S. Korean medical association to send doctors to Haiti

SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's umbrella doctors' association said
Monday it will send doctors to Haiti starting this month to offer medical
services to victims of the massive quake that has devastated the country.
An advance party made up of five doctors and administrative support personnel
left earlier in the day for the Caribbean island nation to determine overall
security conditions, check medical supply requirements and possible cooperation
with international aid organizations already in the country, the Korean Medical
Association (KMA) said.
The team also plans to find a suitable location to set up a base field treatment
center and to create a "mobile clinic" that can better treat people injured by
the powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck the Port-au-Prince region on
Jan. 12.
The KMA said it will work with the Korea National Red Cross to send a total of
four teams totaling 80 doctors and support personnel to Haiti in the coming
weeks.
A team of 20 people is expected to follow the advance party to Haiti on Thursday
or Friday. The team will stay in the country for about two weeks before being
relieved by another party of medical personnel. The association said it is
currently receiving volunteers to go to Haiti.
The teams will work independently of other South Korean rescue and medical teams
that have been sent so far.
Local universities, the defense ministry and the National Emergency Management
Agency have sent teams to the island nation so far.
Seoul, meanwhile, said it has collected over US$15 million worth of aid donations
from both the private and public sectors, greater than the $10 million originally
pledged.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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