DAY 1 SPECIAL SESSION: DISASTER MANAGEMENT

The Disaster management workshop was one of the special events held this year by the IGCLA association. It was attended by a group of twenty five people. The session was presided over by Dr. Edmond Fernandes. The workshop began with a quick brushing up of basic terminologies regarding disaster risk reduction. Disaster risk reduction has a major impact on society and economy yet it is an issue that has not been dealt with in greater depth. Dr. Fernandes emphasized on the importance of psychological preparedness while dealing with patients in disaster stricken areas.
A lot of misconceptions people have about regarding disaster management such as vaccination during epidemics, disposing of dead bodies .etc. were also among the key topics discussed.

The afternoon session of the disaster management workshop began at 2:00 pm. The initial talks included a discussion on issues such as sanitation and hygiene, safe drinking water, water related diseases in the event of a disaster. Nutritional emergencies and handling nutritional crises, along with notable case studies on the consequences of food crises in African countries, Venezuela .etc. were dealt with. There was also great emphasis on the lack of awareness about the global situation especially among medical students. A lack of accountability of health workers during disasters, political opportunism were mentioned as some of the problems encountered while providing assistance on the field. The impact of social media on disaster risk reduction, its merits and demerits were also spoken of. This was followed by a group activity where the participants were divided into teams and asked to present the likely intervention their allotted agency would follow with a sample case of a disaster. With that the workshop ended with all the attendees perhaps a little more aware of the things one keeps in mind during a disaster. They were also motivated to volunteer in some organization or the other as that is the best way to get some hands on experience

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