Sow the Seeds of Change: Local Best Practices in Disaster Risk Reduction Efforts
Project Director: Exaltacion E. Lamberte
Funding Agency: Philippine Council for Health Research and Development-Department of Science and Technology (PCHRD-DOST)
This project involved three case research studies on best practices that demonstrated efforts geared toward disaster risk reduction initiatives aiming at resiliency in the health sector and local government unit; and identified success factors running through these disaster risk reduction efforts. The case study in Tacloban focused on efforts to strengthen the resiliency of local public and private secondary hospitals. Primarily, it sought to characterize the impact of Typhoon Yolanda, particularly regarding the capacity of public and private hospitals to deliver health services in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, given the damage or effect wrought on its: 1) physical or structural integrity; 2) available medical supplies and technologies; 3) health workforce; 4) financial operations; 5) leadership and governance structure; and 6) information system. In northern Cebu, the team looked into how professional organizations in health services delivery were mobilized in the face of humanitarian emergency situations. The extent of the efforts made by the Cebu Nursing Professional Organization to deliver emergency health services in a context in which local health personnel have not been able to do were determined. Lastly, the municipality of Hilongos in Northern Leyte was the subject of an examination of LGU efforts in serving as a transit station for displaced persons. The number of persons displaced by Typhoon Yolanda, their places of origin, and their planned places of destination, particularly for those who opted to transit through the municipality, were studied.
The running thread in the pieces of evidence from the three case studies rested on the action initiatives of individual actors and collectivities. Strong and responsive actors matter in disaster situations. Disaster has been viewed as an extra-ordinary situation that requires extra-ordinary readiness and responses from the individuals, collective actors and flexible institutional arrangements. Given this situation, risk reduction strategies and management require persons with strong character, well-informed individuals in addition to dynamic leadership. In this vein, it was seen as important to develop and form persons and individuals ready to respond to the call to address challenges and problematic situations. Survival is about the action and decisions of ready, resilient and strong individuals, whether or not they occupy positions of leadership.
Moreover, in disaster situations, flexible institutional arrangements were viewed as being imperative. While well-coordinated initiatives were required, steadfast rules and bureaucratic institutional protocol needed to be voided, just as top-down decisions geared toward community initiatives had to be reduced. While resources were provided by the institution itself, the action and decisions were viewed as having to rely on the bottom level actors carrying out community interventions as well as a relief program. In addition, resources needed to be distributed, irrespective of the entity of the collectivities and health facility providing emergency health care and services. Public or private, monetary and human resources needed to be allotted by the government in order to sustain service provision.
Key words: disaster risk reduction initiatives, resiliency in the health sector, local government unit, Typhoon Yolanda, best practices