Resilience Conference 2014

Royal United Services Institute,13-14th November 2014

Resilience and health in the face of Resilience and health in the face of

disasters: a perspective from the UN

post-2015 agenda

Dr Amina Aitsi-Selmi, MBBChir PhD

Specialist Registrar in Public Health

Public Health England

Professor Virginia Murray

Consultant in Global Disaster Risk

Reduction, Public Health England

Vice-Chair Scientific and Technical Vice-Chair Scientific and Technical

Advisory Group, United Nations

International Strategy on Disaster

Risk Reduction

2

What is health?

Health is a state of complete physical,

social and mental well-being, and not social and mental well-being, and not

merely the absence of disease or

infirmity.

The Constitution of WHO (1946)

3

The factors that affect health in communities

4

Resilience means the ability to “resile from” or “spring back from” a shock.

The resilience of a community

The resilience of a community in respect to potential

hazard events is determined by the degree to which the

community has the necessary resources and is capable

of organizing itself both prior to and during times of

need.

(The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR)

http://cambridgeriskframework.com/downloads

Increase of exposure of people and

economic assets to natural hazards

http://www.unisdr.org/eng/hfa/docs/HFA-brochure-English.pdf

Recommendations1. Encourage science to demonstrate that it

can inform policy and practice

2. Use a problem-solving approach to 2. Use a problem-solving approach to research that integrates all hazards and disciplines

3. Promote knowledge into action

4. Science should be key to the Post-2015 Hyogo Framework for Action

Case studies

• The problem e.g. landslides

• The science• The science

• The impact on policy and practice

• Did it make a difference?

Groups participating in Post-

2015 DRR consultations

PUBLIC SECTOR

National governments

Intergovernmental

PRIVATE ACTORS

Businesses

Academic and Scientific

CommunityIntergovernmental Organizations

Local governments• Mayors

Parliamentarians

Community

NGOs and Civil Society Organizations

Self organizing communities• Women’s groups

• Children and youth

• Persons with disabilities

• Elderly

The UN System supports the proposed creation of

an international science advisory mechanism to

strengthen the evidence base for the strengthen the evidence base for the implementation and monitoring of the new

framework

Summary on environmental and

health resilience and disaster risk

reduction

• Hyogo Framework for Action – Building the Resilience

of nations and Communities to Disaster 2005-2015 has

successfully built an international agreement on

resilience

• Evidence based science is essential to support

resilience in Disaster Risk Reduction and to reduce

health impacts

• Opportunity of the 2015 UN landmark agreements to

take forward resilience for environment and health

29Virginia.Murray@phe.gov.uk

Submit your case study

Outline

1. Health and resilience

2. Challenges and opportunities

3. UN Landmark Agreements for 20153. UN Landmark Agreements for 2015

4. Hyogo Framework for Action

5. The role of science in supporting resilience in

Disaster Risk Reduction

6. Invitation to submit case studies

Priorities for action

1) Understanding disaster risk

2) Strengthening governance and institutions

to manage disaster risk

3) Investing in economic, social, cultural and

environmental resilience

4) Enhancing preparedness for effective

response, and building back better in

recovery and reconstruction.

Opportunities

• Commitment to setting global DRR targets

• Inclusion of environmental dimensions of disaster riskdisaster risk

• Emphasis on the role of science

Challenges

• Articulating the interface between DRR, conflict,

poverty, growth and climate change

• Defining measures of progress and success over • Defining measures of progress and success over

the 2015-2025 period (goals, targets, outcomes)?

• Creating global platforms of governance

Calls for Science at Prepcom 1

• 65/87 Country and Country group

Statements

• 8/10 Major Group Statements

36

Recommendations1. Encourage science to demonstrate that it

can inform policy and practice

2. Use a problem-solving approach to 2. Use a problem-solving approach to research that integrates all hazards and disciplines

3. Promote knowledge into action

4. Science should be key to the Post-2015 Hyogo Framework for Action

Recommendations1. Encourage science to demonstrate that it

can inform policy and practice

2. Use a problem-solving approach to 2. Use a problem-solving approach to research that integrates all hazards and disciplines

3. Promote knowledge into action

4. Science should be key to the Post-2015 Hyogo Framework for Action

Submit a case study

http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/networks/public/stag

39

http://www.preventionweb.net/posthfa/?pid:50&pih:2