International Day for Disaster Reduction 2009, South Africa
The South Africa National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction under the National Disaster Management Center and UNISDR Regional Office for Africa are organizing an awareness symposium on the theme of the UNISDR global campaign 2008/09 "Hospitals Safe from Disasters" in South Africa to mark the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction 2009.
The meeting will take place from 14 to 15 October 2009 and will discuss raising awareness and devising measures to double efforts to protect health facilities and ensure their functionality during and in the aftermath of disasters.
This will be achieved by identifying the vulnerabilities and gaps in health systems, sharing experiences and preparedness measures employed in other parts of the world and initiating actions to improve the safety of health facilities using tools such as the Hospital Safety Index in close cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa.