Strengthening community-based initiatives for health emergency management

An analysis of the situation of health emergencies in the Western Pacific Region and how the World Health Organization (WHO) has provided support to member states is presented in the paper. Emergency and Humanitarian Action is one of the youngest programmes of the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. Despite its organizational size and budgetary limitations, it has endeavored to adequately respond to regional needs for preparedness and response. The paper further looks into approaches for strengthening preparedness, collaboration, and action for disasters and how a community-based approach should offer the best preparedness and response alternative for the region. Examples of country efforts are included. Community-based initiatives are taken as integral components of public health efforts for health emergency management. Thus, public health plays a very crucial role in emergencies.