Stanford team on their experiences in Haiti

1:2:1 - Stanford University School of Medicine

A team of doctors and nurses from Stanford's emergency medicine division have returned to the Bay Area after spending two weeks in Haiti. During this podcast, Paul Auerbach, MD, and emergency room nurse Heather Tilson, talk about Haiti, their work there under the most dire conditions, and the courage of the nation's people. Length: 30 min.

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Posted: 02/04/10

Greenpeace Radiation Monitoring Team at Work

Japan Radiation Monitoring Team Finds Radiation Limits 'Far Above' Recommended Limits

A group of Greenpeace radiation experts today started monitoring locations around the evacuation area that surrounds the crisis-stricken Fukushima/Daiichi nuclear plant, in order to assess the true extent of radiation risks to the local population.

Radiation levels found by the team are far above internationally recommended limits - people living here would receive the yearly maximum dose of radioactivity within a few days, yet have not yet been evacuated.

“Since the beginning of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, the authorities have consistently appeared to underestimate both the risks and extent of radioactive contamination. We have come to Fukushima to bear witness to the impacts of this crisis and to provide some independent insight into the resulting radioactive contamination”, said Greenpeace team leader and radioactivity safety advisor Jan van de Putte.

“By providing honest, transparent and independent analysis of the threats to public health, we aim to provide an alternative to the often contradictory information released by nuclear regulators in the two weeks since the Fukushima disaster began unfolding.”

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A group of Greenpeace radiation experts today started monitoring locations around the evacuation area that surrounds the crisis-stricken Fukushima/Daiichi nuclear plant, in order to assess the true extent of radiation risks to the local population. Radiation levels found by the team are far above internationally recommended limits - people living here would receive the yearly maximum dose of radioactivity within a few days, yet have not yet been evacuated.

© Christian Åslund / Greenpeace

Mobile tech only goes so far in Japan relief efforts

By: Neil Versel | Mar 23, 2011 9:46pm EST

Tags: Dr Enoch Choi | Epocrates | iPad medical apps | iPhone medical apps | Japan Earthquake | mobile health disaster relief | mobile phone emergency medical response | Palo Alto Medical Foundation |

PAMF's Dr. Enoch Choi

Technology has its limits.

At least one American aid team has dispatched to Japan, iPhones and iPads with mobile EMR software and medical reference tools in hand. But they haven’t been able to unleash the power of their handheld computers to help the estimated 261,000 people still living in shelters as of Wednesday—12 days after the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

“They’re desperate for basic food, water, fuel,” says Dr. Enoch Choi, an urgent care physician at Palo Alto (Calif.) Medical Foundation and medical director of Jordan International Aid, a California-based Christian aid organization. “They’re out of medicine.”

There is a particular shortage of potassium iodide pills to counter the effects of radiation from crippled nuclear power plants, Choi says.

Jordan International Aid has sent a team of nine disaster-response veterans, including a physician and a nurse, to help in the coastal city of Ishinomaki, which was all but washed away by the tsunami that followed the 9.0-magnitude quake on March 11. But most couldn’t get transportation from Sendai, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in Japan’s Tohugu region, where the disaster is centered.

“The sad thing is, medical volunteers are all jammed up in Sendai,” Choi reports. While he remains in California, he is in regular contact with the aid team in Japan and is preparing for future relief missions once the situation is more under control.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE...

eBooks.com - Impacto de los desastres en la salud publica eBook

eBooks.com - Impacto de los desastres en la salud publica eBook

The third edition of my book "Public Health Consequences of Disasters" is now electronically available in Spanish, French and Japanese at eBooks: The Digital Bookstore at the link below.

Impacto de los desastres en la salud publica

	By: Eric K. Noji(ed.) Published By: Pan American Health Organization PDF for Digital Editions : $30.00 Read Online (what's this?) PDF for Digital Editions
Preview Add to my site Add to wishlist	Los desastres naturales - terremotos, inundaciones, erupciones volcánicas, ciclones tropicales, incendios y muchos otros - han cobrado más de 3 millones de vidas durante los últimos 20 años, han afectado adversamente la vida de 800 millones de personas, y han causado más de 50.000 millones de dólares en daños a la propiedad. Tan sólo en la última década, el número de refugiados y personas desplazadas por la guerra, la hambruna y la sequía en sus propios países se ha duplicado a cerca de 45 millones de personas en 1995.

Radiation risk situation for Tokyo | USA & EU actions

Japan update [2] (Tokyo, March 22, 2011) Radiation risk situation for Tokyo | USA & EU actions

Suffering caused by the Friday March 11, 14:46 earthquake in Japan continues, but we see hope and reconstruction. Tomorrow the new high-speed train line north of the disaster zone is planned to run again between Shin-Aomori and Morioka. Japan's society has developed over 100s of years coping with similar disasters, and it is already obvious that Japan will overcome this disaster strengthened. In recent years, Japan overcame the Kobe-Earthquake and the Niigata-Earthquake, and Japan will also overcome this earthquake soon. We observe many discussions to learn from this disaster and to strengthen Japan. In this newsletter we focus on analysis of radiation risks (see below) in Tokyo, and on US and EU response. Situation in Tokyo: We see Japanese companies and Japanese workers - including our company Eurotechnology-Japan here in Tokyo - working almost normally throughout the period of after-quakes. A notable exception is the account settlement IT system of Mizuho-Bank which apparently has broken down. Electricity savings by the population were beyond expectations, so that planned electricity cuts have been largely avoided - most electricity cuts were announced but not implemented - the electricity keeps flowing in most areas, especially in the central areas. While many long-term foreign residents remained in Tokyo, a large fraction of temporary foreigners left either to Osaka, or left Japan altogether. The departure of some foreigners (and some Japanese) has not been un-noticed. One Japanese surgeon (medical doctor), who had stayed at the bedside of patients throughout the quake, broke down in tears telling me about a colleague leaving Tokyo during the after-quakes.

Low Risk for Epidemics after Geophysical Events

Low Risk for Epidemics after Geophysical Events

With the exceptions being, if the earthquake is accompanied by substantial population displacement and crowding as was seen last year following the earthquake in Haiti, and the tsunami earthquake disaster in South Asia in 2004
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Emergent use of social media: A new age of opportunity for disaster resilience

Emergent use of social media: A new age of opportunity for disaster resilience

Although we wrote this paper regarding the the use of social media, shared workspaces "in the clouds", VOIP (and video), live an interactive videoconferencing, micro-blogging services, and sophisticated internet search engines in reference to last year's Haiti earthquake, our article serendipitously hit the newsstands today.

Scale of Japanese Disaster Reveals Grim Equation

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Join the Center for Global Health for “Investing in Coordination, Integration, Innovation Today for Sustainable Global Health Impact Tomorrow”

Join the Center for Global Health

for

“Investing in Coordination, Integration, Innovation Today

for Sustainable Global Health Impact Tomorrow”

Thursday, October 14, 2010

1:45 – 2:45 pm

Auditorium B, Tom Harkin Global Communications Center, Roybal Campus

Join us for a lively discussion on today’s challenging global health environment, what it will take to meet the world’s goals for public health, and updates on the President’s Global Health Initiative. Moderated by CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, MD, roundtable participants include Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, CDC Director; Ambassador Dr. Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator; Ms. Amie Batson, USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Global Health; Dr. J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President/Center for Strategic & International Studies; Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, Director/International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs; Dr. R.J. Simonds, Vice President/Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation; and Dr. Carlos del Rio, Chair/Emory University Hubert Department of Global Health.

Investigation of Cholera Outbreak in Malawi, 1993

Dr. Eric K Noji is conducting a case-contact investigation in response to a large-scale outbreak of cholera among Mozambican refugees in Malawi in 1993.  During the course of this outbreak investigation, Noji interviewed close to 600 people.

LRA Attacks in Northeastern Congo

The Lord’s Resistance Army has depopulated a remote corner of northeastern Congo, killing and abducting hundreds of civilians, and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes. In a new report, “‘This is our land now:’ Lord’s Resistance Army attacks in Bas Uele, northeastern Congo,” Enough Project Field Researcher Ledio Cakaj documents 51 attacks by the LRA in Bas Uele, Congo, resulting in at least 105 deaths and 570 abductions during the last 15 months.

“The LRA rampage in Bas Uele territory is brutal but strategic,” notes Cakaj, “LRA fighters have used this region as a base and transit point to the Central African Republic and beyond. The threat to civilians is increasing, since there is no meaningful military force to challenge the LRA in this area. The Congolese army remains a threat to its own population, and the United Nations is drawing down its peacekeepers in this region.”

After signing into U.S. law the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act on May 24, 2010, the Obama administration is developing a comprehensive strategy to deal with the LRA. The report argues that any viable strategy needs to take into account the importance of Bas Uele to the LRA, in order to better protect civilians and finally to end the LRA’s escalating threat across a vast region of central Africa.

Keep reading the full report and please share it with your friends on one of the following social networks if you are a member.

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Enough Project | 1225 Eye Street NW, Suite 307 | Washington, D.C. 20005
Enough is a project to end genocide and crimes against humanity. For more information, go to www.enoughproject.org.

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United Nations names actor Edward Norton as celebrity advocate for preserving Biodiversity

  

United Nations, New York, 8 July 2010 - Acclaimed actor and conservation activist Edward Norton took on his latest role today, as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon designated him United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity.  Mr. Norton said he hopes to channel the attention he receives for his acting to spotlight the unprecedented loss of biodiversity due to human activity and ensure world leaders take appropriate measures to safeguard the variety of life on Earth.

Read Article at UN.org

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PRESS RELEASE: DOCTOR ERIC NOJI JOINS THE CAUSE AS MEDICAL EXPERT

DR ERIC K. NOJI
MEDICAL EXPERT
JOINS THE CAUSE
Los Angeles, CA
July 19,2010


Physician, scientist, scholar, legendary teacher and humanitarian visionary. Dr. Eric K. Noji was elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science for pioneering work in the use of social media and global communications networks for disaster relief, humanitarian aid and other public health crises. On the evening of 24 September 2006, his webcast on disaster management was seen by over 1.5 million viewers, still the largest audience in history for a single academic lecture.

An award named in Dr. Noji's honor is presented annually by the DoD's Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance to recognize individuals whose careers have been characterized by exceptional teaching, ground-breaking research and leadership in emergency health management, conflict stabilization and peace-keeping operations, medical diplomacy and civil-military cooperation.

Dr. Noji has nearly 25 years of experience working with government agencies, NGOs, and international organizations such as WHO, USAID, MSF, the World Bank, UNICEF, UNHCR and others that provide disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, and support for reconstruction, emergency preparedness and crisis monitoring. From 1988 to 2007, Dr. Noji was the Director of the International Emergency and Refugee Health Program, Office of Global Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He is currently Chairman and CEO of Noji Global Health & Security, an organization he established in 2007 that specializes in humanitarian resource mobilization and management, particularly during major crisis situations such as the tsunami disaster in 2004, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the recent catastrophic earthquakes in Haiti and China in 2010.

Dr. Noji has unparalleled experience, expertise and success in crisis fund-raising, facilitating fast-track procurement and acquisition during emergencies, innovative technology brokering and rapidly assembling the best talent. An undergraduate at Stanford, he completed his medical studies, graduate work and residency training at the University of Rochester, the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins before joining the full-time faculty and attending staff of the Johns Hopkins Hospital & School of Medicine.

New Bill a Breakthrough for Campaign Against Conflict Minerals

Activists Celebrate Victory on Conflict Minerals Legislation Yesterday Congress passed the financial reform bill with the inclusion of a key provision on conflict minerals, an incredible victory for the thousands of activists who for months have been calling on their members of Congress to take decisive action to end the trade in Congo's conflict minerals. The amendment will require companies to disclose whether they source conflict minerals from Congo or neighboring countries, and require companies to report on steps taken to exclude conflict sources from their supply chains, backed by independent audits. From the day President Obama signs the bill, the Securities and Exchange Commission will have nine months to develop regulations implementing the new law. The legislation is just one piece of a broader solution to end the scourge of conflict minerals. In the coming months, activists will be called upon to put pressure on the Obama administration to ensure that it helps lead an international effort to create the trace, audit, certify regime necessary to prevent the minerals trade from fueling violent conflict. Read more about the bill passage on Enough Said, and stay tuned for ways to take action in the coming weeks.

Huge Victory on Conflict Minerals

Today, the world moved a step closer to ensuring that the supply chains for our laptops and cell phones do not finance violence in eastern Congo. Today, human rights activists, American consumers, and the people of Congo won an incredible victory. Congress passed the Wall Street reform bill with the inclusion of a key provision on conflict minerals which will require companies to disclose whether they source conflict minerals from Congo or neighboring countries, and require companies to report on steps taken to exclude conflict sources from their supply chains, backed by independent audits.

The growing movement for Congo across America should be very proud of this impressive victory. Activists and concerned consumers from communities across the country came together with one voice and told Congress we demand strong legislation that will put us on the path to ending one of the deadliest conflicts in modern history. You overran the Facebook pages of elected officials and electronics companies, followed up with phone calls, wrote letters and emails to their offices, met face-to-face with your representatives, and called on industry leaders to clean up their supply chain. These are just some examples of the creative advocacy that has helped elevate the issue of conflict minerals to reach today’s tipping point. Senators Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Reps. Jim McDermott (D-WA), Howard Berman (D-CA), and Barney Frank (D-MA), along with many other upstanding members of Congress, deserve special praise for leading this battle over the past two years.

President Obama, This is your Rwanda moment - Dave Eggers and John Prendergast in today's New York Times

The United States has a pivotal role to play in preventing a return to full-scale war in Sudan, a country that is approaching a January 2011 secession vote that could re-ignite a conflict that has already taken two million lives, argue Enough Co-founder John Prendergast and critically-acclaimed author Dave Eggers in a New York Times op-ed out today.Says the op-ed: “This is President Obama’s Rwanda moment, and it is unfolding now, in slow motion. It is not too late to prevent the coming war in Sudan, and protect the peace we helped build five short years ago.”

Al Gore Says Mass Movement Key to Solving Climate Crisis

Al Gore Says Mass Movement Key to Solving Climate Crisis: "NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 650 volunteers with The Climate Project from branches worldwide assembled in Nashville last weekend for a training session with former Vice President Al Gore. Those trained were current Presenters and new trainees with The Climate Project. Presenters deliver an updated version of the slideshow featured in the Academy-Award winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. The international training focused on the science of climate change as well as solutions to mitigate its most harmful effects, incorporating new slides and material from Vice President Gore's latest book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis."

New CD from Enough Project and Mercer Street Records Benefits RAISE Hope for Congo

New CD from Enough Project and Mercer Street Records Benefits RAISE Hope for Congo Curated by music expert Nic Harcourt, the compilation features exclusive tracks from renowned artists such as Norah Jones, Mos Def, Sheryl Crow, Angelique Kidjo, Damien Rice, Amadou & Mariam & Bat For Lashes Today, Mercer Street Records and the Enough Project released a special digital compilation album dedicated to help stop the violence against women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Curated by leading music expert Nic Harcourt (Los Angeles Times, KCRW Radio, A&E Network), the compilation, titled "RAISE Hope For Congo," brings together many of contemporary music’s leading artists in solidarity with Congolese women who have been the target of violence and rape amidst war in the region fueled by the demand for conflict minerals used in electronics from cell phones to computers. The incredible genre-spanning album includes exclusive tracks from Norah Jones, Mos Def, Damien Rice, Angelique Kidjo, Bat For Lashes, Rodrigo y Gabriella, Amadou & Mariam and more as well as a special reading from Sheryl Crow. DOWNLOAD the digital album. READ more about the inspiration behind the CD. READ more on Pop & Hiss, the LA Times music blog. Stay tuned for the physical release of "RAISE Hope for Congo" on June 22!

Enough Project | 1225 Eye Street NW, Suite 307 | Washington, D.C. 20005 Enough is a project to end genocide and crimes against humanity. For more information, go towww.enoughproject.org.

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Make It Right builds safe, sustainable and affordable homes for working families. We aim to be a catalyst for change in the building industry in New Orleans and beyond.

Reel Angels

Lifting the spirits of hospitalized children through the magic of first run films
Reel Angels' mission is to benefit hospital-bound children by providing diversional therapy through entertainment, offering them normalcy, joy and a distraction from their treatments, loneliness and fear.

Most children with terminal illnesses are hospitalized for months at a time. Even if they make brief visits home, they are often unable to spend a Saturday at the movies or enjoy other simple childhood pleasures. Their weakened immune systems make the threat of infection far too great.