By Shan Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-21 07:15

A member of the Russian rescue team and a sniffer dog search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building on Sunday, in Wenchuan, Sichuan province. Xinhua

Volunteers from home and abroad who are not sufficiently trained in disaster relief or medical assistance should not simply turn up in quake-hit regions, an official with a France-based NGO said yesterday.

The good intentions of unorganized volunteers notwithstanding, their presence might put extra pressure on local transport and accommodation, and impair the rescue work, the official from Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF), who asked not to be named, said in Chengdu.

MSF is an international humanitarian medical organization that provides emergency assistance to people hit by natural disasters around the world.

"With experienced and competent workers, sufficient rescue materials and money, we are fully prepared to offer medical help to those in need," the official said.

"And our whole spearhead team of 30 members would like to be stationed together at a hard-hit township or small village in dire need of help, and handle the entire rescue and relief operation there," he said.

MSF members, mostly foreign medical personnel, are currently working at several different sites.

A member of South Korea's Central 119 Rescue Team takes a breather yesterday. In the background lies the remains of the dormitory of a chemical factory in the city of Shifang, Sichuan province. Huang Yiming

Some are working as part of the relief team organized by the local Red Cross Society at the hardest hit counties including Wenchuan, while others are treating survivors at major hospitals in Chengdu.

"These city hospitals now have enough medics and materials," the official said.

Right now, an effective channel needs to be established between the local authorities and the foreign NGOs keen to help in order to assist those who need it the most, he said.

"If such a channel is in place, our relief efforts will be more effective," he said.

"We strongly appeal to the local government to dispatch us to the worst-hit areas to help the people there."

WHO Representative to China Hans Troedsson said that not all foreign medical volunteers are needed at the frontline.

"The local population almost always covers the immediate lifesaving needs. Only medical personnel with skills not available locally may be needed."

Vice-Minister of Health Gao Qiang told a press conference on disaster relief and rescue last week that Chinese authorities appreciate the eagerness shown by other countries to help and are willing to accept assistance.

"When we are in real need, we'll ask for help," he said.

(China Daily 05/21/2008 page5)