Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)

A general guide of necessary and respectful management of those that have died in a disaster of significant size.
Post Reply
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)

Post by Readymom »

Management of Dead Bodies in Disaster Situations

Originally posted of Fluwiki at http://www.fluwikie.com/pmwiki.php?n=Co ... sedPersons

This 194 page PDF file can be found in it's entirety at:
http://www.paho.org/English/dd/ped/DeadBodiesBook.pdf

Each disaster has yielded important evidence about handling bodies, particularly when the number of dead overwhelms the capacity of a country to effectively respond to an emergency. This manual provides the technical information that will support the correct approach to handling dead bodies, taking into account the following principles:

When death is the result of a disaster, the body does not pose a risk for infection
Victims should never be buried in common graves
Mass cremation of bodies should never take place when this goes against the cultural and religious norms of the population
Every effort must be taken to identify the bodies.
As a last resort, unidentified bodies should be placed in individual niches or trenches, which is a basic human right of the surviving family members. .... continued .....
Post Reply

Return to “General Overview of Concerns”