The need for health system strengthening in the wake of natural disasters: Lessons from the 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake
Abstract The 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake was reported as the largest earthquake of Mw7.8, resulting in over 50,783 and 7259 deaths in Turkey and Syria, respectively. It has also damaged numerous residential buildings and other essential infrastructures, thus rendering more than 850,000 children an...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Public Health Challenges |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/puh2.131 |
| _version_ | 1827395516505260032 |
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| author | Emery Manirambona Joseph Christian Obnial Shuaibu Saidu Musa Adriana Viola Miranda Usman Abubakar Haruna Deborah Oluwaseun Shomuyiwa |
| author_facet | Emery Manirambona Joseph Christian Obnial Shuaibu Saidu Musa Adriana Viola Miranda Usman Abubakar Haruna Deborah Oluwaseun Shomuyiwa |
| author_sort | Emery Manirambona |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake was reported as the largest earthquake of Mw7.8, resulting in over 50,783 and 7259 deaths in Turkey and Syria, respectively. It has also damaged numerous residential buildings and other essential infrastructures, thus rendering more than 850,000 children and 356,000 pregnant women homeless, forcing them into displacement and its dire consequences, such as inadequate temporary shelters, a lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), necessary for disease prevention, health promotion and maintenance. The disaster has disproportionately affected the Syrian refugee community in Turkey as it has fuelled disparities and discrimination, exacerbating the response to the disaster and forcing refugees to return to Syria due to dire living conditions. Minimizing the effects of the disaster on the communities is therefore essential. There is a need to strengthen health system resilience and emergency response to natural disasters to reduce and prevent the aftermath. Disaster preparedness plans should include regulations that ensure that local buildings and infrastructure are disaster‐resistant. Furthermore, it is vital to highlight the importance of funding and appropriate resource allocation for disaster risk reduction. These include improving plans and logistics for recovery efforts, adequate preparation of temporary shelters and evacuation centres and allocating necessities such as food and water. Investment in proper search and rescue response, a special workforce for response and the rebuilding of important infrastructure are crucial. Finally, response to disasters must be inclusive and prioritize vulnerable populations, such as children, the aged women and refugees. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:34:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fab0befcdfa04213b4026654b96acf85 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2769-2450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:34:14Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Public Health Challenges |
| spelling | doaj.art-fab0befcdfa04213b4026654b96acf852023-12-29T16:48:31ZengWileyPublic Health Challenges2769-24502023-12-0124n/an/a10.1002/puh2.131The need for health system strengthening in the wake of natural disasters: Lessons from the 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquakeEmery Manirambona0Joseph Christian Obnial1Shuaibu Saidu Musa2Adriana Viola Miranda3Usman Abubakar Haruna4Deborah Oluwaseun Shomuyiwa5College of Medicine and Health Sciences University of Rwanda Kigali RwandaFaculty of Medicine and Surgery University of Santo Tomas Manila PhilippinesDepartment of Nursing Science Ahmadu Bello University Zaria NigeriaGlobal Health Focus (GHF) Asia Bandung IndonesiaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences Nazarbayev University School of Medicine Astana KazakhstanFaculty of Pharmacy University of Lagos Lagos NigeriaAbstract The 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake was reported as the largest earthquake of Mw7.8, resulting in over 50,783 and 7259 deaths in Turkey and Syria, respectively. It has also damaged numerous residential buildings and other essential infrastructures, thus rendering more than 850,000 children and 356,000 pregnant women homeless, forcing them into displacement and its dire consequences, such as inadequate temporary shelters, a lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), necessary for disease prevention, health promotion and maintenance. The disaster has disproportionately affected the Syrian refugee community in Turkey as it has fuelled disparities and discrimination, exacerbating the response to the disaster and forcing refugees to return to Syria due to dire living conditions. Minimizing the effects of the disaster on the communities is therefore essential. There is a need to strengthen health system resilience and emergency response to natural disasters to reduce and prevent the aftermath. Disaster preparedness plans should include regulations that ensure that local buildings and infrastructure are disaster‐resistant. Furthermore, it is vital to highlight the importance of funding and appropriate resource allocation for disaster risk reduction. These include improving plans and logistics for recovery efforts, adequate preparation of temporary shelters and evacuation centres and allocating necessities such as food and water. Investment in proper search and rescue response, a special workforce for response and the rebuilding of important infrastructure are crucial. Finally, response to disasters must be inclusive and prioritize vulnerable populations, such as children, the aged women and refugees.https://doi.org/10.1002/puh2.131disaster reductiondisastersearthquakeshealth system strengtheningnatural disastersresilience |
| spellingShingle | Emery Manirambona Joseph Christian Obnial Shuaibu Saidu Musa Adriana Viola Miranda Usman Abubakar Haruna Deborah Oluwaseun Shomuyiwa The need for health system strengthening in the wake of natural disasters: Lessons from the 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake Public Health Challenges disaster reduction disasters earthquakes health system strengthening natural disasters resilience |
| title | The need for health system strengthening in the wake of natural disasters: Lessons from the 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake |
| title_full | The need for health system strengthening in the wake of natural disasters: Lessons from the 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake |
| title_fullStr | The need for health system strengthening in the wake of natural disasters: Lessons from the 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake |
| title_full_unstemmed | The need for health system strengthening in the wake of natural disasters: Lessons from the 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake |
| title_short | The need for health system strengthening in the wake of natural disasters: Lessons from the 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake |
| title_sort | need for health system strengthening in the wake of natural disasters lessons from the 2023 turkiye syria earthquake |
| topic | disaster reduction disasters earthquakes health system strengthening natural disasters resilience |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/puh2.131 |
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