Transcript Health Aspect of Disaster Risk Assessment

Health Aspect of Disaster Risk
Assessment
Dr AA Abubakar
Department of Community Medicine
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria
Nigeria
Disaster risk reduction as a
developmental function
• Disaster reduction is a developmental
issue as:
– Underlying causes of poverty, unsustainable
development & disaster are related. Both can
cause or increase vulnerability of people
– Disasters can put development at risk
– Development can cause or reduce disaster
risk
Disaster risk assessment
Definition:
• Process of collecting & analyzing
information about the nature, likelihood
and severity of disaster risks
Phases in Risk Assessment
• Problem identification
• Research & Analysis
• Decision making
– Risk evaluation: evaluating & selecting models to
adopt
– Risk characterization: Technical accuracy of the
analysis
– Risk communication: Constant exchange among
stakeholders with the intention of bringing congruence
between actual, perceived & estimated risks
Uses of Disaster risk assessment
• Makes risk responsive to physical &
economic policy
• Provides a regulatory framework for
development
• Promotes participatory development
through public education & awareness
• Promotes risk sharing & transfer of
interventions
Limitations of Disaster Risk
reduction
• Inadequate assessment due to insufficient
data or resources
• Difficulty in attributing responsibility for
disaster risks coming from different
locations & sources
• Assessment outcomes may not be
politically acceptable
Key thematic areas in integrating disaster
risk assessment in development sectors
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Poverty reduction
Agriculture & rural development
Environmental management
Health issues
Water resource management
Land use planning
Infrastructure
Gender issues
Climate change adaptation
Inter related
Health issues
• Disaster & health reflect complex interaction of
climatic, vector specific, political, demographic &
development based factors
• All other thematic areas directly or indirectly
affect health
• Risk characteristics of various epidemic
diseases differ but some generic issues of risk
reduction can be applied to various disease
situations
Measures to mainstream disaster
reduction activities in health
• Adopting a multi-hazard approach to disaster
risk management that includes epidemics &
other biological hazards
• Re-orienting the current focus on post-epidemic
response towards prevention in managing health
effects of disasters
• Integrating health concerns in hazard control
measures such as health implications of large
open flood control water channels
• Developing strategies for epidemic
preparedness and emergency action
Measures to mainstream disaster
reduction activities in health 2
• Developing integrated monitoring systems that include
early detection of epidemics based on epidemiological
data, early warning systems based on meteorological
data and long-range forecasting
• Integrating health information collection & monitoring in
general vulnerability information systems such as
environmental information systems
• Monitoring & addressing long term factors of vulnerability
to epidemics such as health care entitlement, immunity
status, nutrition level, sexual behavior, population
movement & status of routine control measures.
Guiding checklist for integrating
disaster risk reduction in health
• Current incidence & prevalence of the disease
• Reason why the disease is a disaster risk
problem
• Population & locations at risk of the disease
• Severity of the disease burden on affected
populations
• How natural hazards contribute to the disease
burden
• Factors that have the potential to increase the
incidence and public health impact of infectious
disease threats
Guiding checklist for integrating
disaster risk reduction in health 2
• Does monitoring of the disease include early
detection, seasonal transmission risk and long
term vulnerability factors?
• Routine monitoring of risk assessment &
surveillance indicators
• Integration of health, hazard indicators,
socioeconomic changes & other factors of
vulnerability in disease risk models
• Cross border risks covered by health risk
assessment
• Transmission dynamics of the disease
Guiding checklist for integrating
disaster risk reduction in health 3
• Vulnerability of the population to transmission
potential from variations in exposure or coping
ability
• Expected outcome of the epidemic transmission
potential in relation to the vulnerability of the
population
• Level of awareness of the risks of epidemics at
local & national levels
• Ability of public health units & health facilities to
provide emergency services during disasters
– Vulnerability of these services to disasters
Guiding checklist for integrating
disaster risk reduction in health 4
• Availability of policies & programmes to
tackle health issues during disasters
• Effectiveness of activities & measures that
individuals, communities & institutions take
to reduce the burden of the disease
• Does the prevention & control of the
disease burden cover the use of multiple
mitigation measures
Guiding checklist for integrating
disaster risk reduction in health 5
• Extent of the use of evidence-based policies &
strategies to prevent, control & eliminate
epidemic diseases
• Availability of training programmes and
information systems to enhance the capacity of
individuals, communities & institutions to reduce
the risk of epidemic disasters
• Use of local & traditional knowledge and
experience to guide interventions aimed at
reducing risk of epidemic diseases