Medical Team in a Crisis Zone finalists' showcase

This award celebrates an individual or team who has had an exceptional impact on a crisis situation

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Doctors For You, Bihar Flood Relief Work 2008-09, India

Started in 2007 by “doctors in training” the NGO expanded its scope to disaster health after massive floods hit the Indian state of Bihar. Immediate relief, with special care to vulnerable victims, was provided by strategic deployment of 110 team members who treated 130,000 patients over 6 months via mobile clinics, district hospitals, relief camps of Art of Living and other NGOs. Preparedness of traditional birth attendants was enhanced for safe and sterile deliveries while hygiene and nutrition education was imparted to local communities for mitigating the disaster.

 Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Haiti Response Team

With 60 percent of existing health facilities destroyed, and the remainder unable to cope, MSF’s speed of reaction was absolutely crucial, resulting in over 1,200 people receiving treatment during the first 24 hours, and an average of 40 major operations performed daily during the first week. As more survivors were brought in with seriously infected wounds, the number of surgical operations increased: eight days after the quake, it stood at 130 operations per day.

Save the Children Emergency Health Team

The Save the Children Emergency Health Team is an international team with staff based in headquarters and in the field responding to emergencies. Save the Children initiated the largest primary health care response to the Haiti earthquake, establishing 33 mobile clinics across three areas. Each mobile clinic was staffed by a Haitian doctor and 2 Haitian nurses, providing primary care to some of the key affected camps and regions, tackling the major causes of morbidity and mortality such as diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria.