I love these IKEA hospitals and the quote at the end of the article assembled it all together,
"The hospital is a small contribution by India to humanitarian work around the world,” she said. “We are now ready to share it with any country that needs it.”
It reflects a new way of thinking and a fresh world view. A vastly different view from the one I grew up in (80s)... Which was huge headlines in NYT about how poor countries need aid and western aid organizations are helping them. When in reality it was "relief theater".
That is maybe an 80s world view at best. The United States government is extremely proactive and effective in providing international aid whenever a disaster strikes.
Lets take the 2010 Haiti earthquake as an example, which happened at about 4 PM. The US ambassador declared an emergency, the joint chiefs issued an order for support, SOUTHCOM initiated its crisis response operations center, and the newly formed Joint Task Force Haiti was setting up calls with local ministers before the Haitian president even formally requested assistance that evening.
At first daylight 3 surveillance aircraft were overhead surveying damage and identifying rescue targets, a US coast guard cutter that was in the area arrived in port to begin infrastructure damage assessments, and SJFHQ established a command post in country. By sunset US special operations has teams on the ground to assist with security, FEMA has an Urban Search and Rescue team rescuing trapped victims, and Air National Guard combat air controllers have taken control of the airport and turned it into the busiest single runway airport in the world for arriving aid workers and supplies.
By the second day hundreds of troops from the 82nd Airborne have arrived, the State Department diplomatic security service is in the process of evacuating thousands of American nationals, and multiple Global Hawk drones are providing real time video feeds to rescuers on the ground.
The third day the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier arrives where its deck is turned into a 50 bed hospital, and it would remain on station until the USNS Comfort hospital ship and USS Bataan causality receiving ship arrived the following week.
An IKEA hospital is an amazing thing, but it isn't worth shitting on the massive international aid operations most major countries conduct as "relief theater." India itself is among these, their light helicopters and skilled pilots were vital during the initial response to the Nepal earthquake.
Totally. During the early months of the pandemic when NYC was hit super hard, Samaritan's Purse set up a tent hospital in Central Park directly opposite the main campus of Mt. Sinai which was a marvel to see, I would run and cycle past it nearly every day. Another of my common running routes took me past the USNS Comfort, docked at Pier 90, and the Javits Center, which hosted yet another modular hospital. Then a little later, a modular morgue on Randall's Island, which is now the site of a modular migrant encampment.
I later read that because of strict policies relating to a notion that only the "simple" cases, of which there were few, could be transferred, the temporary hospital facilities ended up underutilized. But the ability to surge capacity in a specific area is hardly constrained to parts of the world with fewer hospital beds. Public health crises and natural disasters in the USA are perfect candidates for this technology.
I hope we can test this quickly, and if it works, buy a bulk pack.
"The hospital is a small contribution by India to humanitarian work around the world,” she said. “We are now ready to share it with any country that needs it.”
It reflects a new way of thinking and a fresh world view. A vastly different view from the one I grew up in (80s)... Which was huge headlines in NYT about how poor countries need aid and western aid organizations are helping them. When in reality it was "relief theater".
Good luck.