PHA-Exch> WHO: World needs disaster-resistant hospitals

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Vern Weitzel <vern.weitzel at gmail.com>
crossposted from: "[health-vn discussion group]" health-vn at anu.edu.au



 The World Health Organization (WHO) on April 6 warned that
natural and man-made disasters are increasing worldwide, making it vital
that
countries invest in building hospitals and health facilities that can
withstand
earthquakes and other calamities.

As hospitals are critical lifelines in disasters, WHO is dedicating World
Health
Day, on 7 April, to the challenge of making hospitals and other health
facilities safe in emergencies and ensuring that health workers are trained
to
treat injuries and care for those affected by emergencies.

This year's World Health Day theme, ‘Save lives!  Make hospitals safe in
emergencies’, has special significance in the Western Pacific Region, which
has
accounted for more than a quarter of the world's natural disasters in the
past
10 years, with significant damage to health facilities.

"In disasters and emergencies, health facilities are crucial to
survival.Health
facilities must be structurally resilient, well equipped and staffed, and
with
health workers who are properly trained to respond", said Dr Shin Young-soo,
WHO
Regional Director for the Western Pacific.

"Research shows that damage to health facilities can cost up to 60% of
annual
government health spending, so making facilities safe can sometimes be a
means
of actually saving money. Political will on the part of governments, leaders
and
hospital administrators is an important element in achieving this
goal.  They
can ensure that hospitals are built in safe locations, that the design and
construction of the facilities are sound and that staff are fully trained,"
Dr
Shin added.

Studies have shown that retrofitting - bracing, reinforcement or other
engineering interventions - of health facilities is cost effective and can
protect 90% of the value of the hospital. Moreover, a simple checklist can
be
used to conduct a quick assessment of how safe hospitals are in emergencies
and
disasters.  Hospital administrators and managers can perform this task
without
immediate help from engineers and architects.

The World Disasters Report 2006 said that close to 185 000 people in the
Western
Pacific Region were killed by natural disasters from 1996 to 2005.
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