International day for disaster reduction 2008: High Level Panel

Organizer(s) United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - New York UNHQ Liaison Office United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Europe & Central Asia World Health Organization (WHO) Pan American Health Organization

Format

In person

Date

8 October 2008

The global event was a high level panel discussion featuring representatives of countries that have suffered major disasters, and have since focused closely on protecting critical infrastructure such as health facilities and schools. The website for the World Campaign for Disaster Reduction 2008-2009: Hospitals Safe from Disasters was also launched on this date.

On International Day for Disaster Reduction in New York, experts from China, India and the Caribbean shared experiences with international agencies, diplomatic missions and health sector academics on how to make hospitals safe from disasters.

Under-Secretary John Holmes emphasized the link between safe health facilities and protecting development. He called for strong political commitment to the issue, and underlined the Hyogo Framework for Action's requirement that all new hospitals be designed and built safely.

Professor Zhang Xiulan from the Wenchuan Earthquake Taskforce gave concrete examples of lessons learned by China from the massive earthquake earlier this year. Her comments were particularly valuable for other countries that need to give greater emphasis on disaster risk reduction during periods of rapid economic development.

P.G. Dhar Chakrabarti outlined India's comprehensive ten-point approach to building back better from Gujurat's massive 2001 earthquake, ranging from seismic risk assessments to training masons and local communities.

Mr Elton Georges of the British Virgin Islands, highlighted important approaches for small countries or islands with limited resources, such as putting more pressure on donors, making sure safe hospitals were the concern of multiple sectors rather than just health, the importance of accessible tools like the Hospital Safety Index, and external safety checks by outside authorities.

The event was chaired and sponspored by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan, and organized by UNISDR with support from WHO, PAHO and the World Bank's Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery.