Public Service Announcements During Times of Disaster
In times of crisis, the goal of any sanitation system is to prevent the spread of feculent and orofacial diseases and restore environmental health. The proper disposal of human waste is, thus, a critical issue. Interventions in sanitation during a disaster must also address issues of promoting hygiene, managing surface run-off (stormwater) and solid waste, and removing and burying the deceased (Yu et al. 165). There is no perfect solution for emergency sanitation; each situation must be treated separately while weighing available choices. The ideal method to adopt is determined by several factors, including the nature of the emergency event, the number of people displaced, the stage of the situation (immediate, stabilization, recovery), the available resources, and the political and social climate of the region. Some emergencies can benefit significantly from ecological dry toilet systems. Prevention of fecal-oral disease transmission, water contamination, the (further) establishment of vector breeding sites, and the loss of human dignity and health are the primary goals of any intervention. Second, disasters can be a chance to improve long-term infrastructure (for more on this, see water, sanitation, and development) while strengthening emergency response capabilities and bolstering community resilience.
The Obstacles in the Way of Public Education
Security
According to the survey respondents, insufficient security is the biggest challenge to delivering humanitarian goods and supplies. They complained that the facilities and equipment mobilized and transferred over land needed to be adequately protected. The rush of thieves from other places to the affected districts, overcrowding, and fraud committed maliciously contributed to the breakdown of order in the security sector.
Assessment
The participants mentioned two significant difficulties which contributed to an inadequate evaluation of local needs and resources. Local trustees and residents felt their input was ignored throughout the need assessment (Moşteanu et at. 118). The responsible groups also dispersed the AIDS supplies without considering the people’s actual needs. According to the focus group members, the resources may be misallocated and wasted if there is no strategy for determining what services are needed and what resources are available. In addition, people who were most in need of assistance were overlooked. This included the elderly, the young, the disabled, and the children of families with inadequate or no parental care.
Offering Support Structures
A breakdown of the difficulties encountered in the provisioning process into three primary stages revealed that conserving and dispersing humanitarian aid were among the most challenging aspects. The initial phase involved problems with relief and donation gathering and transportation to disaster zones. In reality, there was no delay in the widespread participation of the UN in getting relief to those who needed it. Still, the absence of access to the affected area because of damaged connecting roads and the isolation of some villages did cause a delay in getting aid to them.
The Challenge of Rallying Military Backing
The military has been crucial in disaster management, especially in the response phase (Sakurai et al. 100012). This includes search and rescue, relief operations, transportation, communication, medical treatment, security, water, food supply, infrastructure rehabilitation, and more. UNOCHA’s 1994 “Guidelines on the Use of Military and Civil Defense Forces in Disaster Relief” (Oslo Guidelines) address this issue. Military action should only be taken as a last resort, as outlined in the Oslo Guidelines. While the United Nations recommends that “military and civil defense” assets be requested only when no comparable noncombatant alternative exists and when only the use of armed services or civil protection assets can meet a providing emergency need, in many countries, especially in Asia, the armed services have become the “first resort” in times of disaster.
The Potential Threats Posed by Epidemics
Reducing the adverse health effects of natural disasters requires a multidisciplinary strategy with a wide variety of expertise that can be used for both the medical help of communicable diseases and their prevention (Sawalha et at. 469). Promoting health after disasters requires establishing, deploying, and monitoring minimal requirements for water rescue security, cleanliness, shelter, and personal hygiene. Knowing the signs of new water or food-borne illness is crucial for the victims’ well-being. Moreover, the potential for outbreaks may be evaluated by setting up a monitoring system and keeping a close eye on illness trends. Furthermore, strategic guidelines are required for the management of epidemics. A substantial ongoing effort is needed for planning, education, and policy creation in preparation for this strategy. The goal is to improve preparedness and response to natural disasters and other complex emergencies to reduce the number of casualties and injuries caused by these catastrophes.
Works Cited
Moşteanu, Narcisa Roxana, Alessio Faccia, and Luigi Pio Leonardo Cavaliere. “Disaster Management, Digitalization and Financial Resources: Key factors to keep the organization ongoing.” Proceedings of the 2020 4th International Conference on Cloud and Big Data Computing. 2020.
Sakurai, Mihoko, and Yuko Murayama. “Information technologies and disaster management–Benefits and issues.” Progress in Disaster Science 2 (2019): 100012.
Sawalha, Ihab Hanna. “A contemporary perspective on the disaster management cycle.” foresight 22.4 (2020): 469-482.
Yu, Manzhu, Chaowei Yang, and Yun Li. “Big data in natural disaster management: a review.” Geosciences 8.5 (2018): 165.