• Email
• Print

Hi,

I’ve just returned from Papua New Guinea where I worked with local Oxfam staff to ensure we’re well prepared to respond to natural disasters or emergency situations.

When disaster strikes and people lose or are evacuated from their homes, five things help to keep them alive and safe:

• Access to safe water
• Access to a toilet to prevent the spread of water and sanitation-related diseases
• An understanding of how these diseases can spread
• Shelter
• A clean environment free of garbage
  

Access to these things is incredibly important as I've seen in Timor-Leste where I recently worked as part of Oxfam's emergency response. People who have lost their homes or who don't feel safe enough to return home have been able to remain healthy in relatively crowded camps because Oxfam has provided safe water, bathing and toilet facilities and carried out hygiene promotion and drainage work.

With this in mind, I was looking at the type of equipment available ‘in country’ such as water storage tanks, pipes, pumps, tarpaulins and roofing materials, and working out how we could get this equipment to wherever it might be needed as quickly as possible.

I also met with government departments and community based organisations that would be involved in responding to an emergency to make sure that we co-ordinate our work and help those affected by disaster in the best possible way.

Regards,

Leon Miles
Water, Sanitation and Shelter Technical Advisor