PROVISION OF EMERGENCY HEALTH, WASH AND PROTECTION SERVICES TO DISASTER-AFFECTED POPULATIONS IN GRAND BAHAMA

The initiative was funded by USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and implemented by International Medical Corps (IMC) Bahamas. The program aimed to increase access to essential and life-saving primary healthcare and WASH service provision, while also improving access to Mental Health and Psychosocial Support. Initial assessments conducted in Grand Bahama identified significant health needs, including physical injuries, skin diseases, chronic diseases, and upper respiratory infections. In response, IMC deployed a team of medical professionals, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and psychologists, to provide outpatient care to those affected by the hurricane. The team set up an emergency medical health facility and mobile medical teams to reach people within their communities. The IMC team worked in coordination with the Ministry of Health and existing health facilities to provide essential and urgent healthcare and WASH services. The team also supported the Rand Memorial Hospital, the major source of healthcare on the island, by restocking the pharmacy with critical medications and improving inventory checks. Additionally, IMC provided a 40-foot refrigerated container to improve cold-chain storage conditions and management. As of March 31, 2020, IMC had provided 1,732 medical consultations, with the most common medical conditions treated including physical injuries, skin diseases, chronic diseases, and upper respiratory infections. The team also trained Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) to promote health education, safe hygiene practices, water storage and handling, infection prevention and control measures, and building awareness of accessible mental health and psychosocial support services. To address the challenges faced by the Government of The Bahamas in providing healthcare services, IMC obtained and donated two state-of-the-art deployable facilities: a "BB Pod" and a "Hospitainer." The BB Pod is a re-purposed ISO-standard 20-foot shipping container with approximately 240 sq. ft. of usable space, designed to withstand hurricane-strength winds when properly anchored. The Hospitainer is a 20-foot mobile medical clinic with its own power system and water filtration system, which was transferred to the Ministry of Health and Public Hospitals Authority during a ceremony at High Rock on January 13th, 2020. As of March 2020, IMC had trained 44 CHVs, who had reached 11,281 people with information on health, mental health, and psychosocial support, and hygiene promotion activities. Currently, IMC is the only health partner for Grand Bahama Health Services, supporting the provision of medical care to East Grand Bahama's population through a static clinic at High Rock and the Hospitainer mobile clinic. The geographic focus of the program was Grand Bahama, with a specific emphasis on reaching the most vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant and lactating women, older adults, persons with disabilities, and evacuated persons. The program's timeframes were from September 2019 to March 2020, with a focus on providing emergency health, WASH, and protection services to disaster-affected populations in Grand Bahama.