French aid group MSF accuses US over Haiti delays

[bemildred]

Source: Reuters

PARIS, Jan 20 (Reuters) - One of France's main humanitarian organisations accused the United States on Wednesday of mishandling aid operations in Haiti and causing severe delays to doctors trying to bring vital help to victims of the earthquake.

Francoise Saulnier, head of the legal department of aid group Medicins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) said days had been lost because the main airport in Port-au-Prince, now under U.S. control, had been blocked by military traffic.

"We lost three days," she told Reuters Television in an interview. "And these three days have created a massive problem with infection, with gangrene, with amputations that are needed now, while we could have really spared this to those people."

The aid group, set up in 1971 by a group of journalists and doctors including France's current foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, has complained that 5 aeroplanes carrying 85 tonnes of drugs and surgical supplies have been turned away from Port-au-Prince since Sunday night.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE60J2CF._CH_.2420

[gateley]

1. I'm sorry to hear that. If the criticism is justified, I hope the situation is being rectified. nt

[bossy22]

2. ofcourse

in a large scale operation there are going to be delays, mistakes, bad calls, and logistic issues that are going ot cause problems. But i think overall the US military has done a fine job of getting things done down there- especially when it comes to logistics and C&C

If they are so unhappy with the way the U.S. is doing then why don't they take over? I'm sure MSF has the capabilities to logistically control all the airspace around haiti and make a destroyed port operational in 48 hrs.

[MindandSoul]

5. Maybe they should! At least they wouldn't stop flights full of

Doctors and medical supply from landing. . .while a plane carrying the PA Governor who came to "rescue" 35 orphans (who were not in direct danger) was authorized to land!

Even CNN said that was stupid! We all care about the orphans. . .but ONE doctor from the MWS plane would have been able to assure that 150 orphans were receiving all the care they needed. . .while the other 30 or 40 doctors could have saved the life of other Haitians!

[PacerLJ35]

12. It's about timing

If the flight with the PA governor arrived with minimal delay and/or they had enough fuel to hold, they cold get in. No one is "blocking" flights from landing. They are simply telling arriving airplanes to hold, and if they can't wait any longer they are directed to divert to one of several divert airfields. That's it...that's all. No grand conspiracy to keep DWB out.

[dipsydoodle]

7. Yes but you don't fuck up completely

on the issue of the urgency of search and rescue teams getting there in time to save lives in the short window of time that is open to them. MSF are not the only ones who've suffered from this. I'm guessing you're in the USA which means you've only been getting abbeviated news.

The excuse you've used was applied to Katrina too.

[bossy22]

8. me being from the USA does not have much to do with it

I'm looking at this situation through my many years of experience in the emergency services.

any large rescue operation starts off as "controlled chaos". it took the rescuers down at the towers on 9-11 almost 48 hours before they actually could coordinate a proper search/rescue/recovery and more than a week before the FDNY labled it a controlled scene.

the U.S. military has to deal with ONE working run way and limited re-fueling infrastructure. ofcourse there is going to be a log-jam. If you take a 4 lane busy highway and try to merge it into one lane, you could have the best drivers in the world on that road and you would still have a traffic jam

[sabrina 1]

80. I think they should. Someone else needs to take over.

Sanjay Gupta went to the airport today to see why the delivery of medicines has been so slow. He got there, apparently with no problem, spoke to some of the personel who were unable to give him answers as to why they could not get the supplies out to the people, asked for medicine for the hospital he had visited yesterday, and then left. He had no problem getting back, he delivered the supplies himself, and is still wondering what the problem is.

The military claimed they were worried about security. But that is not true. Reporters and other aid workers are not having any problems with security.

Before the military got there, other countries were getting in and getting to the people who needed help.

Ortega and Chavez and others who fear the mission of the U.S. is to protect American interests first, are being proven right. They have said themselves their primary goal is to 'secure the country'. An outrage as people are now dying needlessly simply because they are not getting proper treatment despite the fact that it is available.

Put the Israelis, or World Vision, the World Food organization in charge of distribution. Or even the media, they all seem to be able to get around without being assaulted or worrying about being attacked. the U.S. military seems to be the only people with that problem.

[PacerLJ35]

81. Take a look at these photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/usairforce/sets/72157623087518481/

Seems like they are all a bunch of grouchy mean people trying to invade poor Haiti, eh?

FWIW the US military has distributed tons of food, water and set up hospitals and even has rescue teams in the streets.

[sabrina 1]

91. No, I don't think they are all a bunch of mean, grouchy people.

I know that many of the troops themselves have said they prefer this kind of mission where they are helping people, rather than wars. And I know that when they are allowed to do so, they are a wonderful contribution to the effort to save lives.

The problem is not with the troops. It is with whoever planned this mission focusing on 'security' rather than what it is, a humanitarian mission.

There are tons of supplies stuck at the airport. Some of the reason for that is bad planning on someone's part. There is NO security issue and if reporters and other rescue workers had not demonstrated that, that is what we would have been led to believe.

Apparently no one has coordinated the effort, to let eg, the Chinese know that their supplies have arrived, or the Israelies or others and get them to either come and pick them up, or find a way to deliver them. ?

Gates himself said it the other day 'we have to first secure the country'. Giving the impression that these people were dangerous when nothing could be further from the truth. No one else felt the need to 'secure the country'. Not the Chinese, the French, the Venezuelans, Cubans, or anyone else. They got there and immediately went to work trying to save lives.

Someone needs to tell Gates, this is not a war, it is a humanitarian situation and time is of the essence. We don't need war mongers running humanitarian missions.

[Rebubula]

3. Haiti Earthquake

The biggest natural disaster in this hemisphere in a country with very poor infrastructure.

There were always going to be problems - the world responded the best that they could. Yes...some delays and screwups may have occurred, but I am quite certain none were done with malice.

People need to stop wagging fingers of accusation for now. There will be plenty of time to whine and bitch after the job is done.

[MindandSoul]

6. It would help if "PA GOVERNOR" didn't go for a "photo event"

to "rescue" 35 orphans who were not in danger. . .but keep a French flight full of Doctors and medical supplies from landing!

"photos opportunities" and "propaganda" should be put on the back burner. . .not the NEEDED assistance!

[hack89]

9. He didn't

he went in on a plane full of relief supplies. There is no point in flying planes back empty.

[Wilms]

10. Supplies could have taken the space that he did.

Really bad form IMO.

[jmowreader]

15. Look straight down

See the chair you're sitting on? That's all the space the PA governor took.

I assume Governor Rendell flew in on a C-17. Freight is palletized before it's put on an Air Force cargo plane so it can be unloaded quickly. They don't hand stack the freight in a cargo plane--it takes too long to get it on, and too long to get it off. They also don't put the freight along the sides of the plane, where the seats are (on an Air Force cargo plane, passengers sit along the sides of the plane facing inward) because they can't tie it down properly.

[Wilms]

19. Plenty of medics to take that spot.

Simple. Really.

Figure-heads at a place like that is bad form for a number of reasons. I didn't actually opine that. Others have amply.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

30. That same complaint could be lodged against any of the reporters who flew in

though, couldn't it? Why so selective in your criticism?

[Wilms]

31. I agree. Largely.

Why you being so picky?

[dipsydoodle]

34. I'm not sure they flew in direct.

More likely via the Dominican Republic.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

35. True, but then again, aid is also taking that route, so the criticism remains.

[dipsydoodle]

38. As far as I'm aware

none of the airlines from either the USA or Europe stopped their normal passenger flights into Santa Domingo. Would you have expected otherwise ? It was using such a flight that BA transported a huge volume of stuff FOC for Oxfam on their behalf.

[bemildred]

11. It looks bad.

Every posturing buffoon politician who shows up and does photo-ops looks bad. It shows a complete lack of clue.
No personal offense intended.

[MindandSoul]

4. I agree that Doctors and medical assistance should have priority

Priority over ANY country's military traffic! And if this is what delayed "Medecins sans frontiere" from being actively on site in Haiti. . .shame on U.S. Military!
In fact, CNN implied this much also!. . .

[PacerLJ35]

13. Military traffic is bringing in medical assistance, along with food and water

What do you think the military is bringing in? Only troops? Each flight is generally packed with pallets of water, food, medical supplies, search equipment or other stuff needed immediately. DWB is NOT the only organization going in there. FWIW, they have had many of their flights make it in, and only a few diverted. A few of my friends flying for the USAF have had to divert, so it's not something that's only being done to non-military traffic.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

14. Also bringing in construction equipment, supplies

to build at least one more runway, to try to get more air traffic capacity.

Plus, I think when MSF gets turned away, they divert to the Dominican Republic and come to Haiti via truck. It's not like they're being sent to France or something.

[alarimer]

75. And lots and lots of fucking guns

Make no mistake this is a military takeover by the US.

[PacerLJ35]

77. Guns are for defensive posture only...they don't even have body armor or helmets

[jmowreader]

16. Oh GOD...please STOP...

The military traffic is bringing in food, water and shelter IN ADDITION TO medical assistance. MSF is bringing in only medical assistance--their loads aren't big enough to be anything else.

"Johanne and Emmanuelle died. Johanne died of dehydration and Emmanuelle died from starvation...but they got to see a doctor!"

[ManiacJoe]

26. Alternatively,

the MSG planes could be too big to fit at the airport when MSF wants to land. Once again MSF has chosen not to disclose the reasons their planes are turned back. Reading between the lines from various posts, I suspect that there is something about the MSF planes that is not helping their cause.

While no one likes to be told that he is not the most important person in the world, MSF needs to work with the schedule makers to increase their priority if MSF does not like their ranking in the landing schedule. While medical supplies are the most important shipment in the view of the doctors, the larger picture requires those medical supplies to be interweaved with all the other "most important" shipments.

[jmowreader]

39. I have a feeling it's one of two things...

either they're just showing up without scheduling an unloading slot first, and there's nowhere to put them

or

they're showing up unscheduled with small loads and assuming that because they're hauling medical supplies they're entitled to land and be unloaded right now. Unfortunately, in an environment where EVERYTHING is critical, the Air Force unloaders are giving priority to planes with large loads. The MSF planes that are being turned away are carrying 12 tons of freight; a C-17 can carry 80 tons. If you were tasked with getting as much freight on the ground as you could because you knew everything being sent in is critical, and you had to take one of those two planes, which would you choose? Well, so is the Air Force.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

41. Also the MSF aircraft can not unload their 12 tons nearly as fast as the C-7 unloads its 80 tons

[jmowreader]

48. Especially since they're using really small side-door planes

The Air Force needs to be straight with these people: if you can't get an airplane we can't unload by driving a forklift into it, fly to the Dominican Republic for offload.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

49. Small capacity/slow to unload planes should not be used in this situation. MSF should know better

and do the right thing. There are commercial C-130s they could charter...alternatively fly to the US and transfer it to a military cargo aircraft. THe French government could also loan them one of theirs.

[BrightKnight]

24. .

[ProgressiveProfessor]

40. Just how clueless are you?

The "military traffic" is carrying needed supplies. Military cargo aircraft can be offloaded in a small fraction of the time a commercial airplane needs. They are not carrying troops and weapons, they are carrying relief supplies.

Also look at how things are being sequenced into the airport. Its not discriminatory.

[groundloop]

17. I generally am very supportive of Doctors Without Borders

and have donated to them. But in this case, to me anyway, it sounds like a small group of them is being a bit whiny when the military had to make tough decisions about the order in which planes get to use the single runway. (Of course I'm not condoning a politician tagging along for a photo-op - he could have been replaced by 20 or 30 gallons of water that would have been much more useful).

Yesterday while driving home I was listening to NPR, they were interviewing Haitians who seemed very grateful that the US military was there.

[bemildred]

18. MSF makes a coherent argument in the last 3 paragraphs

about why they think the way it is being done is medically wrong. In essence they assert that military logistics ought not be the first priority. They are not saying all this other stuff ought not be done, they are saying it is not the medically most important thing. Any refutation of their view needs to address that.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

42. It starts with its not military logistic as the first priority

A high throughput system has been organized and its working about as well as can be expected. Its military logisticians who are executing the direction from the UN, Haiti etc.

Military cargo aircraft are markedly superior for this kind of operation. The unload in a small fraction of the time a commercial plane does. Just because things are coming in on C-17 does not mean its guns and bombs.

[bemildred]

50. So you feel that the extra dead people and amputations is just beside the point?

This all reminds me of Katrina very much, and I expect the same sort of results both politically and on the ground.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

51. We know that other medical units have arrived and are functional

MSF could be the same. Use the right kind of aircraft and work within the framework. Others are, why won't they? This is not the only issue MSF has had in Haiti.

One thought that comes to mind is that there are small strips a plane of that size could use. Have to wonder why they have not gone there.

[bemildred]

52. There seems to be a lack of communication of some sort.

In emergency situations that is a bad thing. I think it's an issue that needs to be addressed, and not by speculation about who's fault it is.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

55. MSF "bulletins" are not helping either

[bemildred]

57. I don't consider them immune to criticism either.

But it's gotta go both ways. People that say it's a messy business are right. People that say emergency treatment for the injured should come first are right. It was a big mess, no question about that. The rubber hits the road in how you reconcile all those true things.

[elleng]

20. Hate this headline, love MSF/DWB.

[C_Lawyer09]

21. The Peanut Gallery

While realizing that everybody has an opinion, I'm curious..... Has anybody on this thread been an: Air Traffic Controller, Air Load Planner, Unit Movement Officer, Load Master, or any combination thereof? There is a reason why SeaBees are enroute to construct field expedient air strips. There is also a reason that a whole bunch of Parachute Riggers are hard at work right now constructing many and various types of aerial delivery and air land relief bundles. I can almost guarantee you, as somebody who has constructed many load plans for KC-130, 141, and C-17 aircraft that there is plenty of space that can't be used for palletized cargo, that can be used for an individual person. Fuselage stations (how the equipment is locked into place) and center of balance issues/regs provide ample space, for a person or two, where cargo cannot be loaded. Bear in mind, jerry cans of fuel and water aren't just thrown in there loosely. I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but it seems like many want to pull out the blame thrower, with extremely limited information, and/or knowledge of which they speak. Thus far I've been amazed at how much we've gotten down range in such a short time.

[bemildred]

22. Hmmm, so are you a doctor?

This seems like a medical emergency to me. What is your expertise about that sort of thing? Better at it than MSF you think? Might they have something relevant to say?

[C_Lawyer09]

23. It may be relevant, it may not

My point is that many knee jerk reactions are misguided. There are many doctors whom have gotten there. It has become a game of he said/she said. It will continue to be so until resources/access are improved. I spoke to the area/s in which I do have personal experience, and arguably, expertise. There is a former Logistics Officer on here, though I can't think of her handle, that did an awesome break down of the current debacle. My only small disagreement with her, was although space is definitely limited, I believe a 600 meter drop zone could be surveyed and secured. Thereby massively increasing relief capability. Now, having said that, I fully concede that she may be right. I'm not nor ever will be a doctor. I'm not a lawyer either, though many on here seem to think I'm attempting to fake the funk, it is simply a play on words from an old Marine Corps slogan. My real area of expertise is food delivery. In '97 I once delivered over 20 orders in under three and a half hours.

[bemildred]

27. I'm all for open minds and more thought.

As I said above, MSF makes a coherent argument for why they think the priorities are wrong. That argument needs to be heard and addressed. It should have been heard and addressed immediately when it was first made. They are not saying that what we are doing is wrong, they are saying we are doing it at the wrong time. I sense a certain knee-jerk defensivenes on more than one side here.

[C_Lawyer09]

28. I can't disagree with your basic premise

But maybe I wasn't very clear. My point is that this is an argument that can't be solved, provided there is one airport supporting countless organizations plus the military, especially as the military has brought in a buttload of military supplies as well as medical staff. Until other field expedient alternatives are available, this will continue to be a problem. This is why I feel we need to be more flexible and creative in the beginning of relief missions, rather than mission commanders writing off various possibilities from the get go. Prime example, aerial delivery. The mission commander based this judgement on what happened in Somalia when Somalis' were trying to catch the loads as they fell to the earth.

[bemildred]

29. OK. We sort of agree. I don't think any military commander should be running this.

That is not their proper role. It is not a war. Far from it. It is not that I think the military has no role to play. There have been way too many blowhards bickering over who gets photo-ops and credit for rescuing Haiti too. It is not a movie either, or a political opportunity. They can do all that stuff later.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

44. The miliary is not "running this". Piroritiies are being set by the UN, Haiti and USAID

[bemildred]

46. Please see the post I responded to.

Which asserts: "This is why I feel we need to be more flexible and creative in the beginning of relief missions, rather than mission commanders writing off various possibilities from the get go."

[PacerLJ35]

33. They already have a drop zone secured, and have already used it

Mind you, I'm talking about "real" airdrops, like from airplanes. Not food dropped from a hovering helicopter.

[jmowreader]

59. My opinion about MSF

When they started showing up in Haitian airspace with 12-ton loads demanding ramp priority over C-17s carrying 80-ton loads, they proved themselves to be...well, slightly irrelevant. It's called working with others and MSF doesn't seem to want to.

[bemildred]

60. So you think, basically, it's all about air traffic control.

If you don't do a good job communicating with air traffic control, then that makes you irrelevant.

[jmowreader]

63. It may very well be

that MSF thinks their planes have absolute priority over everyone, so they're just sending them down there without ramp appointments and getting pissed when the USAF doesn't just tell all those C-17s and C-130s full of food and water to orbit while MSF takes over the ramp unloading medical supplies. So yeah, kicking and screaming like MSF is doing makes you irrelevant--they're not the only hospital in town. The Canadian Army has one in Haiti and the USNS Comfort is parked off the coast.

The thing is, every plane going into Haiti has a critical load on it--and although I don't have the cargo manifests I'm fairly confident there are some medical supplies on every one of our flights. The question is, has MSF tried to get their stuff loaded on larger transports?

[bemildred]

64. Well, thank you for clarifying your views. nt

[PacerLJ35]

69. It's not about communicating effectively...it's called a MOG

MOG = Maximum aircraft On the Ground. It's the max an airfield can handle without serious lapses in safety. Aircraft are told to hold once they arrive. The Haitian Coordination center makes the call on who's most important, not the US military proper. They prioritize the flights, and those that have the fuel can wait it out. If they bingo out on gas, they have to divert unless their turn to make an approach to MTPP is up.

US military aircraft have been diverted as well. MSF is not the only organization that has had aircraft divert, but they are the only ones complaining. A guy I know who's an engineer on MC-130 Combat Talons held so long they had to hit a tanker...luckily they can refuel in flight or they would have to divert to PR or Miami.

[bemildred]

71. There are actually quite a few parties complaining.

Governments even.

[mainer]

61. This says it's at least a 41-ton portable hospital

Sounds like their plane was carrying more than a 12-ton load.
----------

Boing Boing: What is the total weight of these portable hospitals you're shipping by cargo plane?

Laurent Dedieu, MSF, New York: The total weight is around 41 metric tons for the nine tents and all of the logistics equipment: Air conditioners, electricity. Not medical equipment, just the logistical part of the hospital.

Boing Boing: How much of this gear is off-the-shelf, and how much do you have to modify or develop yourselves?

Laurent Dedieu, MSF, New York: We are working with standard MSF equipment, we have R&D centers and storage in Europe, in Bordeaux and Brussels. When the equipment reaches the field, typically you have to face some technical issues, some small problems, but the big issues have been solved. One of the problems we had the first time we used this hospital in Pakistan was that there was a big difference in temperature between day and night, at night the tents were deflating. The pressure inside the tent was not enough and was creating a problem. Now we have gauges that constantly measure the pressure and trigger compressors to re-inflate if it goes too low.

[jmowreader]

65. The reports (don't ask for a link pls) I have seen...

indicate the MSF loads that are being waved off are only 12 tons. IIRC they sent 19 planes into Haiti and only five were diverted, all of which were small loads. I saw footage of one of the MSF field hospital planes--it's a privately-owned former Soviet Air Force cargo plane that looked like an Ilyushin-76--which is about the same size as the old C-141.

Lesson learned: in disaster relief, bigger is better.

[BrightKnight]

66. It was at least two flights and one got through

from what I remember reading from the MSF page.

They also got in a plane load of cooking kits, plastic and medical kits.

[PacerLJ35]

32. I'm a current C-130 pilot

I'm not an expert in all things, but I have participated in things like this. My dad also works for NGA in the aeronautical division, and they've been really busy taking care of airspace and coordination efforts for the Haiti airports.

[EFerrari]

36. You must amaze pretty easily. And this member of the Peanut Gallery

is agreeing with MSF, thanks. Have you ever been a doctor or a nurse? Because I've yet to hear one of those praise this mission.

[BrightKnight]

25. ...or they are blaming some of their logistics problems on the airport

They have been saying the same thing about their field hospital being redirected for the past week. They will not have their hospital setup until at least Friday. Other field hospitals have been trucked in, setup, staffed, supplied, and run around the clock in that time.

They did get a flight in with cooking kits and plastic and medical kits from a warehouse. MSF, UNICEF and other charities love to do fund raising to fill warehouses with cookie cutter kits that may or may not be very useful in an actual emergency.

I donated to MSF hours after the disaster and I have been donating to them monthly for years. I would like to know why they are not getting it done. They have been blaming the airport from the beginning and it is wearing thin.

[EFerrari]

37. Where are these staffed and supplied field hospitals?

The only ones I know of are the ones the Cubans set up and they were already there before the quake hit.

MSF isn't the only organization making this same complaint, either. The General Hospital in PaP said earlier today (or yesterday) that they are running out of everything they were able to salvage from the quake. The director said he had to go to a hardware store to buy hacksaws to do amputations.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

45. Israel has a hospital unit there as well

[EFerrari]

53. That's right. It doesn't sound like a very big operation but I'm sure

that doesn't matter to the people they are helping.

IDF sets up field hospital in Haiti
January 17, 2010


The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Medical and Rescue Team has set up a field hospital and begun rescuing and treating earthquake victims in the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince.

The IDF team is locating and rescuing survivors trapped in ruined buildings, including many who were injured during the collapse of the UN headquarters.

The field hospital is equipped to receive dozens of ambulances evacuating the injured from the disaster-struck areas. Between Friday night and Saturday, dozens of truckloads of medical and logistical equipment were unloaded and the hospital was set up.

http://www.israel21c.org/briefs/israel-army-sets-up-field-hospital-in-haiti

[mainer]

56. good for them, but did they get priority landing

because Israel is a "special" friend of the US? And the French got dissed because theyr'e, well, French?

It just makes you wonder.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

68. Unknownh. They have come on an aircraft that supports RORO

which the MSF one does not per a prior poster

[BrightKnight]

62. IDF, Various IFRC organizations, UK NHS...

http://www.redcross.ca/print.asp?id=033955

http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/world/article/424434---huge-red-cross-aid-convoy-with-field-hospital-heading-to-haiti-from-dominican-republic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX-UmrFAWNw

The IDF hospital was two planes very early. Given what they accomplished. I would give them high priority. I am guessing that they just got in early enough to beat the backlogs.

I read somewhere that MSF was having trouble moving it from a warehouse in Bordeaux? They have been posting that the diverted second flight would take 18 hours to deliver by ground for the past week.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8471903.stm

There are others as well. Google...

[ProgressiveProfessor]

47. When this is over I expect someone will run this to ground, and I expect MSF be shown to be a whiner

Its telling that the Israelis and the Cubans got their hospital units in and operating in the current situation and MSF is mostly whining.

[EFerrari]

54. The Cubans were already there before the earthquake.

That's how they were the first to set up the following day.

[MellowDem]

43. What a great group...

the biggest crisis we've faced in a while and all they can do is play the blame game. God these people are disgusting. It's all about them and their little politics. When you have only one working runway at the airport, some planes will be turned away, and just because your group was turned away doesn't mean that other goods that are more important than yours aren't getting in. Just STFU and do what you're supposed to do.

[mainer]

58. Here's what was kept OUT of Haiti for far too long -- MSF hospital

Which is finally being set up. MSF clearly has the experience and the equipment for this.

I'm just curious: why were the Israelis and THEIR mobile hospital allowed in, no problem, while Doctors Without Borders was kept out for so long? Is it because of anti-French sentiment in the US military?

---------------------

How do you create a surgery center in a disaster zone in the shortest amount of time possible? The aid group Doctors Without Borders (aka Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF) has developed what they call a "plug and play hospital," a series of inflatable tents with generators and sanitation equipment designed to be mostly independent from the water and power systems typically unavailable after a catastrophe. They are setting up one of these in Haiti right now. To learn more, I spoke to MSF Logistics Supervisor Laurent Dedieu in New York and Hocine Bouhabib in Haiti, who is managing the tent hospital setup today in Port-au-Prince.

Boing Boing: There are reports that MSF and other aid groups in Haiti have been frustrated by delays in getting supplies where they're needed. Were your inflatable hospital supplies delayed?

Hocine Bouhabib, MSF, Haiti: Yes, but the tents and technical equipment have finally arrived. The first shipment left Bordeaux, France, last Friday morning and was supposed to land in Port-au-Prince on Saturday, but after one and a half hours flying around Port-au-Prince, we were diverted to another site on the eastern side of the island, in the Dominican Republic. The airport there was not well-equipped, and unloading took us many hours and cost a lot of energy. We drove it in trucks to Port-au-Prince, and have been working nonstop, in 8 hour teams that switch off and go through the day and night. We hope to start offering medical treatment inside these structures Friday morning, if we can continue setup at this pace.

Boing Boing: As we speak right now, where are you in the setup process?

Hocine, MSF, Haiti: We've set up the plastic tile flooring, and we're connecting them on the floor. The mobile field hospital is 9 tents, and each is about 100 square meters, so the total is about 900 square meters. The land we're using is a former football field, so it's the perfect space for this, nice and flat. Port au Prince is very hilly, not much level ground, so we're lucky.

I want to start the activity as soon as possible. When you walk through Port au Prince and see all the devastation caused by the earthquake, and see all the injured people just sitting in the streets, patients just lying outside, and our medical team operating in very, very bad conditions -- they are waiting urgently for the structure. Our doctors have been doing their best but in a very bad environment.

Boing Boing: Did your equipment make it in good condition?

Hocine, MSF, Haiti: Yes, because we followed it ourselves, I was in the plane personally with the first cargo, and other colleagues followed the second cargo, and we accompanied it from the airport here on the island. No damage. The frustration the delay because of the problems in landing the aircraft. Without this we could have started the surgical activity 2 days ago.

Boing Boing: What does one of these inflatable hospital consist of?

Laurent Dedieu, MSF, New York: 9 tents, 100 beds, including hospitalization and ICU and recovery beds. A triage and emergency tent, and two operations theatres. The idea is that within the tent we have a complete kit we can deploy including energy supply, water supply, all the sanitation, and all medical equipment inside the tent. In Haiti, everything needed to run a hospital including beds and biomedical equipment is included.

http://www.the-peoples-forum.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=16530

[BrightKnight]

67. MSF / Doctors Without Borders is base in Switzerland

The whole point of the organization is that it is not French or any other nationality. It was founded by a small group of French doctors but politicizing aid goes against everything the organization stands for.

I have questions about their logistics and whining but they do good work and I will continue to support them.

[PacerLJ35]

70. The US military doesn't have an anti-French sentiment

My squadron in Texas had a French exchange officer. We work with the French in Afghanistan all the time. MSF had several flights make it in, and a few were diverted...this happened to many organizations trying to make it in, including US military aircraft.

[bemildred]

72. What is delaying Haiti's aid?

---

The US Army has been deployed in vast numbers in Haiti, both to help with the aid effort and to help maintain law and order.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has complained that the rush to get troops into the country has been at the expense of the delivery of humanitarian supplies.

"Everything has been mixed together and the urgent and vital attention to the people have been delayed while military logistics - which is useful but not on day three, not on day four, but maybe on day eight - has really jammed the airport and led to this mismanagement."

MSF say one of its planes carrying 12 tonnes of medical supplies was repeatedly turned away from the airport despite having prior permission to land.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8472670.stm

[PacerLJ35]

79. Much of the aid being brought in is specifically designed to get the aid off airplanes...

not to mention food, water and medical supplies....I imagine they could use that prior to day eight.

[PacerLJ35]

73. Some good photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/usairforce/sets/72157623087518481/

[NoSheep]

90. Thank you for posting those. A positive look at what is being done.

[alarimer]

74. We're too busy militarizing the country

We care more about illusory security than about actually helping the people. This despite the fact that there isn't much insecurity there at all. Listen to Democracy Now; they reveal the lies from the US Military about this. We are militarily occupying yet another country for no reason.

[Sultana]

76. BULLSHIT

Why do u hate America?

[PacerLJ35]

78. Try taking a look at the pics in the post above...

I guess all those people are busy "invading" Haiti, right?

[defendandprotect]

82. Really, really sad --- "America" . . . where did you go?

We've morphed into the MIC, evidently!!

[PacerLJ35]

83. Military is doing quite a bit for the people of Haiti

Unfortunately there are too many "media" sources with their own agendas...to either purposefully misinform and paint the US as bad, or a desire to create their own sensational story about botched aid efforts.

This is a lot like giving someone CPR and then having a news crew arrive and tell everyone you are trying to kill the victim by not performing it just so. So much for trying hard.

[defendandprotect]

84. Give it up . . .

[PacerLJ35]

85. Doubtful...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/usairforce/sets/72157623087518481/

Yep, looks like they aren't doing crap to help anyone in those pictures...

[defendandprotect]

86. No chocolate bars . . . ??? Give it up . . .

[PacerLJ35]

87. Ummm, last I checked I don't think you get to decide whether I keep debating my point

[defendandprotect]

89. No ... but I get to decide to put you on ignore ....

However, like one or two others here like you --

I find it interesting to watch --

So -- no ignore yet -- but perhaps soon . . .

[PacerLJ35]

92. Good for you...doesn't change my perspective a bit

[PacerLJ35]

88. Video of one of the "invaders"

This guy is with the 40th Airlift Squadron out of Dyess AFB, TX. The squadron (along with the 39th, also at Dyess) has been flying round the clock to support Haiti. Just to put a human face on those going down there. They aren't a bunch of meathead grunts looking for a fight, as some people contend.

http://www.reporternews.com/videos/detail/dyess-provide-aid-haiti/

[PacerLJ35]

93. Another good video

Hopefully this might give some a little insight into the USAF operations...

This C-17 performed an airdrop over Haiti, delivering many tons of needed food and water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4VO_E-4P_s