Preventive measures key in planning for disasters

Earthquakes or floods can wipe out infrastructure—including health care facilities, when they’re needed more than ever. Given the risks to public health in the wake of a natural disaster, it’s important for health systems to plan ahead, according to disaster health expert Ali Ardalan.

“Health systems have to take a proactive approach, preventive measures to reduce the risk of disasters,” said Ardalan, visiting scientist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a senior fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, in a March 15, 2016 Reuters article.

Ardalan, chair of the Disaster and Emergency Health Academy at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, spoke at a recent Bangkok conference on health aspects of planning for disasters.