Disaster risk reduction and health
Source
United Nations Children's Fund (Global Headquarters, New York)
All disasters are a health issue, impacting on the health of the population and bringing about substantial losses and disruption to health systems.
- Disasters exacerbate the most common causes of childhood mortality, including diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria, malnutrition and neonatal causes. As 30–50 per cent of fatalities arising from disasters are children, reducing disaster risk is a key issue for UNICEF.
- Effective, flexible and adaptable health systems provide essential protection from disaster-related risks and support communities to respond to and recover from disasters.
- The presence of UNICEF close to hazard-prone communities, through strong partnerships in the field, allows it to be a key part of a comprehensive strategy at all levels, using all the existing health force.
Explore further
Number of pages
1 p.
Publication Year
2017