Following the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 hurricane, from 1-3 September on Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, we will post information related to the MHPSS response here as we receive it. If your agency is responding to, or planning to respond, to the MHPSS needs arising from Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas, please contact the IASC MHPSS Reference Group Co-Chairs Fahmy Hanna (hannaf@who.int) or Sarah Harrison (mhpss.refgroup@gmail.com)
International Medical Corps have deployed a staff member to conduct an MHPSS Assessment over the next 2 weeks, and UNICEF and the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement have staff and volunteers on the ground responding to the needs in coordination with Bahamas Psychological Association.
While access to affected people remains challenging — including due to damaged roads and infrastructure — across Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, airports and seaports are increasingly becoming operational, allowing assistance to be delivered.
“Healthcare workers in Abaco and Grand Bahama were among the affected. This may lead to a shortage in health personnel – such a shortage would require supporting the health sector’s response and care delivery capacity, as well as a steady rotation of specialized healthcare staff (surgeons, anesthesiologists, pathologists, midwives, physicians, psychiatrists), as well as emergency and public health nurses. Psychosocial support is urgently needed to assist people in dealing with Dorian’s consequences,” according to this situation report produced by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Click here to download the situation report produced by the the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and visit the CDEMA website for additional information.
