course material

1. (Mt) – International and Humanitarian Disaster Management for Diseases
of the Displaced
Some Potential Causes for Diseases Outbreaks in Displaced Populations Many infectious
diseases have been seen everywhere around the globe. This post will focus on those
outbreaks which occur during or after disasters in displaced populations. To begin with,
when emergencies, particularly major disasters strike a community, these disasters will
likely lead to tremendous damage in the healthcare system, including immunization
services (Lam, McCarthy, & Brennan, 2015). As a result of this disruption, the VPDs will
likely spread among the affected community. For example, a recent study has shown that
many infectious diseases have been seen in the United States post hurricanes, especially
among displaced persons (Shukla, WocColburn, & Weatherhead, 2018). Therefore, it is vital
to prepare for such major disasters and ensure the healthcare system will not be
dramatically affected. I also believe that lacking medical protection equipment such as
personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection control activities during disasters is
another significant reason for increasing the infectious diseases among displaced persons,
particularly in which poverty has taken place. In Yemen, for instance, the war has forced
many Yemenis to escape from their homes to be internally displaced far away from their
neighborhoods (Federspiel & Ali, 2018). While being displaced, I think these Yemenis will
likely face difficulty in affording the clean food and water due to the adverse effects of the
conflict. In fact, the cholera outbreak also has erupted in Yemen due to the contamination of
the water supply caused by the war (Federspiel & Ali, 2018). Hence, further in the future, I
foresee that the number of cholera patients will adversely expand if the Yemen government
is not partnering with the United Nations, for instance, to afford the clean food with water
and implement vaccinations for these affected populations. Some Potential Solutions to
Address These Outbreaks No doubt utilizing vaccines, antiviral drugs, or chemoprophylaxis
can be a valuable solution to many infectious diseases and viruses. Another potential
solution that could be helpful is a collaboration response from organizations to protect the
community against these outbreaks. For instance, in Congo, since many Ebola outbreak
cases confirmed, a cooperation response has been done by the Ministry of Health in Congo
(MOH), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) to response to the Ebola outbreak effectively (World Health
Organization, 2018). While the World Health Organization deploys Regional Emergency
Directors, who evaluate and support the response actions, the United Nations High

2. Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) responsible for protecting and assisting refugees and
ensuring that these refugees are in a safe place. For instance, in 2018, the UNHCR hosted
and protected over 35,000 refugees in Congo (World Health Organization, 2018). Because of
this coordination response, I believe that these organizations will enable and facilitate the
response action to Ebola and will effectively support and protect those in need. To my mind,
I think funds also play a crucial role in minimizing, protecting, and responding to infectious
diseases. Because when the developing countries where outbreaks spread receive much
budget from the United Nations, for instance, I foresee that these affected countries will
likely benefit from the funds by providing such as medical equipment, infection control
activities, and building community capacities in hazard zones (World Health Organization,
2018). It is thus vital that the global community donations support the affected populations.
I think that educating the displaced people about the risk of these outbreaks and
appropriate immunizations can play a significant role in the prevention of these diseases,
thereby protecting the populations. References Federspiel, F., & Ali, M. (2018). The cholera
outbreak in Yemen: lessons learned and way forward. BMC public health, 18(1), 1338.
Retrieved October 3, 2019, from
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-6227-6 Lam,
E., Mccarthy, A., Brennan, M., & Lam, E. (2015). Vaccine-preventable diseases in
humanitarian emergencies among refugee and internally-displaced populations. Human
Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 11(11), 2627–2636. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from
https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2015.1096457 Shukla, M. A., Woc-Colburn, L., &
Weatherhead, J. E. (2018). Infectious Diseases in the Aftermath of Hurricanes in the United
States. Current Tropical Medicine Reports, 5(4), 217-223. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40475-018-0162-6 World Health Organization.
(2018). Ebola Virus Disease Democratic Republic of Congo: External Situation Report 9.
Retrieved October 3, 2019, from
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/272785/SITREP_EVD_DRC_20180608
eng.pdf There are several diseases that are consistently seen in displaced populations.
Please explain potential causes for these outbreaks. Mass population movement after a
disaster can cause an increase in both morbidity and mortality (Bengtsson et al., 2011).
When the displaced group arrives at their new destination many bring the diseases or
vectors with them. The most common disease outbreaks seen in refugee camps include
measles, polio, meningitis, hepatitis A, and cholera (Lam & McCarthy& Brennan, 2015).
Because many refugees live in a camp-like setting, whether formal or makeshift this
increases the susceptibility of contracting one of these (or other) infections. In addition to
living in close proximity with other possibly infected people is poor nutrition, limited to no
access to potable water, and poor sanitation (Lam et al., 2015). The emotional and physical
stress of uprooting from one place to another due to a disaster can exacerbate pre-existing
conditions, increases a person’s susceptibility to disease, or increase their chances of
mortality. While living in close quarters, and poor sanitation can explain the transmission of
the disease, there are things that lead up to patient zero contracting the illness in the
beginning. For example, in Somali refugees in Kenya researchers found gastrointestinal and
respiratory distress; caused by complications from measles could be associated with the

3. severe famine and drought in Somalia (Lam et al., 2015). To combat these illnesses, aid
workers gave vitamin A supplements, oral rehydrants and education on nutritional
management programs What are potential solutions for addressing these disease
outbreaks? The most important and proactive mode of addressing these disease outbreaks
will always be immunization. This is especially true for areas with well know vaccine-
preventable diseases. However, we need to also focus on neglected tropical diseases more
because they have such a tremendous impact on societal changes, higher transmission. The
burden of disease is a way to quantify the impact the disease has on a community or even a
global scale. The next method of addressing the outbreak is education; education holds the
key to understanding why and how. It is equally essential that education is taught by
someone from that community or someone who knows the community well for the baseline
area of trust. Also, what good is the information if the people cannot understand it, the
instructions must be on a level that the refugees can understand. These two modes of
addressing the disease outbreaks in displaced population camps are the most plausible.
While there are other ways of addressing outbreaks, such as moving the camps to larger
areas, improving health conditions, etc. will take years to accomplish. Immunization and
education are cost-effective and have positive results in several historically challenging
outbreaks of disease. Reference Bengtsson, L., Lu, X., Thorson, A., Garfield, R., & Schreeb, J. V.
(2011). Improved Response to Disasters and Outbreaks by Tracking Population Movements
with Mobile Phone Network Data: A Post-Earthquake Geospatial Study in Haiti. PLoS
Medicine, 8(8). doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001083 Eugene Lam, Amanda McCarthy &
Muireann Brennan (2015) Vaccine-preventable diseases in humanitarian emergencies
among refugee and internally-displaced populations, Human Vaccines &
Immunotherapeutics, 11:11, 26272636, DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2015.1096457