Today is International Day for Disaster Reduction which is observed on the second Wednesday of October each year.

The theme for this year is “making hospitals safe from disasters”.

UN Radio’s Patrick Maigua in Geneva asked the Director of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, Dr. Salvano Briceño, why the focus this year is on making hospitals safe.

BRICENO: When the hospitals are destroyed the disasters can become a double disaster. And that is something that we have identified as an essential building to protect and to make sure it can provide the services. To provide services after disasters is essential. So that’s why we have been promoting. We did it last year with schools because we believe that also protecting the children must be must be top priority for all communities. And this year we thought that hospitals are the second most important buildings in any community.

MAIGUA:And how do make hospitals safe from disasters?

BRICENO: Hospitals need to be made safe with a specific set of policies that are relevant, and they are all contained in what we call the Hyogo Framework for Action which was adopted by governments three years ago in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan where all the recommendations are made on how to make hospitals and schools and all types of construction safer. It is about building codes. It is about where to locate these facilities, it’s land use planning, it’s urban planning, it’s where they build, how they build, with which materials etc.

MAIGUA:Now looking back at the past one year, would you say disasters have become more frequent?

BRICENO: Disasters are becoming more frequent and affecting more people only because there is more people. The fact that there is more people, more people living in the wrong places and doing the wrong things, urban areas are becoming greater centres of risk and that makes it very very demanding. Now, on top of that, we have the expected impacts of climate change that are increasing the frequency and intensity of some types of hazards. Well it will even be worse.

MAIGUA:How would you rate the disaster preparedness of governments, humanitarian organizations and the public in general?

BRICENO: There is clearly some advancement and we know that many governments and many organizations are doing now much more than before. The problem is that they are not doing enough. So, although we have seen a great advancement, we need to do much more.

MAIGUA:What do you think needs to be done? Is that the governments need to be more proactive or what needs to be done?

BRICENO: They need to be more proactive and they need to follow the guidelines of the Hyogo Framework for Action that was adopted which describes in detail, what are the actions that are needed, what kind of measures and policies are needed to address this issue, to reduce risk and reduce vulnerability in all communities.

MAIGUA:For example, in the past one year we have seen floods, there is also Cyclone Nargis, floods in the United States, India, drought in the Horn of Africa. How do people get prepared for such kinds of natural disasters?

BRICENO: Those are hazards that are creating greater disasters all need to be addressed in different ways. And that’s why it is important that any strategy and programme on disaster reduction takes into account all the types of hazards. First of all people need to understand how the hazards impact and what are the vulnerabilities that create the disasters because the disaster is not the hazards. The disaster comes from the impact of the hazard on a vulnerable community or a vulnerable city or society. It’s when there is a vulnerability that a hazard creates a disaster. But the hazard itself, we always explain, it’s not the earthquake that kills people it’s the poorly built building. 

Today is International Day for Disaster Reduction which is observed on the second Wednesday of October each year.

The theme for this year is “making hospitals safe from disasters”.

UN Radio’s Patrick Maigua in Geneva asked the Director of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, Dr. Salvano Briceño, why the focus this year is on making hospitals safe.

BRICENO: When the hospitals are destroyed the disasters can become a double disaster. And that is something that we have identified as an essential building to protect and to make sure it can provide the services. To provide services after disasters is essential. So that’s why we have been promoting. We did it last year with schools because we believe that also protecting the children must be must be top priority for all communities. And this year we thought that hospitals are the second most important buildings in any community.

MAIGUA:And how do make hospitals safe from disasters?

BRICENO: Hospitals need to be made safe with a specific set of policies that are relevant, and they are all contained in what we call the Hyogo Framework for Action which was adopted by governments three years ago in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan where all the recommendations are made on how to make hospitals and schools and all types of construction safer. It is about building codes. It is about where to locate these facilities, it’s land use planning, it’s urban planning, it’s where they build, how they build, with which materials etc.

MAIGUA:Now looking back at the past one year, would you say disasters have become more frequent?

BRICENO: Disasters are becoming more frequent and affecting more people only because there is more people. The fact that there is more people, more people living in the wrong places and doing the wrong things, urban areas are becoming greater centres of risk and that makes it very very demanding. Now, on top of that, we have the expected impacts of climate change that are increasing the frequency and intensity of some types of hazards. Well it will even be worse.

MAIGUA:How would you rate the disaster preparedness of governments, humanitarian organizations and the public in general?

BRICENO: There is clearly some advancement and we know that many governments and many organizations are doing now much more than before. The problem is that they are not doing enough. So, although we have seen a great advancement, we need to do much more.

MAIGUA:What do you think needs to be done? Is that the governments need to be more proactive or what needs to be done?

BRICENO: They need to be more proactive and they need to follow the guidelines of the Hyogo Framework for Action that was adopted which describes in detail, what are the actions that are needed, what kind of measures and policies are needed to address this issue, to reduce risk and reduce vulnerability in all communities.

MAIGUA:For example, in the past one year we have seen floods, there is also Cyclone Nargis, floods in the United States, India, drought in the Horn of Africa. How do people get prepared for such kinds of natural disasters?

BRICENO: Those are hazards that are creating greater disasters all need to be addressed in different ways. And that’s why it is important that any strategy and programme on disaster reduction takes into account all the types of hazards. First of all people need to understand how the hazards impact and what are the vulnerabilities that create the disasters because the disaster is not the hazards. The disaster comes from the impact of the hazard on a vulnerable community or a vulnerable city or society. It’s when there is a vulnerability that a hazard creates a disaster. But the hazard itself, we always explain, it’s not the earthquake that kills people it’s the poorly built building.