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Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health has a number of faculty members engaged in, or with expertise relevant to, the current crisis in Haiti:

• Coordination – Coordination of response in the immediate aftermath of a disaster is an obvious challenge. Mailman faculty are actively working to ensure clinical and scientific expertise is available to support key ‘on the ground’ priorities.
  Experts: Ron Waldman (Currently in Port-Au-Prince working as Coordinator of U.S. Government Medical and Health Emergency Response), Neil Boothby, Richard Garfield, and Irwin Redlener
• Public Health Priorities – Reducing the potential for excess deaths of up to 90,000 people in the next year due to earthquake-related risks is the immediate public health priority for Haiti.  The success of such efforts will depend on the ability of the international community to support Haiti in training and employing a competent workforce to establish and operate robust public health systems. Experts: Neil Boothby and Richard Garfield
• Do No Harm – Local resources and capability will be the basis of longer term recovery. The current case of the alleged ‘kidnapping’ of children in Haiti (below) may be seen as a vivid example of this. Mailman faculty have worked with all leading international non-governmental agencies to develop guidelines to ensure that all interventions to address mental health and psychosocial support are being used to structure the current response by all UN and international agencies working in Haiti.
  Experts: Mike Wessells and Alastair Ager
• Family Unity – Americans were arrested in Port-au-Prince recently for trying to take “orphaned” Haitian children to a safe haven in the Dominican Republic. The presumption that the children would be better cared for outside of Haiti contradicts the lessons learned from previous disasters. Separating Haitian children from their extended families and their country of origin can result in long-term harm.
  Expert: Neil Boothby
• Haiti's Children – Children represent an unusually high proportion of Haiti's population and, when final disaster-related mortality and morbidity is better understood, we can expect an enormous and disproportionate toll on the nation's youngest citizens.  It is critical that all aspects of response and recovery of Haiti fully grasp the issues that are affecting children and what measures will be taken to make sure they get the care and follow-up that is necessary. Expert: Irwin Redlener
• Long-term Mental Health Needs – The Haiti earthquake has disrupted the care and treatment of those with major existing psychiatric illnesses, making them amongst the most vulnerable In the short term, provision of practical and social supports will be crucial in mitigating the psychological consequences of the disasters. In the longer-term, significant efforts to identify those in the population with enduring mental health needs will be needed. Expert: Sandro Galea

To schedule an interview with one of the Mailman School experts, please contact Stephanie Berger at 212-305-4372, sb2247@columbia.edu.