WHAT: The Pan American Health Organization will hold a press conference Monday, Nov. 9 to outline the current situation in Central America , the most urgent unmet health needs, and the relief efforts underway following the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch.
WHEN: Monday, Nov. 9 at 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: 2nd Floor, Pan American Health Organization headquarters, 525 23rd Street NW, (corner of 23rd St, and Virginia Ave., 4 blocks south of Foggy Bottom Metro Station).
WHO: PAHO Director Dr. George Alleyne and Dr. Claude de Ville, Chief of PAHO's Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Program, will brief the press on the situation in Central America.
WHY: Rapid assessments by PAHO staff and national teams show severe damage to the health infrastructure in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize, and there are acute shortages of essential supplies as well as risk of outbreaks of cholera, malaria, dengue fever, and other diseases in the affected areas. Appeals have been issued for support from the international community. At this press conference, PAHO officials will outline the current situation in Central America, the most urgent unmet health needs, and the relief efforts underway.
For more information please call Daniel Epstein Tel 202-974-3459, Fax 202-974-3143, Office of Public Information, e-mail: epsteind@paho.org 525 Twenty-Third Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20037, USA - http:\\www.paho.org.