Canada Launched Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Fund

The Canada Caribbean Disaster Risk Management (CCDRM) Fund is an important component of the Canadian International Development Agency’s (CIDA's) regional Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Program (CDRMP), which is managed by the Canadian High Commission in Barbados. The eight-year project, which has earmarked CAD $ 3 million to the CCDRM Fund, was launched on 3 November. It will provide support for small-scale, community-level projects designed to reduce vulnerability to natural hazards. Priority will be given to projects that produce disaster risk reduction benefits in low-income, rural communities or marginalized communities. For more information, contact the Fund Coordinator, Leslie John Walling, at ccdrmf.cancarib@gmail.com.

The Hospital Safety Index

The Hospital Safety Index is a rapid, reliable and low-cost diagnostic tool that provides a snapshot of the probability that a hospital or health facility will continue to function in emergency situations, based on structural, nonstructural and functional factors, including the environment and the health services network to which it belongs. By determining a hospital’s Safety Index or score, countries and decision makers will have an overall idea of its ability to respond to major emergencies and disasters. The Index components include three tools: Evaluation Forms, a Guide for Evaluators and a Safety Index Calculator. (More)

October 2008 Newsletter Now Available

The latest edition of PAHO’s newsletter Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in the Americas is now available online. The editorial deals with climate change and health. A special section wraps up this year’s hurricane season. From this point forward, the print newsletter will published every six months and will be increased to12 pages. Monthly updates will come out through our new e-bulletin Briefly Noted. Click here to read the October 2008 issue.

Floods in Central America

Tropical Depression No. 16, late in the Hurricane Season, has brought heavy rains to several Central American countries. The rain has caused widespread flooding in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In the aftermath, 66 people have died, there are more than 400,000 affected, and thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed. Guatemala and Honduras have made appeals for international assistance. (More)

2008-2009 World Disaster Campaign on Safe Hospitals

The World Disaster Reduction Campaign 2008-2009: 'Hospitals Safe from Disasters' is underway. The campaign is focusing on the structural safety of hospitals and health facilities, on keeping health facilities functioning during and after disasters, and on making sure health workers are prepared for natural hazards striking. Visit the Campaign website.

Agencies Take Part in Simulation of Nuclear Accident

The World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization took part in a test of radiation emergency plans through a simulated accident at the Laguna Verde Nuclear power plant, Mexico, 9-10 July 2008. The exercise is coordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and carried out in cooperation with 74 IAEA Member States and nine international organizations in order to test national and international preparedness to respond to a nuclear or radiological emergency. (More)

The New Caribbean Basin Wind Hazard Maps

PAHO/WHO, together with Applied Research Associates, a North American institute, and participants from different Caribbean countries, have created maps that show wind hazards on Caribbean islands and along the Caribbean coasts of Central and South America. The project simulates 100,000 years of Atlantic storms using hurricane hazard models, historic records, and existing wind maps and will help in the design and construction of new health facilities. (More)

Improving the Health of IDPs in Colombia

For the past ten years, PAHO/WHO, in collaboration with several partners, has been engaged in an on-going project to improve the health of internally displaced populations (IDP) in Colombia. Due to continuing conflict within the country, large portions of the population have fled their homes, thus encountering many physical and mental health challenges as a result of violence, loss of productivity, poor sanitation and lack of access to health services. (More)

Resource Material on Climate Change and Disasters

In line with this year's World Health Day theme "Protecting Health from Climate Change," the Regional Disaster Information Center (CRID) has published a CD-ROM with a large collection of documents from different agencies regarding climate change, disasters and health. Other topics include food safety and vector-borne and infectious diseases. The contents of the CD-ROM, which are in English and Spanish, can be downloaded from the CRID's website. (More)

Mass Fatality Plan Checklist for Ministries of Health and National Disaster Offices

The Pan American Health Organization has developed a checklist that contains the essential elements that should be addressed by Ministries of Health and Disaster Management Offices as they develop mass fatality plans. (More)

Survey Results on Preparedness in PAHO/WHO Member States

In 2005, PAHO/WHO Member States requested a progress report on advances made to reduce the vulnerability of their population and health facilities and to strengthen preparedness and response mechanisms for major emergencies. The report of the study was presented to the 2006 meeting of PAHO´s Directing Council. Click here to read the full report.