Abstract
WPSAR Vol 6, Suppl 1, 2015 | doi: 10.5365/wpsar.2015.6.3.HYN_023 www.wpro.who.int/wpsar 25 a Offi ce of the WHO Representative in the Philippines, Sta Cruz, Manila, Philippines. Submitted: 17 September 2015; Published: 6 November 2015 doi: 10.5365/wpsar.2015.6.3.HYN_023 The World Health Organization (WHO) Representative Office in the Philippines is accustomed to responding to disasters as the country is frequently hit by typhoons and earthquakes.1 Between 2009 and 2014 the Philippines was hit by 14 typhoons or tropical storms annually.2 WHO Representative Office in the Philippines works closely with and is located alongside the Department of Health (DOH) in Metropolitan Manila. Together, they co-lead the humanitarian Health Cluster that provides immediate response and recovery support, technical expertise and capacity enhancement to manage all types of crises. WHO is guided by the Emergency Response Framework (ERF) with the ERF grading system guiding the extent, complexity and duration of WHO support and the required emergency standard operating procedures during responses, ranging from “ungraded” to “Level 3,” the maximum level of response.3
Highlights
Using the Emergency Response Framework (ERF) system, Typhoon Haiyan was graded as a Level 3 emergency.[4]
An ERF Level 1 event was ongoing as a result of a clash between the Moro National Liberation Front and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in September 2013 in what came to be known as the Zamboanga City crisis.[6]
The objective of this paper is to compare the role of the administrative team from the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative Office in the Philippines in the response following
Summary
Using the ERF system, Typhoon Haiyan was graded as a Level 3 emergency.[4] Haiyan occurred one month after an ERF Grade 2 earthquake in Bohol where over 1.2 million people were affected and an estimated 79 000 structures damaged, some irrevocably.[5] An ERF Level 1 event was ongoing as a result of a clash between the Moro National Liberation Front and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in September 2013 in what came to be known as the Zamboanga City crisis.[6] In December 2012, the ERF Level 17 Typhoon Bopha made landfall three times in Northern Mindanao, Central Visayas and Palawan.[8]. The objective of this paper is to compare the role of the administrative team from the WHO Representative Office in the Philippines in the response following. Typhoon Haiyan to the response with the three previous large-scale events, assess the lessons learnt and provide recommendations for managing future responses
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