[ONAGAWA, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, 25 May 2011]
 |
| © Japan Committee for UNICEF /2011/K.Goto |
| Checkups being held on 23 May in Onagawa Town, Miyagi Prefecture. |
Miyagi Prefecture was severely damaged by the earthquake and tsunami and is currently working to take care of its disaster victim population. The Japan Committee for UNICEF (JCU) has responded to requests from ten cities and four towns in Miyagi prefecture by extending complete support to the full reopening of maternal and child health practices in those cities and towns.
The nutritional, growth and development, and psychological situation of infants in primary and secondary evacuations have yet to be adequately assessed, and the restart of maternal and child medical practices an urgent issue, including infant checkups and vaccinations. JCU swiftly procured and donated the necessary supplies for reopening such practices. These included hospital vehicles, height and weight scales, examination tables, vaccination refrigerators, vaccines and other supplies either washed away or destroyed in the tsunami. JCU also extended psychological care to infants and their caretakers, as well as technical assistance for nutritional instruction.
 |
| © Japan Committee for UNICEF/2011/K.Goto |
In Onagawa Town, Miyagi Prefecture, in particular, JCU held infant checkups between 22 May and 24 May ahead of many other disaster areas. Preparing for the checkups, JCU provided the necessary supplies to Onagawa Town, and donated vaccine refrigerators, vehicles for traveling clinics and to transport patients, and other goods to town hospitals in order to restart vaccination services.
Mothers that took part in the checkups told JCU, “The doctor was so thorough in her checkup—I was so relieved that I cried. I was also happy to be able to exchange information with other mothers.” Others commented, “I have been worried because before the earthquake my child was in the middle of dental treatment, but after today I feel much better.” “I am thankful, as I never would have thought that a checkup would have been possible amidst the current circumstances.” “My maternity health checkbook was washed away in the tsunami, so I was relieved to hear that I could get a new one.”
 |
| © Japan Committee for UNICEF /2011/K.Goto |
Yuri Sato, from the Health and Welfare Section of Onagawa Town, smiled a sigh of relief and said, “I am so relieved that checkups have restarted in Onagawa. There were people that returned from Sendai, Ishinomaki and even Aomori for checkups, making for a very high consultation rate of 78%. The most nerve-racking thing for a parent is to not know whether they are raising their child in a healthy fashion. After the earthquake I had been thinking of ways to restart the checkups, and that is when I met Dr. Kunii from UNICEF. He provided the scales and other necessary supplies for checkups and gave me a great amount of advice, helping to successfully restart them.”
JCU will continue to support the restart of infant checkups in the disaster area.
| Receiving Prefecture |
Type of Emergency Supplies |
Arrival Date |
Quantity | Donating Company |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miyagi | Water | 19 Mar. | 12,288 bottles |
VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Fukushima | Water | 22 Mar. | 12,672 bottles |
VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Underwear for boys and girls | 22 Mar. | 200,000 | ||
| Iwate | Underwear for boys and girls | 23 Mar. | 30,000 | ||
| Fukushima | Water | 23 Mar. | 4,680 bottles |
KIRIN MC DANONE WATERS Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Children’s shoes | 23 Mar. | 10,000 pairs |
||
| Miyagi | Children’s diapers | 24 Mar. | 80 packs | P&G Japan | |
| Iwate | Children’s underwear | 24 Mar. | 9,700 | ||
| Fukushima | Water | 24 Mar. | 12,288 bottles |
VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Iwate | Shoes | 26 Mar. | 1,404 pairs | Achilles Corporation | |
| Iwate | Underwear for boys and girls | 27 Mar. | 28,266 | ||
| Iwate | Boots | 27 Mar. | 7,462 pairs | ||
| Iwate | Wipes | 28 Mar. | 1,200 | P&G Japan | For babies |
| Miyagi | Recreation kits Early Childhood Development kits |
2 Apr. | 50 of each | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Iwate | Recreation kits Early Childhood Development kits |
2 Apr. | 50 of each | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Miyagi | Book bags | 6 Apr. | 70 | Nihon New Bag Chain | |
| Iwate | Book bags | 6-7 Apr. | 340 | Seiban | |
| Miyagi | Schoolbags | 8 Apr. | 18,000 | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Iwate | Schoolbags | 8 Apr. | 18,000 | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Miyagi | Personal security buzzers (for crime prevention purposes) | 8 Apr. | 5,000 | ||
| Iwate | Personal security buzzers (for crime prevention purposes) | 8 Apr. | 5,000 | ||
| Miyagi | Minicar | 8 Apr. | 3 cars | ||
| Miyagi | Nutritional supplements | From early April | 4,000 bottles | ||
| Fukushima | Water | 11 Apr. | 1,536 bottles | VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Replenishments for recreation kits | 12 Apr. | 60 sets | ||
| Miyagi | Miniature toy cars | 12 Apr. | Approx. 1,200 | TAKARA TOMY | |
| Sagamihara* | Water | 12 Apr. | 12,288 bottles | VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Play mats | 13 Apr. | Two types; 80 of each type | IKEA | |
| Miyagi | Drawing sets | 13 Apr. | 60 sets | IKEA | |
| Iwate | Preschool-size chairs, tables and low tables | 14 Apr. | 75 chairs; 11 tables; 9 low tables | Donated to preschools, primary schools, junior high schools and high schools in the disaster area as well as their new locations | |
| Miyagi | Mopeds | 15 Apr. | 5 | ||
| Iwate | Notebooks and stationery sets for primary and junior high school students | 15. Apr. | 16,700 sets | ||
| Miyagi | 183 computers; 57 copiers and fax machines; 61 printers | 18-21 Apr. | Distributed to preschools, primary schools, junior high schools and high schools in the disaster area as well as their new locations | ||
| Fukushima | Movable blackboards | 21 Apr. | 10 | ||
| Fukushima | Temporary toilets | 22 Apr. | 20 | ||
| Iwate | Geiger counters | 28 Apr. | 14 | For schools in Soma City | |
| Iwate | Dressing room/ breastfeeding partition system | 28 Apr. | 21 sets | ||
| Saitama* | Milk | From late April | Shelter in Futabamachi, Kazo City | ||
| Saitama* | Yogurt | From early May | Danone Japan | Shelter in Futabamachi, Kazo City | |
| Iwate | Color pencils (120 sets) and paint (240 sets) | 13 May | |||
| Iwate | Student lamps | 14 May | 15 | ||
| Iwate | Stationery sets | 16 May | 840 sets | ||
| Fukushima | Lockers | 16 May | 22 sets | For the Board of Education of Minamisoma City | |
| Fukushima | Computers | 16 May | 1 | Ishikawa Town Board of Education |
Number of UNICEF Children’s Mini Libraries distributed: Approximately 110,000 books to over 350 locations (as of 16 May 2011)
*Areas receiving disaster victims.
*In certain cases some supplies may be taken from prefectural supply storage warehouses and distributed to shelters and disaster sites in other prefectures.
As of 9:00 a.m. on 16 May 2011 (compiled by the Information and Public Affairs Division).