When disasters strike, reactions must be swift and seamless – and not being prepared for the unexpected can mean the difference between life and death.
“It is crucial, therefore, for governments and health institutions to initiate measures to provide swift, affordable, and quality healthcare during and after catastrophes,” said Dr Katlego Mothudi, MD of the Board of Healthcare Funders of Southern Africa, presenting a report last week on disaster preparedness in addressing health emergencies at the second African Conference on Health Risk Reduction in Marrakech, Morocco.
“Disasters often lay bare the glaring health inequalities within societies,” he added.
A case in point was the disaster declared in KwaZulu-Natal in April last year, after devastating floods claimed the lives of 440 people and 84 healthcare facilities were badly damaged, reports News24. The provincial government said R184m would be needed for repairs.
Mothudi said addressing health equity in the wake of such disasters required deliberation.
“This requires a commitment towards universal health coverage, mobilising resources and infrastructure for marginalised and exposed communities, and a fairer health system to safeguard people’s health.”
Healthcare institutions and organisations needed to work harmoniously with government policies, he added, as the partnership played an essential role in disaster management and subsequent health equity.
“These policies are central to forming a concrete support system …they can enforce regulations ensuring all institutions have an emergency blueprint in place, encourage inter-agency collaboration, and offer financial and logistical aid during disasters.”
Governments must formulate coherent policies that directly addressed healthcare management and implement those policies in a timely manner, funding and supplementing healthcare systems before, during, and after disaster strikes, he added.
“Unfortunately, during a disaster, the project management handbook gets thrown out … as we soon realise we don’t have the luxury of time or unlimited resources, that those very resources, infrastructural or human, may also have been compromised by the disaster. That’s when we have to rely on the past, which should have allowed us to plan and prepare adequately for the future – or the disaster we’re now in. It becomes a case of the unforeseen having to be regarded as a certainty before it is realised.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that in emergencies, disasters, and other crises, the lives and well-being of the affected population must always be protected, particularly in the minutes and hours immediately after impact or exposure, as time is of the essence in saving lives.
The ability of health services to be delivered by critical infrastructure, like health facilities, without interruption in these situations, was a matter of life and death.
For this to happen, there was reliance on critical factors, like a health infrastructure that could resist risks and exposures, as well as:
• Essential medicines and medical equipment that are accessible and protected from damage from all hazards (including climate change impacts).
• Community infrastructure and critical services (water, food, electricity, and medical supplies) to support the delivery of health services.
• Health personnel who can provide medical assistance in safe and secure settings where and when they are needed most.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Amendments to Disaster Management Act vital after COVID lessons
KZN floods: 318 autopsies, 80 healthcare facilities damaged, fears of disease
Storm-wrecked KZN hospitals repair bill close to R100m