Reg’l consultative meeting on Networking of Public Health Emergency Services slated

By Robert E. Roperos

Thursday 21st of June 2012

BUTUAN CITY, June 21 (PIA) -- A regional consultative meeting on networking of public health emergency services is slated on June 26-27 in Surigao City.

In a press statement, Department of Health-Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) Caraga Regional Director Ariel Valencia said the two-day activity is aimed at ensuring and strengthening humanitarian response by ensuring high standards of predictability, accountability, and partnership in all sectors during disaster.

Dir. Valencia also said the main agenda of the meeting is to look on collaborators and come up with one agreement at the regional level.

The DOH leads the Health Cluster namely Medial and Trauma Management, Management of the Dead and Missing, Nutrition, Mental Health Psycho-social Service, and Water-Sanitation-Hygiene (WASH).

Under Memorandum Circular No. 12, series of 2008 of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), it is stated that the management of disaster in the Philippines should institutionalize the Cluster Approach.

The cluster approach operates at two levels. At the global level, the aim is to strengthen system-wide preparedness and technical capacity to respond to humanitarian emergencies by designating global Cluster Leads and ensuring that there is predictable leadership and accountability in all the main sectors or areas of activity.

At the country level, the aim is to ensure a more coherent and effective response by mobilizing groups of agencies, organizations and NGOs to respond in a strategic manner across all key sectors or areas of activity, each sector having a clearly designated lead, in support of existing government coordination structure and emergency response mechanisms.

With these developments, the health chief of the region is inviting emergency/disaster focal point persons of national government agencies to participate the activity in response to the disaster preparedness of the national government. (RER – PIA 13 Caraga)