Israel’s disaster relief efforts: Examples from Asia, Africa and Central America in 2005-6
Published: 25 September 2006 Briefing Number 184	Click to Print

Unseen by the world, Israel has continued helping some of the most vulnerable people in the world recover from natural disasters.

Helping Ivory Coast deal with accidental spillage of poisonous waste

In September 2006 Israel sent a shipment of emergency supplies to Ivory Coast in West Africa to help the country deal with a disastrous spillage of poisonous waste in a lagoon surrounding the capital of Abidjan . The lives of thousands of people were threatened by poisoning. The medical supplies comprised antibiotics and medical equipment (source: Foreign Ministry statement, 20 September 2006 )

Mashav – Israel 's international humanitarian cooperation agency

The information below is taken from the 2005 Annual Report of Mashav, the international cooperation department of Israel 's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Report is published on the Ministry's website under ‘International Development' – www.mfa.gov.il )

Two disasters in El Salvador – Israel sends experts to plan relief efforts

In the space of a few weeks in October 2005, the Central American state of El Salvador was struck by two unconnected natural disasters: a volcanic eruption, and heavy flooding and landslides as a result of Hurricane Stan. In November 2005 two Mashav experts from Israel arrived in El Salvador to outline an emergency medical relief plan to respond to the situation

Anniversary of the Asian Tsunami in Thailand

In December 2005, Israel marked the first anniversary of the Asian Tsunami by providing the following assistance in Thailand :-

• Israel 's emergency health service Magen David Adom donated two fully-equipped ambulances to a hospital in the Thai town of Krabi
  
  
• The Israel Defence Forces donated a Mobile Heart Monitor for an ambulance-ship stationed at Phi Phi Island in Thailand
  
  
• A fully equipped computer classroom was donated to a school in Krabi

Kenya - donation of ambulances to the local Red Cross

In 2005 Israel 's Magen David Adom, working with Israel 's Foreign Ministry, donated two ambulances to the Kenyan Red Cross. The vehicles will be the first to serve a Kenyan region with a population of some 600,000 people. The ambulances were shipped to Kenya for free by Israeli shipping company Zim.

Senegal – repair of dialysis unit in local hospital

In 2002 Mashav and Israel 's National Health Fund Kupat Cholim donated a dialysis unit to a hospital in Dakar , the capital of the West African state of Senegal . In 2005 Mashav provided an expert to repair the unit and return it to full operation.

Related Resources

Beyond Images Briefing 125 ( 3 January 2005 ): The Asian Tsunami - Israeli disaster relief efforts

And see, generally – www.israel21c.org