HEALTHCARE

Hospitals can play an important role in improving the public's health and recreating the public health infrastructure

Hospitals can play an important role in improving the public's health and recreating the public health infrastructure

International health security threats include emerging and rapidly spreading diseases, including the lurking danger of outbreaks of avian influenza and the impending threat of an avian influenza pandemic, environmental change, the danger of bioterrorism, sudden and intense humanitarian emergencies caused by natural disasters, civil strife including ever increasing political instability, chemical spills or radioactive accidents, the impact of HIV/AIDS. The Commission on Human Security report places health crisis during conflict and humanitarian emergencies, infectious diseases, and the health problems of poverty and inequity among the health problems considered the most germane to human and health security (The Report of the National Steering Committee on Hospitals and the Public's Health, 2006).

Health security challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean Region War, internal conflict and sparks of violence in the EMR have increased the vulnerability of populations. In the last two decades, 15 of the 22 countries covering 85% of the population have been directly or indirectly involved in conflict situations. Six EMR countries Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Palestine, Somalia and Lebanon have or are currently experiencing complex emergencies, comprising 19% of the regional population, that have left over 200,000 dead and over 3 million displaced, in addition to very poor health status indicators. United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator described the complex emergencies in Somalia, Sudan and Palestine - all in EMR - as the three most challenging, current, humanitarian situations in the world. In addition, Yemen, Syrian Arab Republic, Egypt, Lebanon, Somalia, Iran and Pakistan have experienced floods, droughts, earthquakes and landslides. More recently the major earthquakes in Iran and Pakistan affected large numbers of people and had significant material losses.

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