are now over 2,300 Cuban doctors, nurses and medical technicians working throughout the earthquake-affected areas. Cuba’s disaster response team, the Henry Reeve International Team of Medical Specialists in Disasters & Epidemics, was created last August in response to Hurricane Katrina (see MEDICC Review, Vol. VII, Nos. 8 & 9, 2005). Designed as a specialist team that could be moved into post-disaster situations to effectively treat survivors and prevent and control epidemics, its volunteers commit to go wherever in the world they’re needed. On that fateful Saturday in October, it became clear they were needed desperately in the Kashmir and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) areas of Pakistan. The Post-Quake Scenario The post-disaster health and hygiene situation is made more complex for several reasons. First, 80% of health centers inbox) which should translate to even more effective resource allocation. Statistics for Cuba’s Relief Effort in Pakistan

(October, 2005-January 24, 2006) Number of medical personnel: 2,378 (including doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff)

Locations in which they serve: 44

Number of field hospitals: 30

Number of lives saved: 1,315

Number of consultations: 601,369 (276,491 women)

Number of surgeries: 5,925 (2,819 major)

Births attended: 125

Caesarean sections: 24 A whole host of other contextual factors specific to Pakistan are presenting difficulties for which no amount of training in Cuba could prepare these medical practitioners. The cold weather - and snow in particular - are the enemy, both to the doctors and quake survivors. Cultural differences, from strict gender roles to religion and language, come into play in the doctor-patient relationship, the delivery of emergency care, and broader