Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Laurie Dexter | 160526-N-GI544-364 PANCHKHAL, Nepal (May 26, 2016) – Medical professionals from...... read more read more
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PANCHKHAL, Nepal – Thirty-seven medical professionals from U.S. and partner nations came together for a training seminar at the Birendra Peace Operations Training Center in Panchkhal, Nepal May 23-26.
While the group only trained for four days, the seminar involved subject matter exchanges and team discussions covering various topics including pre-deployment screenings, vaccine requirements, food and water-borne diseases, water treatment and waste management and an overview of the Medical Support Manual for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations—a guide aimed to outline operational and procedural standards for medical support in the field during peacekeeping operations.
Peacekeeping operations, led by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, consist of military, police and civilian personnel who work to deliver security, political and early peace building support in a country torn by conflict.
“Policy reviews should be updated regularly and routinely,” said Col. Mukunda Singh Shrestha, radiologist at Shree Birendra Hospital at Kathmandu, Nepal. “Troop contributing countries should be aware of U.N. guidelines and have suitable policies in place in lines of the peacekeeping guidelines.”
According to Capt. Annette M. Von Thun, preventive medicine officer and director of future operations and global health engagements of Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit Six, said the primary objectives of the seminar were to reach a mutual understanding of the principles and importance of Force Health Protection (FHP), define the current protocols and practices by the troop contributing countries as they implement U.N. policies to protect peacekeeping forces before, during and after deployments and to develop the relationships that allow for a productive and collaborative environment.
“Having the FHP protocols, practices and policies in place minimizes the impact of disease and health threats, make us more effective as medical providers and functions as a force multiplier to ensure that our troops are healthy and able to complete the mission,” said Von Thun. “The health of our troops—it’s a responsibility that we have to our troops and our commitment we’ve made to the U.N.”
According to un.org, as of March 31, 2015, the workforce in the field consisted of 93,743 military personnel.
“I felt very grateful to Bangladesh Army as well as the U.N. because they chose me for this great opportunity,” said Maj. Tamanna Yesmin, classified child specialist at Combined Military Hospital at Chittagong Cantonment, Bangladesh. “You go, learn, come back and share so we can improve our troops and personnel so they can be better prepared for deployment.”
The nations’ participating personnel included U.S., Nepal, Bangladesh and New Zealand.
“It helped a lot to share between the four countries their experiences and problems,” said Yesmin. “It was very good.”
Yesmin said the training helped her better understand the U.N.’s policy and how to solve any issues the troops may be facing during deployments.
“I feel we made significant progress during the course of this week,” said Von Thun, “and I look forward to those future engagements and the opportunity to further our collaborations.”
The seminar was formed to enhance force medicine practices within the U.S. military as well as share and collaborate with partner nations across the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
| Date Taken: | 05.27.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.13.2016 16:47 |
| Story ID: | 199311 |
| Location: | PANCHKHAL, NP |
| Web Views: | 56 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, U.S. and Partners Enhancing Force Health Protection in Nepal, by PO2 Laurie Dexter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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