The WHO Centre for Development (WHO Kobe Centre – WKC) coordinates major projects on Health Emergencies and Disaster Risk Management (Health EDRM). As an international expert in this field, WKC’s technical lead, Dr Ryoma Kayano, was invited to participate in the Forum and presented a session on “Generating the evidence base for DRM in the health sector: tools and approaches”. Most countries are likely to experience health emergencies which can increase death and disease, disrupt essential health services and damage infrastructure.

“Conducting research on Health EDRM generates data and evidence for learning lessons and making evidence-based decisions. This helps countries to become proactive rather than reactive. It means understanding and managing risks pre-emptively, adapting and aligning core capabilities to protect health from specific threats to manage all-hazards, and building resilient communities through leadership, capacity and collaboration,” said Dr Kayano.  

“For instance, from data and evidence from the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, we learnt the health consequences of evacuation include indirect death from deep vein thrombosis, and living in temporary accommodation can increase worsen noncommunicable diseases and cognitive impairment. From this, research studies pointed to measures such as encouraging community participation in exercise or hobbies to reduce depression and mitigate cognitive disability after the disaster,” he said.