Disaster Risk Reduction For Health

Not a new concept; however it is a new priority

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What is a disaster?

Disasters occur when vulnerable individuals and communities are impacted by environmental hazards.

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Disaster = Hazard x Vulnerability

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What is DRR?

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is a systematic approach to identifying, assessing, and reducing risks of disasters before they occur.

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Why DRR for Health?

The majority of disaster deaths occur during impact, yet historically efforts have focused on response.1 DRR for health addresses the causal factors of disasters to prevent or mitigate illness or injury from ever occurring.

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100 million

people were affected by disasters in 20142

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Disaster risk is rising

due to urbanization, population growth, poverty, and climate change3

Vulnerable Populations

continue to be disproportionately affected by disasters

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30-50% of disaster fatalities are children4

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50% of disaster fatalities in Hurricane Katrina were over the age of 755

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70% of casualties in the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami were women6

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Every dollar spent on DRR saves $4 in response and recovery cost

DRR at CDC
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Science – Understanding disaster risk

  • Contribute to the growing scientific literature on DRR

Practice – Community efforts and best practices

  • Identify baseline DRR efforts and build capacity
  • Evaluate effectiveness of community DRR strategies and implementation
  • Provide technical assistance to Federal, state, local, territorial, and international stakeholders to build capacity

Policy – Inform national and global strategies

  • Represent public health on the US National Platform to implement the UN Sendai Framework for DRR
  • Represent health in the broader multi-sectoral DRR network

1Malilay 1997, Schultz and Deynes 2010, and McCarty 2002; 2CRED-EM-DAT 2015; 3OID 2013; 4WHO 2013; 5Brunkard 2008; 6World Bank 2013; 7FEMA 2014

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