Canadian Medical Assistance Teams (CMAT) is a Canadian grassroots, non profit disaster relief organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Through its medical relief and development projects, CMAT seeks to improve the health and welfare of families both in Canada and in developing countries around the world.
History Canadian Medical Assistance Teams was established in 2004 in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami as the medical arm of Canadian Relief Foundation. Two teams of paramedics from British Columbia and Saskatchewan were deployed to Banda Aceh, Indonesia to provide medical aid to the victims of the disaster. With lessons learned in Indonesia, CMAT prepared for further deployments.
Deployments CMAT has a database of over 1000 health professionals from across Canada, one of its strengths is the ability to be flexible. CMAT is firmly dedicated to building capacity in the communities provided with assistance, and so any project which is initiated will only be in direct partnership with local authorities and with the support, guidance and permission of the host government.
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami was the first time CMAT sent medical teams overseas. Over the course of eight weeks, three Canadian medical teams consisting of paramedics and physicians were deployed to Indonesia, with the first team deploying within 10 days of disaster. CMAT's medical team worked alongside teams from Mercy Malaysia and collaborated with Canadian consular officials from Jakarta, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to establish medical stations and administer medical care and first aid to displaced persons in Medan, Banda Aceh, and Meuloboh, Indonesia.
2005 Hurricane Katrina On August 29, 2005, the Category 5 Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southeast Louisiana. It caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas, much of it due to the storm surge. CMAT deployed an assessment team to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After three days in the Area of Operations (AOO) and completion of an on-ground tactical assessment, it was determined that CMAT's trauma team of physicians, trauma nurses and flight paramedics should not be deployed to the area. The two-member assessment team cited significant political infighting and substantial lack of command and control structure, which together posed serious problems for logistical support and basic information.
2005 Kashmir earthquake On October 8, 2005, a major earthquake registered a moment magnitude of 7.6 in Azad Kashmir, near the city of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan. Occurring at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time, it registered a moment magnitude of 7.6 The disaster destroyed 50% of the buildings in Muzaffarabad (including most of the official buildings) and is estimated to have killed up to 80,000 people in the Pakistani-controlled areas of Kashmir, alone. The severity of the damage caused by the earthquake is attributed to severe upthrust, coupled with poor construction.
CMAT focused its efforts in northern Pakistan, initially in Bagh and Muzaffarabad areas sending an assessment team from Canada on October 10, consisting of search and rescue, logistics and paramedics, as well as an emergency physician. In addition, CMAT's staff in Kabul, Afghanistan conducted an assessment in affected areas in eastern Afghanistan.
This initial assessment team was followed by ten rotations of teams every three weeks, the second of which departed on October 21, 2005. The teams initially worked alongside members of the Rotary Club of Islamabad and Rawalpindi to deliver emergency medical relief, and assist and support medical staff at hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi which had been deluged with quake victims airlifted from the field. Subsequent teams were stationed in Muzaffarabad, working out of Abbass hospital, and in collaboration with the US Army's 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) Hospital, and in Garhi Dopatta, working with the Canadian Forces Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) Team, and United Nations Health Cluster.
On November 3, 2005, CMAT announced that it has been awarded over $190,000 in funding for two of its projects as part of the fund matching program through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The funds were sent to support medical teams in Muzzafferabad and other quake devastated areas.
2007 South Asian floods The 2007 South Asian floods were a series of floods in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. News Agencies, citing the Indian and Bangladeshi governments, placed the death toll in excess of 2,000. By 3 August approximately 20 million had been displaced and by 10 August some 30 million people in India, Bangladesh and Nepal had been affected by flooding.
CMAT deployed a 2-member assessment team to Dhaka, Bangladesh to meet its local partner on August 18, 2007. According to CMAT assessment team, doctors and nurses were overwhelmed at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh hospital, as over 1800 patients were being seen every 24 hours with acute GI distress, typhoid, skin and eye infections and severe dehydration with outside temperatures reaching 33 degrees Celsius.
A four-member team consisting of advanced care paramedics and a nurse practitioner were deployed to Bangladesh, in collaboration with a local partner Fazlullah Foundation, and spent three weeks providing medical relief in Gopalganj District (Bangladesh), one of the most flood affected areas in Bangladesh alongside the Bangladesh Auxiliary Services for Social Advancement (BASSA).
2008 Sichuan earthquake, China
CMAT deployed their assessment team to the province of Sichuan in China, where an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred on May 12, 2008 at approximately 14:00 local time. Reports indicated over 68,000 people died, including many school children trapped in collapsed school buildings.
The assessment team conducted an in-depth assessment of the region, partnering with contacts on the ground, and advised that the Chinese government, military and local Red Cross had done a commendable job in the rescue and recovery effort. With over 100,000 Chinese Military and over 1000 medical staff in the region, the most seriously injured citizens had already been evacuated to larger centres. CMAT's offer of providing medical teams to the area was declined by Government officials, and it was on their advice that CMAT has decided to immediately shift the focus of the relief effort in China. CMAT investigated other projects which were completed with donor funding.
In 2010, CMAT Chair visited the temporary home of the Mianyang Youxian District Special Education School, and presented a cheque for ¥85,000 (approx $12,500 CAD).
2010 Haiti earthquake, Haiti
A magnitude 7.0 quake with countless aftershocks struck the island nation of Haïti on January 12, 2010. Nearly 300,000 people perished in the highly populated Caribbean nation, and an assessment team was immediately deployed to the impoverished nation. The earthquake, centered 15 km from the capitol of Port-au-Prince caused tremendous devastation to vast areas of the country.
CMAT's initial assessment team conducted intense reconnaissance in the capitol and in the environs, meeting with United Nations officials, and other partner organizations. In collaboration with Canadian Armed Forces, CMAT based its field hospital operation in the city of Léogâne, approximately 35 southwest from Port-au-Prince.ReliefWeb, 2010
Over the course of two months, CMAT's medical volunteers assessed and treated over 10,000 patients, performed hundreds of surgeries, and delivered approximately 20 babies. In March 2010, CMAT wrapped up its operations in Léogâne, and transitioned its medical teams to Pétion-Ville, working in partnership with J/P Haitian Relief Organization, a non-governmental organization founded by actor Sean Penn. Teams of volunteers rotated through an additional four months.
In partnership with the York Region District School Board, approximately $75,000 was raised directly for CMAT's relief effort.
2010 Chile earthquake A powerful 8.8 magnitude quake and ensuing tsunamis struck the area on February 27, 2010. Over 700 people were confirmed dead, and countless others were injured.
In response to the Chilean government's international appeal for aid, Canadian Medical Assistance Teams deployed its initial disaster assessment team to Concepción, Chile to conduct a needs assessment and ascertain the level of devastation, destroyed infrastructure and health needs of the quake affected people.
After meeting with Chilean officials, in Concepción, the decision was made stand down deployment. This decision was made as a direct result of the Chilean Government and Military's exceptional response to the earthquake.
The assessment team found that the need for medical aid was decreasing on a daily basis, any victims with traumatic injuries had been evacuated to major medical centres in other regions of the country, and thus the recommendation to stand down was made.
2010 Pakistan floods In the late summer of 2010, major flooding from monsoon rains killed up to 1,500 people, put over 100,000 at risk for disease and displaced more than 3.2 million in central Pakistan. The threat of water-borne diseases rapidly rose and millions of people were homeless or cut off in their villages because of the heavy monsoon rains and flooding.
CMAT received word from its Pakistani partners on the ground, reporting that rescue workers are struggling to aid the millions of people affected, especially those in remote villages. CMAT members were familiar with the region, having responded and provided medical relief after the devastating earthquake of October, 2005.
As floodwaters moved through Sindh Province, additional flooding occurred in low-lying areas, and the incidence of disease swiftly increased. Canadian Medical Assistance Teams deployed its initial disaster assessment team to Sindh Province, Pakistan in September, 2010. The assessment surveyed the health needs of displaced flood victims in order to prepare for the deployment of CMAT's medical teams. The five member team begun its assessment of the southern part of Sindh Province, worked in the town of Thatta. The town was one of the worst flooded districts of Pakistan, as the sea was on high tide when flooded river water reached it, multiplying the damage drastically. By late August, 175,000 people had left their homes and were camping along the sides of the main road under the open sky.
Three primary health care teams were sent to Sindh province, and indicated that the majority of illnesses were primary care related - such as skin infections, respiratory infections, eye infections, and gastrointestinal illnesses. CMAT also provided mobile medical clinics to the outlying areas, to target women and children who would otherwise be unable to access health services. In collaboration with Pakistani Federal and Provincial authorities, and other NGO partners on the ground, the team also identified an area in Sukkur, Sindh Province, approximately 500km north of Karachi. CMAT volunteers treated more than 500 patients per week in the field clinic in collaboration with local partner V Need U.
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan The largest earthquake in Japan's recorded history struck offshore on March 11, and police found as many as 300 bodies in the north-eastern coastal area that bore the brunt of the tremors and ensuing tsunami. The earthquake struck at 2:46p.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometres about 125 kilometres off the eastern coast, and was followed by at least 19 powerful aftershocks.