PREPAREDNESS AND MITIGATION IN THE AMERICAS Issue No. 75 News and Information for the International Disaster Community January 1999 SUMA: A Versatile Tool for Management and Good Governance ust as the terms “coordination” and marked shift toward channeling assistance and “exchange of information” were popular resources to non-governmental organizations J in the past, the new buzzwords in the (NGOs) or through civil society at large—an alter- humanitarian and development lexicon native that is not devoid of its own problems and are “accountability” and “transparency.” shortcomings. The days when governments and agencies jeal- (cont. on pg. 7) ously guarded their books and files from public scrutiny has become unsustainable and just plain unpopular with the international community. Humanitarian operations are no exception to this trend. Indeed, the misuse of donations after the 1972 earthquake in Nicaragua is still deeply etched in the collective public memory. Today, secrecy and “control” of information inevitably I N S I D E lead to suspicions of abuse of power. Donors, and to a growing degree the public in News from affected countries, are losing confidence in the PAHO/WHO 2 honesty and efficiency of the official response to disasters (both by governments and organiza- Other Both disaster-stricken countries, recipients of aid, and donor countries tions), and in the way that resources are managed. and agencies that provide relief, are calling for greater transparency Organizations One consequence of this loss of confidence is the and accountability in humanitarian operations. 3 Photo:A. Waak, PAHO/WHO Member Countries 4 Hundreds Meet to Evaluate Georges and Mitch Review of n evaluation of how stricken countries transition from emergency to reconstruction; from Publications 6 prepared for and responded to Hurricanes drinking water and sanitation to communicable Georges and Mitch was the topic of a diseases. Upcoming major multi-agency meeting held in the A list of topics from the working groups, as Meetings A 6 Dominican Republic from 16-19 February. At the well as the summary conclusions of both the Selected meeting, 400 disaster professionals from 48 coun- health and non-health groups is on the meeting Bibliography tries used the opportunity to identify lessons web site at h t t p : / / w w w . p a h o . o r g / e n g l i s h / 8 learned from these devastating hurricanes. p e d / p e d e v a l . h t m. This site also houses draft Supplement on Participants formulated recommendations for national reports by countries affected by the hurri- “Mitch” improving preparedness and response in future canes (which can be downloaded). A publication S1 events during 20 working groups on topics that compiling these reports is being prepared. For more ranged from the impact on the environment to the information write [email protected]. ❏ ISSN 0251-4486 News from PAHO/WHO New Coordinator An Organization-wide Effort for WHO Collaborating Addresses the Health Impact of Disasters Center In 1998, nature struck with a vengeance. Hurricane Georges was the first, leaving a trail of destruction The University of in the eastern Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico in September. Hurricane Mitch followed, a rare, cata - Antioquia in Medellin, strophic category V storm, triggering deadly mudslides and flooding in Honduras, Nicaragua, El Colombia is the WHO Salvador, and Guatemala. More recently in the news, the earthquake that struck Colombia left more than Collaborating Center 500 dead and thousands homeless. In these cases, PAHO/WHO mobilized a strong field presence of public health experts to respond to the on Emergency and health effects of the disasters. The information below on Hurricane Mitch was excerpted from P A H O Disaster Preparedness. Today, the newsletter of the Pan American Health Organization. As of January 1999, the Center’s new director is Hurricane Mitch first Internet-intensive disasters, and the Internet Prof. Ivan Dario During the first 48 hours, as the full impact of proved to be an efficient tool for the rapid Rendon Ospina. Mitch’s havoc emerged, PAHO conducted a rapid exchange of information among health and disas- The Collaborating assessment of damages and emergency health ter personnel in the Americas. Center advises the needs. A 24-hour situation room Hurricane Mitch shattered as health faculties of the was set up at Headquarters in much as 70 percent of Honduras’ region’s universities on Washington to coordinate emer- and Nicaragua’s basic infrastruc- gency response to Mitch. A team ture, setting back socioeconomic organizing a disaster of more than 200 local and development 50 years. Diseases component within their PAHO health and disaster such as cholera, malaria, dengue curriculum. experts identified as top priori- fever, and leptospirosis, present Visit their web site at ties the provision of safe water in Central America before the www4.salud.org.ec/ and adequate sanitation, close hurricane, made the risk of out- desastre/centros.htm. epidemiological surveillance to breaks all the more serious. head off possible disease out- In an effort to reach out and breaks, and reestablishing health help communities struck hard- service networks. est by Mitch, PAHO prepared As the needs for medicines, a series of 30-second public insecticides, water purification service announcements for materials, waste disposal sys- radio and television showing tems, and hospital equipment people how to avoid disease became critical, the deluge of and stay healthy during the international donations posed emergency. Topics dealt serious logistic and management One of PAHO/WHO’s strengths is its ability to mobi- with included water and lize technical expertise in a wide variety of public problems for national authorities. health fields from among its 35 Member Countries. sanitation, safe food han- The SUMA system allowed Photo:PAHO/WHO, C. Osorio dling, and mosquito con- relief workers to quickly sort out trol. PAHO also hosted a life-saving items from nonessential goods and series of special radio programs focusing on the track these materials from point of entry to key psychological impact disasters can have, particu- storage and distribution sites. larly on children. In Washington, PAHO staff monitored the inter- Just as health authorities in all countries began national health response and produced compre- taking stricter control measures to improve food hensive daily situation updates which were avail- safety and guarantee the quality of water for able online on the Mitch web site h t t p : / / w w w . human consumption, doctors and epidemiologists paho.org/english/ped/pedmitch.htm. became more vigilant in looking for people who The ability to prepare timely reports came as a became sick and treating them to ensure that out- result of a major Internet drive begun by PAHO in 1995. Hurricanes Georges and Mitch were the (cont. on pg. 7) 2 Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in the Americas, January 1999 Other Organizations Research Publications Available University of Delaware Electronically from NAP Last August, the University of Delaware initiat- ed a new interdisciplinary, inter-college M.A. and The information age has advanced to a new Ph.D. program in Environmental and Energy level for hazard researchers with the creation of Policy. Among its five major concentrations is the National Academy Press (NAP) Reading one on disaster policy supported by staff of the Room on the World Wide Web. At that site, Disaster Research Center at the University. The h t t p : / / w w w . n a p . e d u / r e a d i n g r o o m / , NAP docu- concentration curriculum will include FEMA ments, reports, and books may be viewed, printed Higher Education Project emergency management or ordered on-line. courses. For additional information, contact the Recent titles include:"Reducing Disaster Losses Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, fax: Through Better Information" (1998, 60 pp); (302)831-3098; e-mail: p a t r i c i a . g r i m e s @ m v s . "Review of Recommendations for Probabilistic udel.edu. ❏ Seismic Hazard Analysis: Guidance on Uncer- tainty and Use of Experts" (1997, 85 pp); "Earthquake Prediction: The Scientific Challenge" (1996, 128 pp.); "Report of the Observer Panel for the U.S.-Japan Earthquake Policy Symposium" Final Stretch for the IDNDR (1998, 72 pp.); and "Cooperating With Nature: Confronting Natural Hazards with Land-Use Planning for Sustainable Communities" (1998, As the International Decade for Natural Disaster 368 pp.). Reduction draws to a close, what has been For more information, contact the National achieved and what still needs to be done to reduce Academy Press, fax: (202) 334-2451 or e-mail the the impact of disasters in the Americas? What Customer Service staff at [email protected]. ❏ have we learned throughout the 1990s? What pat- terns will future disasters follow? Advanced Degrees in Disaster These are the themes of the Hemispheric Meeting of the IDNDR for the Americas: Toward a Reduction in the Impact of Disasters for the 21st Management and Policy Century. This meeting, scheduled from May 31- June 5, 1999 in San José, GWU Offers New Graduate-Level Costa Rica, forms part of the global closing ceremonies for the IDNDR. The meeting is being organized by the Government of Costa Rica’s Disaster Courses National Emergency Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the The George Washington University's IDNDR Secretariat and PAHO. Department of Engineering Management, support- Co-sponsoring agencies (the International Federation of Red Cross and ed by the GWU Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Red Crescent Societies, the OAS, CDERA, CEPREDENAC, OFDA/ Risk Management, is offering the degrees of USAID, and the World Meteorological Organization) will organize parallel Master of Science and Master of Engineering sessions and workshops on: Disaster Prevention and Sustainable Management with a concentration in Crisis and Development; Information and Technology Transfer; Risk Assessment; and Emergency Management.