Be prepared! PAHO's emergency preparedness program seeks to reduce the impact of disasters
Washington, DC, October 10, 2002 (PAHO) -- Of course natural disasters cannot be prevented, but you can prepare for them and mitigate the potential devastating effect. This is the philosophy of the program on Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
This program is known worldwide and has set an example for many other agencies, due to its comprehensive concept of risk reduction. Its work in preparedness and mitigation involves all sectors of society and covers all human needs, physical, mental and social.
The importance of this global vision of the impact on health has been made clear in recent disasters, especially because there are so many myths about disasters. One of these is the belief that things return to normal in a matter of weeks and more assistance is not needed.
"The effects of disasters such as Hurricane Mitch or the earthquakes in El Salvador last a long time. Countries affected by disasters exhaust many of their financial and material resources in the immediate phase after the impact. This is the precise time when you need more ability to recover the capacity that has been lost," said Dr. Jean Luc Poncelet, who heads the emergency preparedness program.
The bulk of the need for external assistance is to reestablishment normal functions of the primary health care service, water systems, housing, and income-producing work. When the acute crisis is over and the victims feel, as they often are, abandoned to their own means, social and mental health problems appear. Successful relief programs orient their operations keeping in mind that international interest wanes as the news becomes old, while the needs and the scarcities become more urgent, Dr. Poncelet noted.
With this in mind, SUMA, a tool for local coordination in the management of humanitarian supplies, was created, to track relief supplies from when donors offer them, until they arrive in the disaster area and are stored and distributed.
The integral concept is very important, because sometimes in a disaster situation economic matters or physical health of the injured are prioritized, while other aspects such as mental health, which has significant effects, are ignored.
"It is erroneous to think that disaster situations such as earthquakes, only leave short-term effects that pass with time," explained Dr. José Miguel Caldas de Almeida, coordinator of the mental health program of PAHO. "This is not easy, disasters are very traumatic situations. We are finishing a study in the populations that suffered the scourge of Hurricane Mitch and the data that research has yielded to date indicate a high prevalence of cases of mental illnesses."
The objective of the disaster preparedness program is to guarantee that the systems, procedures, and resources are in place for providing fast and effective assistance to the victims and to facilitate relief efforts and the reestablishment of services.
To avoid devastating effects from disasters, permanent, multisectoral activity must consist mainly of two major tasks, according to Dr. Poncelet. One is to be better prepared to respond. The other is to ensure that societies reduce their vulnerability to volcanic eruptions, floods or other hazards. This task is an integral part of national systems in charge of plans and programs for disaster management, covering prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
PAHO's program for creates manuals, practical guides, informative primers and all sorts of publications and documents, both technical information for distribution to experts, and useful information for the general public.
For more information on the program please visit http://www.paho.org/disasters/.
One of the publications is Disasters: preparedness and mitigation in the Americas, a quarterly bulletin in Spanish and English that covers courses, meetings and news from the member countries of PAHO and other agencies. It also contains summaries of publications, slides, films and training material related to disaster management.
PAHO, which is also the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization, was officially established in 1902. The oldest health organization in the world, PAHO works with all the countries of the Western Hemisphere to improve health and raise the living standards.
For more information, please contact: Daniel Epstein, Office of Public Information, (202) 974-3459, e-mail: epsteind@paho.org.
Related Information:
PAHO BOOKS:
-Natural Disasters : Protecting the Public's Health
-Health In The Americas, 2002
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