Articles

1.2.1. Emergency Operations Center (General EOC)

Coordination between sectors takes place at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which is the national entity that includes staff from the various ministries and agencies involved in emergency response and to which the various sectors contribute reports, assessments, and requests when intersectoral support is required.

This coordinating structure is replicated on a smaller scale at the regional and local levels. It also interacts with other for operational management and control mechanisms, such as situation rooms, incident command posts, and sectoral Emergency Operations Centers such as the Health Sector Emergency Operations Committee.
 

Although information during the first hours of a disaster may be abundant, it may be less than reliable. Therefore, the major challenge is to get clear information—from reliable sources that can be double checked—that reflects the situation on the ground and the priority needs of the affected population.

1.3.1. Damage assessment and needs analysis in health (health DANA)

Health authorities, along with the entities responsible for providing emergency assistance, should promote damage assessment and needs analysis (DANA) as a priority task. Below is a summary of the most relevant aspects of DANA. (The Inter-agency Standing Committee’s Multi-Cluster Initial Rapid Assessment is designed to identify strategic humanitarian priorities during the first weeks following an emergency).