SA Hospitals Ill-Equipped to Handle Major Disaster

A FIFA medical adviser has warned that South Africa's public hospitals are "completely unprepared" to handle a major World Cup-related disaster such as a crowd stampede or riot.

"Hospital disaster plans are actually a disaster," said Professor Efraim Kramer, a Fifa medical officer and adviser to the local organising committee.

Kramer, head of emergency medicine at Johannesburg's Witwatersrand University, told a doctors conference on Wednesday that public hospitals had "absolutely no idea" how to implement disaster management plans because they had not been tested.

In contrast, Kramer said private hospitals, some of the best in the world, were better prepared and had good disaster plans. The South African government says public hospitals would handle at least 70 percent of the World Cup workload.

'Hospitals not ready for WC disaster'
Reuters
April 15, 2010

Threats and Violence the Unfortunate Theme at World Cup

Threats of terrorism and the recent ambush of the Togo National team at the African Cup of Nations are testing the will of some nations and players who are expected to play in this year's World Cup. Though FIFA officials and South African locals are trying to dispel rumors of violence and danger, the prevailing feeling is that security is not a guarantee.

Since terror is represented by words as well as bombs or bullets, we can expect more of this crossfire of rhetoric as the global focus on South Africa intensifies.

Adebayor’s withdrawal is no doubt chastened by his stated anger that not only did the security forces fail to protect his team in an area where separatists were known to pose a threat, but the African soccer confederation subsequently barred Togo from the next two African Cup of Nations.

Undercurrents of Violence at the World Cup
The New York Times
April 14, 2010