Managing Community Resilience to Climate Extremes, Rapid Unsustainable Urbanization, Emergencies of Scarcity, and Biodiversity Crises by Use of a Disaster Risk Reduction Bank.
Earth's climate is changing and national and international decision-makers are recognizing that global health security requires urgent attention and a significant investment to protect the future. In most locations, current data are inadequate to conduct a full assessment of the direct and indirect health impacts of climate change. All states require this information to evaluate community-level resilience to climate extremes and climate change. A model that is being used successfully in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand is recommended to generate rapid information to assist decision-makers in the event of a disaster. The model overcomes barriers to success inherent in the traditional ''top-down'' approach to managing crises and recognizes the capacity of capable citizens and community organizers to facilitate response and recovery if provided the opportunity and resources. Local information is a prerequisite for strategic and tactical statewide planning. Time and resources are required to analyze risks within each community and what is required to prevent (mitigate), prepare, respond, recover (rehabilitate), anticipate, and assess any threatening events. Specific requirements at all levels from state to community must emphasize community roles by focusing on how best to maintain, respond, and recover public health protections and the infrastructure necessary for health security.
1Department of Public Health Sciences,Health Policy and Management, andGlobal Health Protection and Security,University of Hawaii at Mānoa,Honolulu,Hawaii.
Deon V
DV
Canyon
2Harvard Humanitarian Initiative,Harvard University,Cambridge,Massachusetts, and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,Washington,DC.
Frederick M
FM
Burkle
3Tropical Health Solutions Pty Ltd and James Cook University,Townsville,Australia.
Rick
R
Speare
D044822:Biodiversity; D057231:Climate Change; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000379:methods; D004190:Disasters; D006801:Humans; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior
disaster risk reduction; health protection; health security; preparedness