A major shipment of aid arrived in tsunami-hit Gizo yesterday (April 6) as a specialist World Vision team began tackling the threat of disease in the makeshift hilltop camps where thousands of people fled in the wake of the disaster.

The World Vision aid arrived by boat in Gizo and includes urgently needed tarpaulins, mosquito nets, blankets and other basic items. They will provide shelter and protection from malaria in the camps that are now under threat of disease.

The rise of diarrhea is a particular concern with a number of cases being reported and fears that infection will spread rapidly.

A specialist water and sanitation team were visiting the more remote camps and setting up basic hygiene facilities. Efforts were also underway to secure clean water for the camps.

One of the miracles of the 2002 Indian Ocean disaster was the effort of aid agencies in stopping the spread of disease and much of this was done through establishing basic hygiene facilities and practices. Something as simple as washing hands can stop the spread of diarrhea. Also setting facilities up away from the living areas is also critical.

Today's aid shipment to Gizo is one of a number due as the aid effort gets into full swing after Monday's tsunami smashed into the town and surrounding islands in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. The Western Province has a population of about 90,000 it is thought almost half have been affected by the tsunami. The official death toll has been put at 38, but that figure is likely to rise as more information comes in.

A World Vision nurse has spent the last few days conducting health assessments in camps and in the more remote villages.

Most of the severe injuries have now been evacuated to the capital Honiara.

A 16 member Australian Defence Force medical team arrived in Gizo last night and a Canadian medical team is due to arrive later today as is a 15,000 litre a day purification unit.

There has been some food distribution of rice to affected areas but concerns remain about malnutrition. People on the islands are too fearful to return to the water to fish and in many cases their boats have been destroyed.

Most of the villages World Vision visited in its initial emergency assessment were deserted, almost all the people have fled to higher ground and are too fearful to return. In many cases there is nothing to return to, the force of the tsunami was so powerful it flattened everything, even tearing apart concrete buildings.

The destruction of infrastructure around Gizo is complicating the distribution of aid. Once you fly into the recently-reopened air strip you are immediately struck by the destruction of the town.

Yet there are remarkable stories of survival. In one village people were down on the beach when they saw a tidal surge hit the point. They ran for their lives and all of them made it to safe ground. There are also remarkable stories of women giving birth in the makeshift medical clinic set up on the hilltops of Gizo. One Australian volunteer doctor spoke of a woman who was rushed to the clinic and gave birth to a son within twenty minutes of arriving.

World Vision has organised 500 emergency kits to be sent from Honiaro tonight which should arrive in Gizo tomorrow.

The aid effort here is complicated by the remoteness of many of the villages and the poor infrastructure. Yet officials here are saying that now all of the affected areas have been surveyed and in many cases they have received initial supplies.

These supplies have meant people are not starving but there are still a lot of hungry people and many are still being forced to survive off coconuts.

In a region that already has rates of child malnutrition that are too high, this disaster is likely to exacerbate it further. Many of those worst affected by the disaster are children as almost 42 percent of the population are aged under 15.

Another specialist World Vision team is due in Gizo this afternoon and will expand further World Vision's relief effort.

Ends

Note to editors:

World Vision Pacific Development Group issued a formal declaration of a CAT 1 emergency in the Solomon Islands earlier this week and has appealed for a US$500,000 - 700,000 emergency relief program.

For more information or media interviews please contact Martin Thomas in Gizo, Solomon Islands on 0011 677 794 025 or +8816 4143 8194. Photos are also available. Please contact Andrea Russell andrea_russell@wvi.org or cell: (India) +91 99892 38223.