Republic of the Philippines Department of Health OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY ‘San Lezaro Compound Rial Avenue, Sta. Cz 1003 Menita, Philippines ‘Trunk Line 743-82-01 Diteet Line 711-95-02 to 03 Line 743-1828, e-mail: csse@doh.gov-ph September 9, 2004 ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER No. _}6g 3.2004 SUBJECT: National Policy on Health Emergencies and Disasters 1, BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE In an emergency, the health sector is always called-and relied upon to resporid, It is expected to take the lead in dealing with disease outbreaks or epidemics and, oftentimes, to provide essential back up support during rescue operations, like after an earthquake. The responsibility for dealing with disaster rests primarily on the national and local government since efficient disaster management requires the optimum uflization of existing resources, majority of which tend to be under government ownership and control. in 1978, P.D. 1566 “Strengthening the Philippine Disaster Control Capabilty and Establishing the National Program in Community Disaster Preparedness” paved the way for the institutionalization of the disaster management structure from the national government down to the ‘barangay level. The Department of Health is mandated to lead the proviston of medical services in collaboration with other stakeholders in the health sector. Its role in health ‘emergency management is to lead in Health Sector preparedness and response. It follows, therefore, that the organizational set-up needed for dealing with disasters is best based on existing government structures. Failure on the part ofthe health sector to respond adequately ‘and appropriately can be quite costly, not only health-wise, in terms of ensuing disabilities and tost lives, but also socially, technically and poiticaly Reports from the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) showed that 145 or 23 percent of the 617 major disasters caused by natural hazarés in the world occurred in the Wester Pacific Region. Moreover, the total world figures from World Health Organization (WHO) data revealed that 8.1 percent were kiled in the disaster, 48.8 percent injured, 89.2 percent homeless, and 65.2 percent were affected in the Region The Philippines is among the top five counties in terms of the number of natural disasters occurring in the Region, with no less than 4f events or 28 percent hitting the country. ‘Another growing concern is the steady increase in the number of major disasters caused by man-made and technological hazards, in adcition to the global concern on terrorism as well as the threat of new and re-emerging diseases such as SARS and the Avian Flu. Around 1,500 people are kiled by major technological disasters every year in the Region since 1893. th fact, the Philippines ranks second in terms of the number of mass casualty events due to industrial accidents. ‘The WHO's Emergency and Humanitarian Action Programme, (EHA) has identified five regional issues that have parlly hampered the realization of regional objectives to support capacity building for emergency health management. To wit. i) increasing natural and technological hazards; ii) insufficient readiness; ii) insufficient public health information on ‘emergency situation; iv) weak institutional capacity for emergency management, and v) lack of collaboration among partner agencies prior to emergency.To enhance the capacity of the health sector in emergency management, two National ‘Conventions on Heaith Emergency Management for the Health Sector have been conducted, Which resulted in the forging of a Memorandum of Agreement among 12 national agencies and the development of a Strategic Plan for the Health Sector. The main objective of the MOA is to establish a comprehensive, integrated and coordinated health sector response to emergencies and disasters. Given these concems, this guideline is hereby formulated to define the rules of engagement, procedures, coordination and sharing of resources and responsibilities, 10 include the varying levels of state of preparedness and the desired response to emergencies and disasters in the health sector. DEFINITIONS. @. HAZARD — any phenomenon which has the potential to cause disruption or damage to people, their property, their services or their environment, ie. their communities. b. EMERGENCY — any actual threat to public safety. ©. MAJOR EMERGENCY — any emergency where response is constrained by insufficient resources to meet immediate needs. d. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ~ a management process that is applied to deal with the actual or implied effects of hazards. @. MASS CASUALTY EVENT ~ an event in which the number of dead and injured is of ‘sufficient magnitude as to overwhelm the available resources; e.g. a plane crash or an ‘epidemic, t DISASTER — an event, in which local emergency management measures were insufficient to cope with a hazard, whether due to lack of time, capacity or resources, resulting in unacceptable levels of damage or numbers of casualties. 9. PREPAREDNESS — measures taken to strengthen the capacity of the emergency services to respond in an emergency. Emergency preparedness is done at all levels while disaster preparedness is focused mostly at the national level. h. RISK ~ the level of loss or damage that can be predicted to result from a particular hazard affecting a particular place ata particular time. RISK MANAGEMENT ~ a comprehensive strategy for reducing risks to public safety by preventing hazards, reducing vulnerabillies and enhancing preparedness ie response capacities. i HEALTH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HEALTH SECTOR — is an organization of ‘agencies each with a health unit primarily devoted to and united to provide state of the ‘art, appropriate and acceptable technical assistance andior direct services on health ‘emergency preparedness and response to any entity ~ international or national. OBJECTIVES: A. General To formulate and implement a national policy framework for emergencies and isasters for the Health Sector in order to decrease mortality and morbidity, promote physical and mental health as well as prevent injury and disability on the part of both victims and responders.Nv. Specific 4. To develop goals, strategies, plans and policies for ensuring an efficient and effective system for managing emergencies and disasters in the Health Sector, 2. To improve the effectiveness of DOH systems, structures, capacities and mechanisms for managing emergencies and disasters; 3. To build up the preparedness and response activities of both the public and private health facilities for administering mass casualty events during emergencies and disasters; and 4. To strengthen links between partner agencies and stakeholders in responding to emergencies and disasters in the country. ‘SCOPE AND COVERAGE ‘This Order shall apply to all Department of Health offices, hospitals and its attached agencies. It shall likewise apply to all disciplines and institutions, whether government, non-govemmment or private entities whose functions and activities contribute to health ‘emergency preparedness and response. FRAMEWORK OF HEALTH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Vision ‘To be Asia's prime mover in health emergency and disaster preparedness and response. Mission To lead in the formulation of a comprehensive, integrated and coordinated health sector response to emergencies and disasters. To ensure the development of competent, dynamic, committed and compassionate health professionals equipped with the most modern and state-of-the-art facilities at par with global standards. To be the center of all health and health-related information on emergencies and disasters. Goals/Objectives 1. General To ensure health emergency preparedness and response among the general public and to strengthen the health sector's capability to respond to emergencies and disasters