NORWAY's EMT HAPPY TO SPEND XMAS & NEW YEAR IN SAMOA

The Norwegians Emergency Medical Team is spending their Christmas and New Years away from loved ones.

Even though they're away from home, the team would have loved to stay on for at least a month longer, says Team Leader Anne Marie Bruu. “We remain in high spirits because we believe in our cause and we want to help Samoa.”

"Spending the holidays in Samoa is also the Norwegian EMT’s way of showing our appreciation to our local hosts who have welcomed us despite the crisis,” she added “We feel right at home,” says the Logistic specialist.

“With our new network with other EMTs and Samoa, Norway will have friends all over the world to call on in their time of need,” she continued “And that is more than enough reward for our team.”

The Norwegian team were deployed to Samoa on the 30th of November and when they received their orders they weren't sure what to expect when they arrived.  On arrival they were faced with “overwhelming conditions” and didn't have time to adjust to Samoa’s tropical weather.  The team went straight from the Airport to work at the National Hospital where their expertise was urgently needed to cope with the first wave of patients overwhelming the hospital & local staff.  The team of 10 nurses, 2 Para-Medics, 4 Doctors and 4 Logistics personnel have been working shoulder to shoulder with their international colleagues and local health care providers.

“Our local hosts coped extremely well in dealing with the outbreak and we highly commend the Samoan health workers for coping with the situation despite the challenges especially when there is wide spread of panic and uncertainty." says Anne Marie Bruu.

“The measles epidemic in Samoa is a reminder that measles is still a deadly disease that claims lives when not enough of the population is vaccinated,” added Minister of International Development Dag-Inge Ulstein.

“We must do what we can to help in crises such as this one. At the same time, working globally to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as measles, for example by providing support to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is a key priority for the Government.”