Call for standardised emergency preparedness and response

Abstract

The 7·8 magnitude earthquake that shook Türkiye and Syria in February, 2023, left more than 15 000 people dead and more than 70 000 with traumatic injuries.1Hubbard B Timur S Quake death toll passes 12 000 in Turkey and Syria as desperation builds.https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/02/08/world/turkey-syria-earthquakeDate: Feb 8, 2023Date accessed: April 4, 2023Google Scholar The human toll of this disaster divulged the breadth of challenges in emergency assistance including, surgical, anaesthesia, and obstetric care. Due to the increasing burden of climate change and mass casualty incidents across the globe, WHO is emerging with solid commitments to emergency preparedness and response with the Emergency, Critical, and Operative Care Services resolution at the 76th World Health Assembly.2WHO Executive BoardIntegrated emergency, critical and operative care for universal health coverage and protection from health emergencies.https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB152/B152_CONF3-en.pdfDate: Jan 30, 2023Date accessed: April 4, 2023Google Scholar This renewed commitment by WHO and its member states underlies an important call to action for national governments to identify and evaluate the deficiencies of their disaster preparedness strategies and channels for funnelling these financial and political commitments and investments into system-level changes. Mass casualty incidents often reveal the underlying weaknesses of health systems in lower-income and middle-income countries, in which a substantial proportion of the population lacks timely and affordable access to health care. Adequate mass casualty incident preparedness has been shown to alleviate the damage, alter a country's economics, and cause epidemiological shifts in mortality and morbidity. The earthquakes in Sichuan, China, provide valuable lessons on the implementation of national disaster preparedness plans. A comparison of the Wenchuan earthquakes of 2008, and the Jiuzhaigou earthquake of 2017, of similar intensity and geographical location revealed that China improved the use of emergency management plans following the implementation of The Measures for the Administration of Emergency Response Plans in 2013, and substantially reduced the wounded to death ratio.3Yang J Chen J Liu H Zheng J Comparison of two large earthquakes in China: the 2008 Sichuan Wenchuan earthquake and the 2013 Sichuan Lushan earthquake.Nat Hazards. 2014; 73: 1127-1136Crossref Scopus (30) Google Scholar, 4Hu X Naim K Jia S Zhengwei Z Disaster policy and emergency management reforms in China: from Wenchuan earthquake to Jiuzhaigou earthquake.Int J Disaster Risk Reduct. 2021; 52101964Crossref Scopus (11) Google Scholar China strengthened the preparation and implementation of emergency plans through drills and exercises, which increased the local emergency management capacity. However, the plans still exhibit limited standardisation in systematically matching disaster response organisations and local emergency support functions that encompass medical and surgical care.4Hu X Naim K Jia S Zhengwei Z Disaster policy and emergency management reforms in China: from Wenchuan earthquake to Jiuzhaigou earthquake.Int J Disaster Risk Reduct. 2021; 52101964Crossref Scopus (11) Google Scholar Achieving unification in health-care delivery and optimisation of resources will necessitate context-based revisions and standardisation across sectors. The recent earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria accentuated the urgent need for action to standardise emergency preparedness and responses. The Emergency, Critical, and Operative Care Services resolution requires WHO and its member states to establish governance mechanisms at various levels for coordinating emergency care services, patient transfer and referral, and disaster preparedness.2WHO Executive BoardIntegrated emergency, critical and operative care for universal health coverage and protection from health emergencies.https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB152/B152_CONF3-en.pdfDate: Jan 30, 2023Date accessed: April 4, 2023Google Scholar This ensures effective emergency, critical, and operative care services in disaster and fragile settings, while maintaining essential community health services. The implementation of this resolution is a crucial step towards enhancing health-care delivery and promoting greater resilience in the face of emergencies across health systems.5Tadesse L Abdullah NH Awadalla HMI et al.A global mandate to strengthen emergency, critical and operative care.Bull World Health Organ. 2023; 101 (31A): 231Crossref PubMed Scopus (0) Google Scholar We declare no competing interests.