numerous Western researchers have examined the influence of Confucianism on development in Asia, but almost no South Korean researchers have studied the topic in regard to emergency management in their own country. This study begins by considering Confucianism as a social culture. Next, it goes on to evaluate its role in South Korea's emergency management system, contributing, ultimately, to efficiencies in emergency management. Drawing on a literature review and a case study, the paper assesses the double‐ and single‐faced approaches, using four major Confucian components: destiny; family; ritual; and relation. The double‐faced approach includes the positive and negative aspects of emergency management, whereas the single‐faced approach incorporates only its positive aspects. This paper provides, for the first time, a systematic analysis of the relationship between Confucianism and emergency management in South Korea. Its key finding is that the double‐faced approach needs to be transformed into a single‐faced approach through active facilitation of behavioural change.     

郯庐断裂带江苏及邻区第四纪活动特征

本文根据郯庐断裂带江苏及邻区第四纪断裂分布、活动性质、活动方式、活动期及活动强度在各段发展的差异,将研究区内划分为三段:安丘—郯城、宿迁—泗洪、庐江—广济段。第四纪晚期以来断裂活动由北往南逐渐减弱,北段活动由西向东迁移,南段由东向西迁移,这些特征对潜在震源区的圈定具有重要意义。     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
AN EVALUATION OF 3 TYPES OF SWEDISH EMERGENCY FOODS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING DURING THE FAMINE IN MAURITANIA, WEST AFRICA. By E. Linusson
FAMINE. Edited by A. C. Field.
REHAB — DROUGHT AND FAMINE IN ETHIOPIA By Abdul Mejig Hussein.
THE NATURAL EXPERIMENT — FAMINE AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT- THE DUTCH HUNGER WINTER OF 1944–1945 By Zena Svein, Mervyn Susser, Berhart Saemger and Francis Marolla.
Disaster Technology: An Annotated Bibliography by D. Manning.     

Evaluation of Two Kurdish Refugee Camps in Iran, May 1991: The Value of Cluster Sampling in Producing Priorities and Policy

Following the end of the Gulf war in March 1991, Kurdish refugees from Iraq crossed the border into Western Iran. To plan public health interventions and to assist in priority setting for scarce resources, a rapid epidemiological assessment of two camps, Hafez and Kaliche, was conducted in May 1991. A 30 cluster sampling method was used to determine the demographics of the camp population, the morbidity and mortality from certain diseases, and the nutritional status of the children <5 years of age. The estimated population of the camps at the time of the survey was 28,500 and 22,500 for Hafez and Kaliche respectively; children < 5 years of age accounted for approximately 25 per cent of both camp populations. The mortality rate was highest in Hafez and estimated to be 2.5/10,000 per day (95%CI:0.3–5) for adults (> 14 years of age) and 4.9/10,000 per day (95%CI:2.4–7.4) for children. Diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases accounted for major morbidity in both camps with diarrhoea the commonest stated cause of death. Little malnutrition was found but it was greater in Hafez where 6 per cent (19/327) of the children between 1 and 5 years of age had a mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) <12 cm and eleven (5.2 per cent) of the 211 children measured for height and weight were below 80 per cent of the median (95%CI:2.6%;7.8%). The survey identified that morbidity and mortality were less severe than in the Kurdish camps on the Turkish border and provided information for camp authorities to plan appropriate relief interventions.     

Book Reviews

Yasemin Aysan, Andrew Clayton, Alistair Cory, Ian Davis and David Sanderson. Developing Building for Safety Programmes: Guidelines for Organizing Safe Building Improvement Programmes in Disaster-prone Areas
Y. Danieli, N.S. Rodley and L. Weisaeth. . International Responses to Traumatic Stress. Humanitarian, Human Rights, Justice, Peace and Development Contributions, Collaborative Actions and Future Initiatives
Sharon Hutchinson. Nuer Dilemmas: Coping with Money, War and the State
Michael Edwards and David Hulme. Non-Governmental Organisations Performance and Accountability: Beyond the Magic Bullet
Thomas E. Drabek. Disaster Evacuation Behavior: Tourists and Other Transients.
Jeremy Armon and Andy Carl. Accord–An International Review of Peace Initiatives: The Liberian Peace Process, 1990–1996
Peter J. May. Environmental Management and Governance: Intergovernmental Approaches to Hazards and Sustainability     

Entitlements and the Wollo Famine of 1982–1985

The traglic recent events in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa have again foccussed attention on the different anaytical approaches to the problems iof famine. Perhaps the most important analytical contribution to this field has been Sen's "entitlements approach." One of the case studies Sen used to articulate this approach was of the 1972–1973 famine in Wollo Province, Ethiopia. This article provides a provisional assessment of the famine process in the Wollo during 1982–1985 to set against the analysis by Sen of the earlier famine. Some striking contrasts are revealed.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Mass Casualties: A Lessons Learned Approach (Proceedings of the First International Assembly on Emergency Medical Services, 1982), edited by R.A. Cowley.
Geological Implications of Impacts of Large Asteroids and Comets on the Earth edited by Leon T. Silver and Peter H. Schultz
Tin Aicha – Nomad Village
The Ash Wednesday Bushfires in Victoria, 16th February 1983 by J. Oliver, N.R. Britton and M.K. James, Disaster Investigation Report No. 7     

Computer Simulation as a Means of Dialogue between Local Committees and Relief Agencies: A Case from Southern Sudan

Computer simulations, using modest equipment – a portable computer with a familiar spreadsheet programme – can facilitate dialogue between local committees and relief agencies in the management of disasters. An example is given from the southern Sudan in which the outcomes of different relief strategies, some urged by the donors, were simulated. This helped the local committee to defend difficult choices and the donors to realise that the decision-making autonomy of the affected community should be respected.     

Index to Volume 23, 1999

In the 'chronically vulnerable areas ' (CVAs) of East Africa a smooth linear transition away from emergency programming towards rehabilitation and long-term development is difficult, if not impossible. This makes uncritical application of the 'relief-to-development ' continuum to programming unhelpful at best, and perhaps counter-productive. This paper is the result of CARE's efforts to review its own programmes – and those of some of its sister agencies – in chronically vulnerable areas in the East Africa region, to derive important lessons learned and to identify areas where improvements are needed. The paper focuses on strategic considerations and decision-making in relation to entry, programme design and strategies for transition and exit.     

Public Nutrition from an Approach to a Discipline: Concern's Nutrition Case Studies in Complex Emergencies

The Public Nutrition approach, like that of Public Health, is context specific. It places an emphasis on populations rather than individuals and is inter-disciplinary in nature. Both approaches seek to understand the complex aetiology of a clinical outcome such as malnutrition within the widest possible framework. Public Nutrition uses the UNICEF conceptual framework and adapts and expands it. The authors of this article argue – through the examination of a number of case studies taken from the work of Concern Worldwide (hereafter referred to as Concern) in southern Sudan, Rwanda, Angola, Tanzania and DRC – that there are two critical constituents of the Public Nutrition approach. These are: a contextual analysis (including the use of surveillance information for programme design and advocacy) and community involvement at all stages of the project cycle. Some of the key obstacles to the adoption of the Public Nutrition approach are identified by illustrating two practical programme settings. For the Public Nutrition approach to be more widely used, the authors recommend a number of key strategies including the further dissemination of case studies and the clarification of the scope and boundaries of the approach. These strategies will enable Public Nutrition to evolve both as a practical programme framework as well as an academic discipline.