COVID-19 Bangladesh Project #44847

COVID-19 Response for Displaced Communities

by Peace Winds America

Project Report | Nov 17, 2022
Supporting Medical Staff Through Japan's 7th Wave

By Sarah Maraschky | Communications Associate

ICU staff receive vinyl gowns

The ARROWS medical team, Peace Winds’ airborne search-and-rescue squad, has been supporting treatment for patients infected with COVID-19 in Japan and in developing countries around the world. In August 2022, Japan saw a massive wave of infections in the country’s seventh Coronavirus wave. ARROWS has responded by providing various types of support around the country.

Staff at Okayama University Hospital have been working hard to provide care to COVID patients throughout the pandemic, but a lack of supplies during intense waves has put both staff and patients at greater risk of serious illness. Peace Winds donated 5,000 vinyl gowns to Okayama University Hospital in response to the seventh wave, and ARROWS teams are doing their best to keep extra gowns stocked in the Peace Winds warehouse in the midst of equipment shortages.

In Osaka Prefecture, Peace Winds and ARROWS dispatched coordinators to medical waiting stations to support hospital staff. ARROWS team members with administrative experience organize materials and equipment, input and organize patient data, respond to ambulance crews who bring in patients, and communicate with other health centers in the area. This takes some of the responsibility off of medical personnel so that they are better able to focus on treating patients.

Finally, medical facilities in Hiroshima Prefecture have dealt with clusters of COVID outbreaks during the seventh wave and have been in need of support. ARROWS dispatched its own doctors and nurses to lend a hand there. In addition to providing staff support, Peace Winds has been providing lectures and educational activities in Hiroshima Prefecture to ensure medical professionals are familiar with best practices to mitigate disease spread when it comes to things like putting on and taking off personal protective equipment.

As COVID infections continue to rise and fall, Peace Winds and ARROWS are working closely with medical professionals to provide support wherever we can. Thank you for your support.

Donating vinyl medical gowns

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Jul 28, 2022
Helping Medical Professionals Prepare for Outbreaks

By Sarah Maraschky | Communications Associate

Consultation at health facility for the elderly

The ARROWS medical team, Peace Winds’ airborne search-and-rescue squad, has been supporting treatment for patients infected with COVID-19 in Japan and in developing countries around the world. By March 2022, ARROWS was operating more than 30 on-site support activities at hospitals and medical facilities; now the teams are focusing on public lectures and educational activities to help other medical professionals and individuals mitigate the risks of COVID in their own lives rather than providing direct medical care to patients.

Doctor Daizo Sakata is one of the ARROWS doctors who has been active as a member of the response group in Hiroshima Prefecture, and he recently had the opportunity to speak at an infectious diseases workshop hosted by a health center in Hiroshima. Representatives from many health facilities attended, including hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, educational institutions, and facilities for children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

Doctor Sakata spoke with participants about the difficulty of dealing with outbreaks after they occur and emphasized the importance of instead preparing for outbreaks in advance. He conducted a questionnaire on the topic and found that while many facilities stockpile personal protective equipment, there are still a few that don’t sufficiently prepare for outbreaks in advance.

Although the mortality rate from COVID has decreased, the reality remains that many infected people end up needing long-term care, and the risk of serious illness and death is even higher for elderly patients. Additionally, it is common for hospital staff themselves to become infected, spread COVID to their friends and family members, and have to take time off work, resulting in staff shortages. Therefore, it is important for health facilities to make plans in advance to operate with fewer staff members during an outbreak.

Since October 2020, Peace Winds has been holding consultations with facilities that serve people with disabilities and the elderly, and so far our teams have helped more than 220 of these to better treat their patients. COVID has dealt the world many unexpected challenges over the last two years, and since the disease isn’t going away any time soon, Peace Winds will continue to work with health leaders to help them best prepare for the unexpected.

Infectious disease workshop attendees

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Mar 28, 2022
Sanitation and ICU Projects in Myanmar and Iraq

By Sarah Maraschky | Communications Associate

COVID prevention class at school in Myanmar

Among the challenges brought by economic uncertainty and political unrest in places like Myanar and Iraq, citizens of these countries still have to worry about infection from COVID-19. Peace Winds remains committed to reducing the risk of infection for these people where space and sanitation is often limited.

Last month, Peace Winds completed a water supply project in Myanmar near the border of Thailand. The project has been two years in the making. Although the pandemic created challenges for the team, getting clean water to the residents of the Kayin State border region was crucial in mitigating the spread of COVID by ensuring that beneficiaries have water for bathing and hand washing. Additionally, Peace Winds conducted COVID prevention classes for students and adults in the community, helping them learn skills like good hygiene and social distancing.

Peace Winds has also been hard at work supporting ICU facilities in Duhok, northern Iraq where conflicts have led to a shortage of medical infrastructure. The only general hospital in Duhok has been tasked with handling moderate to severe COVID cases; however, it is important for the hospital to retain its original function by tending to diseases that smaller hospitals cannot handle. Peace Winds helped the hospital expand its existing COVID treatment ward and provided ICU beds, respirators, medical monitors, and oxygen generators and piping equipment. This way, doctors and nurses in Duhok can tend to more COVID patients while also maintaining the capacity to treat other cases.

Peace Winds would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the donors and followers who have made these projects possible. We look forward to reducing the risk of COVID for even more vulnerable populations in 2022, and we hope you will continue to follow our work here on GlobalGiving and on social media.

Myanmar beneficiaries now get water to their homes

Additional ICU beds in Duhok to treat COVID

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