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![• 43 FFHs studied in three disasters
• average cost: $2000/bed/day
• occupancy <50%
• "No FFH arrived early
enough to provide emergency
medical trauma care".
Foreign field hospitals: Von Schreeb et al.
[2008 - PDM 23(2): 144 et seq.]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/13conf-natointegratinghumanitarianops-111026055137-phpapp01/75/NATO-ATC-Integrating-Humanitarian-Operations-26-2048.jpg)
Uploaded byProf. David E. Alexander (UCL)
NATO-ATC: Integrating Humanitarian Operations
1) Humanitarian operations are complex due to factors like logistics, culture, ethics and the need for sustained commitment, especially in major disasters where dozens of countries contribute. 2) The international disaster relief system is expensive and inefficient - it is slow to mobilize, constrained by sovereignty, reactive rather than preventative. Foreign field hospitals in particular have low occupancy rates and often arrive too late. 3) Better coordination and preparedness is needed, including empowering local rescue groups, building standards, and disaster risk reduction. International assistance should complement rather than substitute local resources.
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- 4. Vulnerability & marginalisation in thePeruvian Andes, Eastern Cordillera Debris slide-falls Houses destroyed
- 5. "informal settlement" Normal riverlevel Flood level Buriganga River, central Bangladesh
- 6. Urbanisation spreads ontothe floodplain in Tunja, Boyacá, Colombia
- 7. In places likePort au Prince, Haiti, and Luanda, Angola, the status quo ante has often seemed as bad as any disaster impact.
- 8. The "informal housing" ofthe poor is usually relegated to the least safe places
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- 16. Relatively minor damageto transportation systems can paralyse a megacity
- 17. • can havevery complex patterns, but these are capable of being understood • results from knowledge not utilised • poses complex problems of rescue • casualties are heavily concentrated in urban-metropolitan areas • reveals poverty-vulnerability linkage. Seismic vulnerability
- 18. Stairwells are often themost vulnerable part of the building during earthquakes, and the first part that people use as they try to escape.
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- 20. Situations that arecomplex • logistically • culturally • ethically • morally ...requiring huge levels of sustained commitment...
- 21. • typically ininternationally declared disasters up to 70 nations participate in the relief effort • in the Haiti earthquake of 2010 more than 120 countries contributed • very large fluxes of relief goods managed with inadequate port facilities • disputes arose over distribution priorities • ad hoc strategy does not take adequate account of all factors. The problem of international co-ordination
- 22. The dilemmas ofhumanitarian assistance in the modern world:- • faced with situations of injustice and political polarisation it may be impossible to maintain neutrality • humanitarian assistance can cause unexpected and undesired effects • the strong reaction to major disasters masks a lack of prevention and preparedness • badly planned assistance can do more harm than good.
- 23. • 12 nationsaffected = 12 different disasters - complex situation • temporary export of European health and civil protection systems to Asian countries • huge imbalance of donations • the Swedish case (SEMA) • difficulties with mass mortality: body handling arrangements, arrangements for the bereaved. The Indian Ocean Tsunami of Dec. 2004
- 24. • International assistance shouldcomplement, not substitute, local resources Humanitarian assistance should help a country reach general development goals, not only help disaster victims to survive. Two principles
- 25. • it isslow to mobilise • it is constrained by national sovreignty • it includes highly varied motivations and levels of professionality • it is a reactive system that does little or nothing to reduce disaster risk. The international disaster relief system is expensive and inefficient
- 26. • 43 FFHsstudied in three disasters • average cost: $2000/bed/day • occupancy <50% • "No FFH arrived early enough to provide emergency medical trauma care". Foreign field hospitals: Von Schreeb et al. [2008 - PDM 23(2): 144 et seq.]
- 27. Non era unasituazione insolita.... In the Bam, Iran, earthquake of 2003, 1,600 rescuers from 43 nations saved only 30 people
- 28. In the January2010 earthquake in Haiti only 133 people were rescued, and only nine of them after day five
- 29. • lacking inthe necessary equipment • inefficient and often ineffective • dangerous for the responders • dangerous for the rescued person • no substitute for professional rescue. Operations such as this are...
- 30. • areas atrisk need local fully trained and equipped SAR groups • technology and expertise need to be transferred preventatively to where they are needed • twinning, exchange between SAR groups • better building standards, more understanding of SAR requirements. To avoid scenes like this...
- 31. More than 1000humanitatian agencies work in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh
- 32. The essential roleof governance: decision making by democratic participation
- 34. • logistical supportadequate in the field? • can disaster-related problems be distinguished from endemic ones? • can local leaders and stakeholder groups be identified and dialogue started? • what sort of assistance is really needed? • is inter-agency co-ordination adequate?. Some practical considerations
- 35. The controversy overtransitional shelter: post-disaster shelter solutions have seldom considered urban area problems:- • lack of space for building • need for high-density solutions • intensive provision of services.
- 36. Analyse the context Assess needs Build scenarios Set prioritiesPlan the response Issuea consolidated or flash appeal Monitor and revise Report on actions UN-OCHA Humanitarian Actions
- 37. UN-OCHA Clusters:- • Emergencytelecommunications • Water and sanitation (WASH) • Emergency shelter • Infrastructure • Early recovery • Agriculture • Education • Health • Food
- 38. • radical changesare needed to adapt the world relief system to new realities • currently the system is inefficient and still too heavily based on reaction rather than prevention • integration is a matter of voluntary collaboration among a heterogeneous group of agencies, according to a somewhat arbitrary set of rules. In synthesis...
- 39. • emerging risks, pandemics •climate change & sea-level rise • millennial events • poverty/vulnerability complex • wealth gap. The imperatives:-
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