Safe & Resilient Health Facilities

Anna Dela Cruz

Asian Development Bank | Ateneo de Manila University

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this paper/presentation are the views of the author
and do no necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank
(ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not
guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper/presentation and accepts no
responsibility for any consequence of their use. Terminology used may not necessarily
be consistent with ADB official terms.
Some lingering issues on safety
• Safety improvements driven by providers and regulators rather
than patients
• Quality and access: Safe hospitals are for the wealthy
• Current approaches to enhancing safety could be better
 Climate Change and Health Facilities

Climate change threatens health Health facilities contribute to

facilities climate change
▪ Many facilities were designed back • Health facilities create large volumes
when such threats were not as of highly toxic waste.
real/recognized. • Health facilities consume enormous
▪ Facilities are massive, long-term amounts of energy and other
investments, hence particular concern resources.
for ensuring that they last.
▪ There are important social,
psychoemotional, and political
benefits to ensuring that health
facilities remain functional amidst
disasters.
 The ability of a system,
community or society exposed
to hazards to resist, absorb,
accommodate and recover
from the effects of a hazard in a
timely and efficient manner,
Resilience including the preservation and
restoration of its essential
basic structures and
functions.

Source: UNISDR Terminology on Disaster Risk

Reduction 2009
 A climate resilient health system
is one that is capable to
anticipate, respond to, cope
with, recover from and adapt
to climate-related shocks and
Resilient Health stress, so as to bring sustained
System improvements in population
health, despite an unstable
climate.

Source: WHO Operational Framework for Building

Climate Resilient Health Systems 2015
 The explicit consideration and
internalization of the risks and
opportunities that alternative
climate change scenarios are
Climate-proofing likely to imply for the design,
infrastructure operation and maintenance of
infrastructure.

Source: UNDP 2011

Many frameworks,
tools, and standards
have begun to emerge.
Resilient
Hospital
Dashboard
Shorefront
Center for
Rehabilitation
and Nursing
Care
 Mercy
Hospital,
Joplin, MO
Rural Health
Unit
Marabut,
Western
Samar

Source: Penafiel, 2016

 ▪ Resilience is a key quality of
modern-day facilities

▪ Resilience allows facilities to fulfill

their mission to serve, while
remaining solid investments
Key Points
▪ But we need to find ways to make
facilities resilient while facing various
constraints

▪ Help (technical and financial) is

available