Case Study

Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO): Development of PED strategic plan and detailed log frame

In 2008, Aguaconsult provided technical advisory services for the production of PAHO’s Strategic Plan for the Program on Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief (PED). PED was established in 1976 to help strengthen Latin American and Caribbean countries’ response capacities to natural disasters through the efficient use of existing resources. It has since expanded to include risk reduction and improve resilience of the health sector to disasters; including water and sanitation provision.

The strategy involves delivering effective technical cooperation to enable the health sector in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to reduce their disaster risk and build their disaster management capacity in order to meet the growing expectations of their populations and the international community.

Objectives in the strategy include: improving disaster preparedness capacity in the health sector; protecting health services from the risk of disaster; being ready to support countries to respond to disaster events in the health sector; forging deeper relationships with national and international partners; and mainstreaming Health Disaster Risk Reduction across all institutional partners. This should be done through technical support, advocacy, information and knowledge management, facilitation and coordination, as well as through direct action.

A situation and vulnerability analysis was included  in the work which highlighted vulnerable areas including natural hazards, growing urban populations, rural populations, extreme poverty, a lack of trained professionals, conflict and insecurity, multiple actors in the field, climate change, and non-traditional emergency situations such as pandemic influenza, toxic chemicals and technological hazards.

The PAHO/PED Strategy was for 2008-2012 and can be downloaded here.