Towards a Safer World

Despite there being a significant increase in morbidity and mortality in those with chronic conditions, the main focus in disaster response and recovery has been on acute medical conditions and first aid.

Over recent years, there has been a shift to considering the effects of natural disasters on people with chronic conditions when planning for emergencies and natural disasters.

The U.S. Department of State invites submission of comments from the public and relevant industries on influenza surveillance and response, related to the implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework (PIP-FW) (http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA64/A64_8-en.pdf).

THE INCLUSIVE COST OF PANDEMIC INFLUENZA RISK  by Victoria Y. Fan, Dean T. Jamison, and Lawrence H. Summers.  NBER Working Paper 22137, March 2016.

Nominations are open for the 2016 Roux Prize, a $100,000 award launched in 2013 to recognize individuals or groups who have used disease burden evidence to take action and make people healthier. Nominees are welcomed from around the world and may be working on any health issue. The only requirement is that they have used disease burden evidence to improve health at the local, national, or global level. The submission deadline is March 31, 2016.

UNISDR awareness-raising campaign for the first anniversary of the Sendai Framework has gained massive support. This morning, we're on course to reach 19 million people, nearly doubling the record for a UNISDR social media campaign. The #switch2sendai hashtag has been trending on Twitter this week.

The International Conference on the Implementation of the Health Aspect of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, held on 10-11 March 2016, in Bangkok, Thailand, recommended the following measures that could assist countries in implementing the health aspects of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction:

1. Promote systematic integration of health into national and sub-national disaster risk reduction policies and plans and the inclusion of emergency and disaster risk management programmes in national and sub-national health strategies.

BANGKOK, 11 March 2016 – Government officials and hazard risk management experts from various sectors today called on countries to put health resilience at the heart of disaster risk management in the face of crises such as the Zika virus outbreak.

They agreed seven recommendations to help countries face up to the fact that biological hazards “are part of the new normal and are here to stay”, in the words of Dr Bruce Aylward, the World Health Organization’s Executive Director a.i. Outbreaks and Health Emergencies.

The International Conference on the implementation of the Health Aspects of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 will be held on 10-11 March 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand (Venue: The Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel) .

UNISDR Science and Technology Conference on the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030

International Conference – steps to sustainable livestock

12 – 15th January 2016, University of Bristol, UK
The University of Bristol is proud to host a ‘go-to’ event for academics, researchers, NGOs, policy makers and livestock producers working toward sustainability of ruminant systems.