gfdrr ghi regional workshop summary report final

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Summary ReportSouth Asia Regional Consultation Workshop on School and Hospital

Earthquake Safety

GeoHazards International (GHI) and the World Banks Global Facility for Disaster

Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) held the South Asia Regional Consultation

Workshop on School and Hospital Earthquake Safety 24-25 May, 2011 at The

Claridges New Delhi, India. The workshop is part of a partnership between GHI

and GFDRR to improve school and hospital earthquake safety. The primary

outcome of this partnership will be the development of consensus-based,

country-owned draft national action plans for school and hospital earthquakesafety in two South Asia countries. The purpose of the workshop was to consult

with key stakeholders in school and hospital earthquake safety in the region as a

first step in the development of the draft national action plans.

As the host country, India demonstrated strong

support for earthquake safety through the

participation of high-level officials in the

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

and the North Eastern Council (NEC). Hon. Vice

Chairman of NDMA, Shri. Shashidar Reddyinaugurated the workshop. He provided a

summary of NDMAs impressive achievements in

disaster management since inception in 2005,

including publishing 25 guideline documents

and initiating the National Earthquake Risk

Mitigation Programme, and encouraged

participants to measure the effectiveness of

their work, as NDMA does. He highlighted

NDMAs partnership with the Ministry of Human Resource Developments Sarva

Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All) initiative to provide safe schools. Shri Reddydiscussed the need for hospitals to remain functional after disasters, and the

numerous social, health and fiscal benefits that disaster resilient hospitals

provide communities. He concluded by

promising NDMAs support for the

partnership to develop national action

plans in India.

Hon. Member of the North Eastern Council

Shri. P. P. Shrivastav also addressed the

inaugural session. He compared Haiti and

Chile as an example of how building

codes and consistent practices can

Hon. Vice Chairman NDMAShasidiar Reddy inaugurates the

Hon. Member NEC P.P. Shrivastav


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reduce earthquake risk and save lives, and discussed the geographic, functional

and psychological strategic dimensions to earthquake safety. He emphasized

that solutions need to include local wisdom and practices, and involve the whole

community, especially students, women and civil society. NDMA Members Shri

Nanda Kumar and Dr. Muzzafar Ahmad chaired sessions on school safety and

hospital safety, respectively, at the workshop. Shri. Kumar spoke on the

necessity of mainstreaming disaster management into planning in order to take

a proactive approach emphasizing prevention and mitigation, rather than solely

a reactive approach. He discussed the need to invest significant human and

financial resources to make schools safe from all hazards. Dr. Muzaffar Ahmad

discussed the need for functional and safe hospitals. In addition to Members of

NDMA and NEC, workshop participants included representatives from the

ministries responsible for health and education in Bhutan, India, and Nepal, aswell as those of regional and international organizations. A list of participants is

attached.

Following the inaugural session, GHI staff

members Mr. Hari Kumar, Dr. Janise

Rodgers and Mr. L. Thomas Tobin presented

background information on school and

hospital earthquake safety and on how

action planning can help. In the afternoon,

participants from each country presentedthe current status of school and hospital

earthquake safety efforts in their nation.

The country presentations highlighted the

progress toward school and hospital

earthquake safety to date, the remaining needs, and the opportunities for action

planning to make a difference. In India, the

government is embarking on extensive

investment programs in schools and

hospitals, including the 50,000 new

schools being built through Sarva ShikshaAbhiyan and numerous new medical

facilities including six All India Institutes of

Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Action planning

provides a way to mainstream seismic

safety provisions into these initiatives and

to include further measures in the disaster

management chapter of Indias

forthcoming Five Year Plans. In Bhutan, the development of a national education

policy and preparations for the next Five Year Plan present important

opportunities to institutionalize key school and hospital seismic safety actions.

The second day of the workshop consisted

Participants discuss hospital seismic

Mr. Khagaraj Baral of NepalsDepartment of Education presents on

Wangdi Gyeltshen of BhutansMinistry of Health facilitates a


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of an analysis of the country presentations and smaller group discussions on

pressing school and hospital earthquake safety issues, such as obstacles to

improving earthquake safety in the region and ways of overcoming them.

Participants agreed that both schools and hospitals in the region faced major

seismic safety needs. Key needs identified during the group discussions on

schools included better earthquake safety policies, assessment and

strengthening of existing buildings, good design and quality control for new

buildings, better awareness generation efforts, and greater community

involvement. Key needs identified by the hospital discussion groups included

better enforcement and accountability measures, vulnerability assessments for

existing hospitals, and mechanisms to address private hospitals. The projects

action planning efforts will help create a clear path to meeting these needs.

gfdrr ghi regional workshop summary report final

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