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Disaster preparedness: institutional capacity building in the Americas
J L Poncelet1, C de Ville de Goyet
1PAHO/WHO, Quito Ecuador. pedecu@ecnet.ec
World Health Statistics Quarterly. Rapport Trimestriel De Statistiques Sanitaires Mondiales
|January 1, 1996
Summary
Latin American and Caribbean countries face frequent disasters, necessitating a shift from ad hoc responses to robust institutional preparedness and mitigation strategies. Effective disaster management requires integrated planning, resource optimization, and cross-sectoral collaboration.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Disaster Management
- Emergency Preparedness
Background:
- Latin American and Caribbean nations exhibit high vulnerability to natural, technological, and complex disasters.
- The region has evolved from reactive disaster response to proactive institutional preparedness, prevention, and mitigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define institutional emergency preparedness principles.
- To discuss methods for assessing preparedness levels.
- To differentiate preparedness from disaster prevention and mitigation.
Main Methods:
- Review of institutional emergency preparedness principles.
- Analysis of resource utilization, public awareness, and inter-sectoral collaboration.
- Discussion on assessing preparedness through coordination, planning, training, and logistics.
Main Results:
- Preparedness is a continuous process, not just a written plan, emphasizing resource optimization and broad participation.
- The health sector plays a crucial leadership role, requiring integration with other sectors for effective mitigation.
- Regional initiatives demonstrate success in reducing hospital vulnerability, but gaps remain in technological disaster preparedness and inter-country prevention.
Conclusions:
- Disaster preparedness is a complex, ongoing process requiring comprehensive assessment beyond written plans.
- Effective disaster mitigation necessitates collaboration between health sectors and other disciplines like engineering and economics.
- Further efforts are needed to address technological disasters and foster cross-border preventive strategies, leveraging digital communication.
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