Objective

The health sector plays a key role in emergency and disaster preparedness and response. Timely and efficient intervention to the health care needs of the populations affected by a disaster is one of the highest priorities in the overall management of major emergencies and disasters.

The objective of disaster preparedness is to guarantee that systems, procedures, and resources are readily available to provide rapid and effective assistance to victims, thus facilitating relief activity and the restoration of services.

This module describes the principal elements of preparedness in the health sector that must be addressed, as well as the components and processes that must be taken into account in preparing response plans. For more detailed information, see chapter 3 on natural disasters and health protection, which also includes guidelines for strengthening the technical areas that are essential to effective response capacity.

In this section:
 

1. Essential components of health preparedness

2. Creating preparedness and response plans

3. Strengthening response capacity in technical areas

4. The emergency committee and situation room

5. Health response teams

6. Care of populations with special needs

7. Response to chemical and radiological emergencies

8. Training programs

9. Assessment of preparedness

10. Evaluation of preparedness and risk reduction

These components are the set of technical processes and operational mechanisms to ensure the functioning of a preparedness plan:

• Emergency Committee (EC): The central entity for sectoral coordination and decision-making, as well as for liaison and coordination with the intersectoral Emergency Operations Center.
• Situation room: Area where reports are received, processed, analyzed, and documented for decision-making.
• Multidisciplinary technical teams: Staff trained and organized for rapid deployment and response to emergencies, able to conduct damage and needs assessment, and capable of providing local support.
• Early warning system: A mechanism to monitor a hazard and rapidly get information to the population. It makes protective action possible, for example in cases of imminent volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, flooding, and earthquakes.
• Logistics: The area that manages supplies, storage, transportation, and distribution, as well the deployment of personnel and humanitarian assistance.
• Public information and mass communication: Mechanism that provides for an adequate flow of reliable information, principally to the public and other communications means.
• Simulations and drills: Exercises to evaluate preparedness and response plans.
• Education/training: formal or informal mechanisms but included in the training plan to improve knowledge, skills, capacities of those involved in the response to disaster events.

Go to: Creating preparedness and response plans 

General steps

Disaster preparedness is an ongoing multisectoral activity. It requires coordination and organization by different departments of the government to facilitate assessment of a country’s disaster risk, adoption of standards and regulations, and action to ensure that resources can be mobilized rapidly in disaster situations.

The emergency or disaster plan should be dynamic in nature, updated regularly, and tested by simulation exercises carried out by the Emergency or disaster Committee, senior levels of the health ministry, and other health sector institutions. In monitoring and evaluating the plan, it is recommended that quantitative and qualitative elements are included.