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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke in Marrakech, Morocco
In a world where disasters are now more common owing to climatic change and other challenges, health care professionals and institutions have a key role to play in implementing health harm reduction in the face of all disasters and in creating the plans and teams needed to go into action when disaster does strike.
Africa has been faced by worsening crises related to diseases, epidemics, climate change, water scarcity, and food security and these challenges directly affect healthcare systems and agricultural and logistical value chains worldwide.
These are among the issues being discussed at the ongoing second African Conference on Health Harm Reduction in Morocco this week.
The conference seeks to allow experts to exchange information, experiences, and perspectives on health risk reduction while addressing crucial challenges related to water, the environment, and their impact on food and health security in Africa. Speaking during the opening session of the conference yesterday, Dr Arnon Afek, representing Sheba medical centre in Israel, said health care providers had a role to play in reducing harm to the population through saving the environment.
“We as hospitals are there to prevent diseases and to prevent disasters. So when we speak about the pillars upon which any hospital in any country stands on, from economy to coexistence, we must speak about sustainability. We have seen what happens with climate and disasters. Every one of our countries faces natural disasters all the time and all these are partly mediated through climate changes which we the human beings contribute to their occurrence,” he said.
Hospitals could reduce harm to the environment by implementing changes such as saving energy and water and taking care of their waste and chemicals safely and creatively.
He said solar powered systems were a safer way to provide energy while saving money that could go towards treating patients.
“By preventing harm and doing harm reduction, we can prevent the climate changes that are associated with the disaster we are all facing. There are many ways which hospitals can use and contribute to the harm reduction our countries face,” said Dr Afek.
South African harm reduction expert Dr Delon Human said disease was a disaster that would continue killing years after a natural disaster strikes. “If we look at the scores of harm reduction we use to help save lives, we have rapid risk assessment, the need to make sure that there is a rapid implementation of the measures. “We need sanitation and safe water, to make sure that primary healthcare services are up and running and the need to make sure there is immunisation for the people in that region. So there are several harm reduction tools used in non-communicable diseases that we can use in all national disasters to come,” he said.
It was important to make available health and risk communication as well as early diagnosis and early treatment tools to the populations most affected to reduce the harm. Experts agreed that it was imperative for health institutions to also put in systems that would allow them to proactively respond to disasters.
Managing director of the Board of Healthcare Funders in South Africa Dr Katlego Motludi said Africa was continuously finding itself in a position where cohesive efforts, strategic planning and unified stances were essential as threats to health became transitional issues.
“Unfortunately during a disaster, both natural and human made, the project management handbook gets thrown out when we are within the throngs of the event as we soon realise that we do not have the luxury of time nor unlimited resources.
“Sadly, those resources that we require, be they infrastructural or human, may well be compromised by that disaster. It is in that instance that we rely on the past, the past that should have afforded us the chance to plan and prepare adequately for the future that we find ourselves in. It becomes a case for the unforeseen having to be regarded as a certainty before it is realised,” he said.
He said there were unique challenges that disturbed the resilience of institutional roles in the healthcare sector during disasters.
“The role of institutions like hospitals, clinics, healthcare associations and organisations need to be about readiness, not just response. This implies capacity building, education and simulation training on disaster scenarios for health professionals and institutions. Additionally, the setup of a dedicated disaster response team within each institution and country or territory will ensure immediate action when you need it,” said Dr Motlaudi. He said healthcare institutions and organisations needed to work in harmony with the Government policies for better disaster management and subsequent health equity.
“Addressing healthcare equity in the wake of disasters requires deliberation. Health equity is about everyone having a fair and equal opportunity to stay healthy irrespective of who they are or where they come from. Disasters often leave glaring health inequities that exist in our societies.
“Government institutions should strive to implement equitable recovery measures to ensure accessible, affordable and providing healthcare to all post disasters. This requires a commitment towards universal health coverage, mobilizing resources and infrastructure for marginalised and exposed communities and building stronger and fairer health systems to safeguard the healthcare of every citizen,” he added.
Online Reporter