Safe Hospitals, A Global Strategy

In the framework of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction meeting, held in Geneva (see next page), WHO and PAHO organized a workshop on disaster risk reduction in health facilities and the health sector to call attention to the serious effects that emergencies, disasters and other crises have on health and the impact they have on development.

The timing of this meeting was particularly oportune, since WHO and PAHO have joined forces with the ISDR to launch the 2008-2009 world campaign for disaster reduction, dedicated to Safe Hospitals. The campaign will focus on all health facilities—big and small—to ensure that these critical installations remain functional during and after disaster situations.

The meeting included examples from the island nation of Grenada and from Nepal on the impact of disasters in health facilities, and on why mitigation measures should be included during the planning, reconstruction and rehabilitation of health facilities. The Director of Emergency Services from the Philippines cited advances made in his country to organize the health sector and avoid the interruption of these services during a disaster. Finally, the Safety Index for Hospitals, which has been tested in several countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, was presented and offered as an instrument to assess the progress. For more information contact Patricia Bittner, bittnerp@paho.org.

Emergency Operations Center
for the Caribbean

The Emergency Operations Center for the Caribbean (EOC-CAR) was established to provide reliable, timely, and authoritative information during the Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007. Located at the PAHO/WHO Office in Barbados, it served to give early warning and to forecast potential emergency situations that could require an organization-wide response.

Information was gathered about monitoring potential crisis type events, communicable disease events, weather, and preparedness activities carried out by the participating countries. Sources included CAREC and its extended epidemiological network during the CWC, local media reports, and National Disaster Coordination Offices in countries hosting games. Daily situation reports were prepared and a weekly report was distributed to health disaster coordinators in national and international agencies.

There were two phases of operation: the alert and the response phases. The alert phase required the EOC to be on standby for the duration of the Cricket World Cup (from 11 March to 28 April 2007). The response phase called for the mobilization of PAHO professional and support staff to assist member countries in managing emergency response. Fortunately, the response phase was not activated during CWC ’07, but the same strategies will be used during hurricane season.