Five on Friday: Fleeing Venezuela

Migrant Clinicians Network is small but mighty. One of our strengths is our geographical reach, with clinician partners across the US and beyond. Our staff are equally as diverse in location. One of our newest staff members in Puerto Rico is watching closely as the island determines how to set priorities in case of the next major hurricane. Our California office, located in Chico, is just down the hill from the devastation of the Camp Fire -- and our colleagues there are working after hours to assist the newly homeless gain access to needed services. Both regions are evidence of the unequal recovery of vulnerable populations after disasters. Paradise was well known as an older and poor town, and there is a growing fear that recovery from the fire will be long and difficult. Similarly, over a year after Hurricane Maria, reports indicate that the most vulnerable populations were the hardest hit. The Fourth National Climate Assessment, released last week, confirms this trend: “People who are already vulnerable, including lower-income and other marginalized communities, have lower capacity to prepare for and cope with extreme weather and climate-related events and are expected to experience greater impacts.” Indeed, the report notes, these groups are already feeling the impacts. We work hard to empower communities to take into account the most vulnerable, like the mobile poor,when disaster strikes. Read more about our work in emergency disaster response. Here are a few more recommended readings from our staff, in this week’s Five on Friday:

Lasz, Co-Chief Medical Officer, forwarded the AAFP recommendations to HHS about social determinants of health, which includes resources and ideas.

Marysel, Program Manager, shared, “Gobierno hace entrega parcial de planes de emergencia tras demanda del CPI,” which notes that newly released emergency plan for medical services does not indicate how health services will be managed for patients with chronic conditions such as kidney disease, cancer, and diabetes, as well as oxygen-dependents.

Jillian, Director of Education and Communication, sent around: “This Powerful 9-Minute Film Shows the Plight of Camp Fire Victims.”

Claire, Writer and Editor, shared a new journal article, entitled, “The unequal vulnerability of communities of color to wildfire.” She also shared, “Months after Hurricane Florence, undocumented farmworkers still struggle to recover.” 

Karen, CEO, sent around this USA Today article, “Fleeing Venezuela, migrants flood Colombia amid region’s worst humanitarian crisis in decades.”

Have a safe and healthy weekend.

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