Safe Hospitals

WDisasters brought about by natural hazards are, first and foremost,
thought of in terms of their human consequences. The physical
and emotional losses they cause have moved us to aspire for a safer
world. A disaster remains primarily a social and health issue.
The 1994 World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction in
Yokohama, Japan prompted a more far-sighted approach, stressing the
economic link between disasters and sustainable development. It is
now well recognized that disasters do affect the GNP of developing
countries and reduce their prospects for growth. Disasters have become
an economic issue.
Has the pendulum shifted too far? Are disasters now primarily
seen as economic challenges? Are the health consequences and social
losses merely one of the financial line items that make up the overall
cost of the damage?
Disasters are setbacks to sustainable economic growth as well as
human and health tragedies. These aspects are interdependent and
cannot be dissociated. Protecting critical health facilities, particularly
hospitals, from the avoidable consequences of disasters, is not only
essential to meeting the Millennium Development Goals, but also a
social and political necessity.