Emergency response in SE Asia gets a fund boost

Funds to be collected for handling natural disasters and emergency situations

Published on: Sep 9, 2016, 18:25:16 IST

By Sanchita Sharma

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New Delhi: Emergency response across South-East Asia got a shot in the arm with the 11 countries in the region establishing a fund to build preparedness for natural disasters and health emergencies.

The fund aims to make health systems in the region, which is among the most disaster-prone in the world, disaster-resilient and ensure seamless sharing of information and resources across national boundaries.

Apart from cyclones and flooding, the region has also been threatened several emerging diseases, including Zika, H1N1, MERS CoV and SARS. In 2016 alone, Zika virus infection has struck Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, MERS CoV reached Thailand, and Sri Lanka faced devastating floods and landslides that affected half a million people and led to massive displacements.

“To date, post-disaster funding through WHO’s South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund has done an excellent job of helping countries respond to health emergencies once they’ve occurred, as we saw most recently in Nepal and Sri Lanka. The new funding stream will allow countries to invest in infrastructure and human resources to enhance preparedness,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia, speaking at the 69th session of WHO Regional Committee Meeting.

A new fund will be part of the South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF) and will help countries better prepare for emergency response. At present, SEARHEF funds are disbursed after a disaster has struck.

“The new funding stream for emergency preparedness recognises that preparedness is less costly than response,” Dr Khetrapal Singh said at 69th session of WHO Regional Committee Meeting in Colombo.

EMERGENCY CALL

Natural and health emergencies in the region

2016: Zika

2016: Sri Lanka floods and landslides

2016: MERS (CoV) Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus

2015: Nepal earthquake

2012: Rakhine displacement in Myanmar

2010-2011: H1N1 (swine flu)

2009: Sri Lanka complex emergency

2009: Kosi river floods

2008: Cyclone Nargis

2007: Cyclone Sidr

2004: Tsunami

2003-2004: H5N1 (bird flu)

2002: SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanchita Sharma
Sanchita is the health & science editor of the Hindustan Times. She has been reporting and writing on public health policy, health and nutrition for close to two decades. She is an International Reporting Project fellow from Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and was part of the expert group that drafted the Press Council of India’s media guidelines on health reporting, including reporting on people living with HIV.Read More

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