MANILA, Philippines – The government and its international development partners have cited the need for a national pandemic disaster plan to enable the country to mitigate the impact of the spread of infectious diseases.
The absence of a national pandemic disaster plan is one of the 11 gaps identified by state agencies and international organizations that conducted a four-day pandemic disaster exercise that ended yesterday.
Carmencita Banatin, director of the health department’s Health Emergency Management Staff, said a national disaster plan is needed to ensure that vital services are not hampered in the event of a pandemic.
“The DOH (Department of Health) has a plan but there is no national plan,” Banatin said.
She said among the aspects that need to be clarified are the command structures, logistical requirements, guidelines and protocols on burying fatalities.
Noel Miranda, Asia liaison officer of the Prepare Pandemic Preparedness Project, said they are hoping that a national pandemic plan will be completed within the year.
If the government fails to come up with a national pandemic plan, Miranda said “we lose the opportunity to protect ourselves and to minimize the disruptions and loss of lives.”
Office of Civil Defense administrator Benito Ramos said the possibility of a pandemic hitting the Philippines is remote since the country is an archipelago and is separated from the Asian mainland.
He, however, said the public should be prepared since no one is insulated from the threat.
Miranda said a pandemic could result in economic loss equivalent to about five percent of Asia’s gross domestic product (GDP). GDP is the sum of all goods and services produced by the economy in a given period. It is also an indicator of the size of an economy.
Miranda said the spread of infectious diseases could also claim millions of lives globally.
The multi-sectoral pandemic disaster exercise was held from Sept. 10 to 14 and was participated in by member agencies of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) including the DOH and their development partners.
The groups that joined the exercise were the United States Agency for International Development, United States’ Pacific Command, Marine Forces Pacific, the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine, and the International Medical Corps-Prepare Project.
Participants of the event identified 11 gaps that should be addressed to enhance the Philippines’ pandemic preparedness, including the absence of a national pandemic disaster plan.
The other gaps enumerated by the participants of the exercise are:
• The need to be more proactive in providing directives to all sectors and the need to clarify regional alert systems;
• The need to enhance the capacity of Philippine public health facilities;
• Addressing the requirements and impact of cremations or mass burials;
• Effective coordination is a big challenge since agencies have adopted their policies and protocols based on their mandate during normal times;
• All sectors and agencies should learn to cooperate and volunteer their resources and avoid conflicts over turf;
• Absence of rules of engagement in containment and buffer zones;
• Need to assess the pandemic response capability of reservists;
• Integrating the sector that communicates about the risks with the NDRRMC and the group involved in operations;
• Information sharing and management in all sectors; and
• Involvement of the National Economic and Development Authority in recovery planning.
“These are not difficult as long as there is will to address these gaps,” Miranda said.
The worst-case scenario simulated during the exercise involved a pandemic that is more severe than the AH1N1 in 2009.
Under that scenario, about half of the work force were absent due to death, illnesses, fear or refusal to report for duty due to social unrest.
The participants also conducted training based on the assumption that vital services like health, food, water, telecommunications, banking and energy were disrupted by the pandemic.
More than 200 participants from the government and private entities joined the exercise.
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Source: Alexis Romero, The Philippine Star. (15 September 2012)
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