Protecting New Health Facilities from Natural Disasters: Guidelines for the Promotion of Disaster Mitigationin the Design of New Health Facilities

Content:

Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions and the devastation they inflict are all too familiar to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. In the last decade, natural disasters have caused more than 45,000 deaths in the region, left 40 million injured or in need of assistance, and carried a price tag in direct damage alone of more than US$20 billion.
The health sector has proven particularly vulnerable to such havoc. In the course of the past 20 years, as a result of natural disasters, more than 100 hospitals and 650 health centers have collapsed or been so severely damaged that they had to be evacuated. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), accumulated losses due to disasters in the health sector reached US$3.12 billion the equivalent of 20 countries in the region each suffering the demolition of six hospitals and at least 70 health centers.
Approximately 50% of the 15,000 hospitals in Latin America and the Caribbean are sited in high-risk areas. Many of them lack disaster mitigation programs, emergency plans, or the infrastructure required to withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural phenomena.

Author:

Tarina Garca Concheso

Organisation:

Pan American Health Organization / The World Bank

Details:

1 MB, pdf

Language:

English