3 June 2008As the focus in China turns to safeguarding the health of earthquake survivors, a British Red Cross team that specialises in
preventing the outbreak of disease is providing vital help in the worst affected area.The British Red Cross' mass sanitation unit will have a huge impact on the lives of thousands of
people living in the aftermath of the quake. Equipped with two vehicles and 300 rapid latrines, the response team is able to deal with the sanitation needs of up to 20,000 people. Crucially, they are specifically trained and equipped to prevent sanitation related diseases such as diarrhoea. The four-member team – comprising Helen Hawkings, Zahra Ali,
Mujeeb Akhtar and Ima Bluemel – are based in Deyang and will stay in the country for at least a month. A logistics team – including John Cunningham, Gareth Tate and Kris Flegg – has
joined them to support the distribution of relief items, including 5,000 tents donated by the British Red Cross.Emergency reliefZahra Ali, the team's systems support officer,
said: "We've all seen what a massive need there is, and also what a huge response there has been. So far, in terms of the delivery of aid and making sure survivors are safe, everything has been going
well.
"However, under the current conditions it is absolutely critical that disease is not allowed to break out, and the work of our team will be vital in making sure that survivors
– who have already been through so much – continue to stay healthy." More than 5 million people have been made homeless by the quake. The World Health Organisation is warning that
shortages of clean water – combined with warm, humid weather – are creating a serious risk of epidemics that could claim even more lives.John Cunningham added: "I know it's a really
desperate situation out here, with so many people killed or missing and so many people made homeless, but hopefully we can relieve some of the suffering."More about our China earthquake response China earthquake information
sheetChina earthquake in pictures
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A bus drives on a temporary road replacing the original road bridge connecting Yingxiu and Dujiangyan, which collapsed during the May 12 earthquake, in Yingxiu town, Sichuan province June 3, 2008. ...
