A day of Remembrance (Tsunami Anniversary), Opening Remarks for the Press Conference, 26 December 2005, WHO/SEARO, New Delhi, India.

Opening Remarks for the Press Conference By Dr Samlee Plianbangchang Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia at A Day of Remembrance (Tsunami Anniversary) WHO/SEARO, New Delhi, India 26 December 2005 A Day of Remembrance (Tsunami Anniversary) 26 December 2005 WHO/SEARO, New Delhi, India Opening Remarks for the Press Conference By DR SAMLEE PLIANBANGCHANG REGIONAL DIRECTOR, WHO SOUTH-EAST ASIA Dear Friends, We are meeting on this Day of Remembrance to honour those who lost their lives, and for the millions affected by the Tsunami, a year ago. The health sector recovery in the affected countries is on track. What we need to ensure is to maintain the momentum in rehabilitating and reconstructing health infrastructure in those countries. In the past year, the affected countries and WHO have learnt many lessons. We are now much better prepared to face such challenges in future. We have seen exceptional collaborative efforts in the six affected countries of the South-East Asia Region. 2 The scale of the disaster was unprecedented indeed. A very large number of people were either dead, injured or rendered homeless. In the past, much smaller disasters had been followed by disease outbreaks especially in temporary shelters of affected populations. Projections based on these experiences had led the affected countries and WHO to prepare for the possibility of such outbreaks. We worked with other partners to support the governments in taking urgent actions to avert this worst-case scenario. Thankfully, a huge difference was made due to the actions, like chlorination of drinking water, taking steps for disease prevention, such as putting in place disease surveillance systems, provision of insecticide-treated bednets, and immunization of children against vaccine-preventable diseases. The other actions taken included: special care for pregnant women and children; and involving communities to deal with the trauma faced by the survivors. The absence of any disease outbreak in the affected countries is eloquent testimony to the effectiveness of various national and international initiatives. WHO, along with its partners, is now working to strengthen national capacity in the health area in emergency preparedness. Among the key factors in the preparedness is the need to take all precautions to prevent death, disease and disability. 3 Another key area is the building of community capacity to better handle the emergencies themselves. Often, in the early hours following a disaster, it is only the community that can play a life- saving role. Friends, it is to note especially that the donor agencies responded generously to the flash appeal made by WHO for health relief and recovery efforts. Over 90 per cent of funds received by WHO have been spent directly in helping the countries to reach the affected populations. To maintain efficiency and transparency, WHO has led efforts in evaluating its own Tsunami operations. Regular review missions from Regional Office to affected countries have helped us in identifying implementation deficiencies and shortfalls. We also engaged outside institutions to evaluate our Tsunami projects. WHO has held several regional meetings, with a view to supporting countries in developing national preparedness and response plans based on the lessons learnt. At a recent intercountry meeting in Bangkok, participants from the health sector sat with representatives from other sectors to draw their multisectoral action plans. The meeting identified a number of benchmarks for countries to address in their preparedness exercises. 4 These include, among others; a legal framework and a mechanism for health emergency preparedness at all levels; emergency management plans for health sector which include; standard operating procedures; emergency resource allocation, and accountability procedures; rules of engagement for external humanitarian actors; community plans for mitigation, preparedness and response; local capacity for emergency provision of essential services and supplies; health facilities that withstand expected risks of disaster; and early warning and disease surveillance systems for outbreak alert. We also learnt the vital importance of communications, and learnt the need for creating effective channels for the constant flow of information. The media has played an extremely important role after the Tsunami. They have informed the public about the scale of the disaster, and listed the key challenges. They brought pictures of the devastation to every home, allowing people across the globe to share the sufferings of millions of people. We very much appreciate this contribution by the media. We value the role of media persons in raising questions, and in demanding transparency and accountability. To see how the media reported on the health issues, WHO had commissioned a study of media coverage during the first three months after the Tsunami. The study noted that while the media focused more on the immediate emergency relief measures, not many reported on the potential long-term impact on the health of the survivors. 5 The study also showed that, in one country, the political concern with health issues during the rehabilitation phase had set the agenda for the government’s actions. This, in turn, engaged the media in that country more than elsewhere, and this resulted in a better coverage of health issues. It is only when there is no emergency that countries have time to prepare for the future. The best tribute to those who died in the tragedy would be to learn well the lessons ta ught by the experience. Only then can mankind learn not to repeat the same mistakes. We rely on the media to keep raising these issues, and to ensure that all of us learn more, and are better prepared for the future. Thank you.