Natural disasters in developing countries: an environmental health perspective

Inadequate water supply and sanitation services underscore the lives of billions of people in the developing world. This situation is compounded when natural disasters strike because the existing infrastructure is destroyed, and scarce resources are diverted to cope with the crisis and then the reconstruction. In comparison, many industrialised countries have prevention measures in place to reduce the risk of damage, and policies and actions in place to reduce the impact of the next disaster. Environmental health professionals from both government and non-government organisations can play an important role in disaster prevention, mitigation and response in these situations. However, the success of environmental health programmes does depend on the existing social inequities. This is because in many developing countries, the poorest and least powerful people already live in a situation with poor water supply and sanitation, which is compounded by natural disasters.