The emergency on the Norwegian freighter 'Tampa' off the coast of Australia,
with over 450 boat refugees from Afghanistan on board, has been major news
here for days, as it has in Australia and indeed the world.
Virginia Thorley let me know that the spouses have e-mail contact with the
crew.  She wondered if there was some way to ensure that information on
breastfeeding in emergencies reached the refugees.

This is a prime example of working in the information age.  I phoned the
shipping company that operates the Tampa.  The woman in their press
department I spoke to was very receptive, and promised to make sure the info
gets to the appropriate people on the ship.  She gave me her e-mail address.
I sent her the link to the WHO website on BF in emergency situations.  I
didn't have to explain why this was desirable.  She understood immediately
and sounded genuinely grateful.  I hope you will all be glad to hear that
they are receiving tons of support from people for the actions of Capt.
Rinnan and the crew.

All this is useless until appropriate health personnel are allowed to have
real contact with the women, but since there are reports of dysentery
outbreaks among the refugees, and there are young children and pregnant
women in the group, we had to see to it that at least the information was
available to the crew members.

I wouldn't have thought of this without Virginia.  But I think all of us on
Lactnet should take a moment to be grateful for the speed and effectiveness
with which this tool can be used.

Rachel Myr
Norway

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