www.whiteribbonalliance.org/Resources/Documents/WISP.Final.07.27.07.pdf
Executive summary of report: The mass chaos that followed Hurricane Katrina was a wake-up call for U.S. emergency and disaster preparedness program developers and for maternal and child health providers as it became increasingly apparent that many city and state emergency disaster plans do not take into account the special needs of two of the most vulnerable populations in such events: pregnant women and newborns. In the wake of Katrina, members of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood formed a working group to devise a package of guidelines for state and local government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), private groups, and individuals on how to plan for meeting the needs of these vulnerable groups during the acute phase of an emergency. These guidelines, known as the Women and Infants Services Package (WISP), present a framework for the minimum and initial actions needed to respond to the essential health care needs of pregnant women, new mothers, fragile newborns, and infants in a crisis or emergency, such as a natural disaster, an epidemic, or a terrorist event. WISP includes general information, rationale, activities and actions, recommended equipment and supplies, and a monitoring and surveillance component. The group completed an extensive review of existing state and federal emergency plans in 2006 and found little or no specific attention to this sub-population. The efforts of this group, and others, have been a catalyst for increased attention to this issue and efforts are underway at the federal, state, and organizational level to address these preparedness planning gaps. This is a working document and will be adapted as further evidence, resources, and tools become available.
