MANILA, 11 December 2008 – The World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific recently concluded the Regional Consultation on Ensuring Safe Hospitals and Health Facilities in Disasters. This was organized in collaboration with Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organization Tropical Medicine and Public Health (SEAMEO TROPMED) Network.
The meeting was held last 8-10 December 2008 at Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Participants represented various agencies including ministries of health, hospitals and WHO Country Offices from Cambodia, China, Fiji, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The Asian Disaster Preparedness Council (ADPC) and architecture and design sector were also represented.
The regional consultation was organized to increase awareness on disaster-safe hospitals and health facilities; review global, regional and country efforts for safe hospitals and health facilities; and develop recommendations on actions to be taken home to promote safe hospitals and health facilities. Experiences, updates, issues, gaps, and recommended activities were discussed through plenary sessions, presentations and workshops.
“Functional health facilities and prepared staff are crucial in times of emergencies and disasters,” explained Dr. Art Pesigan of the Emergency and Humanitarian Action of WHO-WPRO. “With that in mind, countries have outlined specific recommendations and activities to raise the campaign and work for concrete outputs at the national level. WHO will continue to provide technical support in different areas including assessment tools, awareness activities, training courses, structural design, policy development, multi-sector collaboration, and resource mobilization.”
WHO initiated the activity to provide a venue for Member States to actively participate in the efforts to make hospitals safer from disasters. Recommendations for regional and national actions to promote safe hospitals and health facilities were set for 2009 and beyond. Included in the recommendations was the call for raising the issue on safe hospitals in regional ministerial meetings and consultative conferences. These will serve as milestones for targets set by the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015.