Back from their successful deployment in Nepal, volunteer doctors and nurses of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) were praised by their counterparts from the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) and Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Neil Reeder for their services rendered during their one month deployment in Nepal.
The medical team from the Philippines worked together with the delegations from CRC, Japanese Red Cross and Hong Kong Red Cross in the emergency field hospital that was set up to support the relief response of the Red Cross Movement.
On behalf of the government of Canada, Ambassador Reeder commended the joint deployment of the doctors and nurses from the Philippines together with the contingent from the CRC. “This joint effort underlines the vital work of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement around the world and the special partnership between the Philippines and Canadian Red Cross, which has been seen during past natural disasters in the Philippines including during Typhoon Yolanda,” said Reeder.
Doctors from the PRC assisted the local health workers in Nepal in maternity and child health care such as childbirth and performing caesarean operations on hypertensive mothers and other high risk pregnancies. They also performed other life-saving surgeries and emergency medical procedures like fractures from injuries from the earthquake.
“We are very proud of our doctors and nurses who were in Nepal to assist in the emergency and recovery operations. They brought with them their talents and skills and have shown compassion towards the most vulnerable and affected population in Nepal,” said PRC chairman Richard J. Gordon.
The contributions of the doctors and nurses from PRC were likewise highly appreciated by members of the CRC. “Building on extensive experience gained in responding to disasters in the Philippines, the Philippine Red Cross has deployed skilled disaster responders who have played a critical role in the delivery of life-saving services after the earthquake,” said Sebastien Jouffroy, emergency field hospital readiness manager of the CRC.
CRC secretary general and CEO Conrad Sauve wrote to PRC chairman Gordon and secretary general Gwendolyn Pang to laud the partnership between the two societies and thank the PRC delegates. “This type of partnership between our two societies has truly demonstrated the success of our collaboration. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the five Philippine Red Cross delegates for their excellent contribution and service working in collaboration with the CRC emergency response unit (ERU) team in Nepal,” said Sauve.
The first batch of PRC doctors and nurses who returned from Nepal include Dr. Ranvier Martinez from the Department of Emergency Medicine of MMC, Dr. Cleofe Medina from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of MMC, Florianne Adlawan from Cebu, Jasper Caleb Aguilo from Southern Leyte, and Dan Espenzer Velasco from Pangasinan. The team was also joined by Andrea Paola Tobias, a WatSan expert from the PRC national headquarters.
PRC continues to send manpower to Nepal and will continue sending more personnel as the need arises. Before the first batch of medical team came back, another doctor and nurse were deployed as well. Dr. Erwin Dizon from MMC and Janice Melody Adolfo, nurse from PRC-Quezon City Chapter left for Nepal on May 23. The second team of WatSan personnel, nurses Mariem Maria Emperatriz Nidea and Dindo Rolando Melendrez, left last May 30 and will be back after a month of deployment.
Last week, another Red Cross volunteer nurse left for Nepal and one more volunteer doctor left this week. Dr. Maria Cristina Santos, a PRC volunteer working as an obstetrician-gynecologist consultant at the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital in Olongapo City and San Marcelino District Hospital in Zambales, and Jasper Ian Soriano, a PRC volunteer nurse working at the Zambales Medical Mission Group Cooperative Women’s and Children’s Hospital, will be the third batch of doctor and nurse team that will be sent to Nepal.