Fukushima

ACTIVITIES

Otsuchi is a town in Iwate that suffered severe damage. With an estimated population of 16,727 in 2003, roughly 10% Otsuchi's total population was lost in the disaster. The higher areas of the town were also affected by the earthquake and the aftershocks but the harbor and lower areas were wiped out. Nearly 9,000 people lost their homes and were seeking shelter in the homes of family members and friends and 40 to 50 refuge centers.

By the request from the Medical Department of Iwate Prefecture, Doctors of the World is supporting the construction of a building for scanner rooms in the temporary hospital in Otsuchi and Yamada in Iwate Prefecture from February 2012.

Doctors of the World is now supporting a new clinic focusing on psychiatric outreach in the Soma and Minami-soma area (the “So-So” area) in Fukushima prefecture. Supporting a local NGO, we help organize psychological care, provide medical equipment and help the reconstruction of the local medical system. Psychiatric services have not been available since the earthquake and nuclear accident on March 11th in the So-So area. Most of the psychiatric clinics have been closed. The clinic will become a regional hub of psychiatric support. This project has been developed in cooperation with the Non-Profit Organizations Committee to create a totally new mental health care system.

RESULTS

Emergency Activities (03 April to 31 December 2011)
Days of Activity: 192 days
Doctors of the World Japan members involved: 188 people including 151 volunteers
959 consultations, including by phone; 253 prescriptions filled