WCDRR Ignite Stage Presentation:Community-resilience in Ethnic Minorities in Mainland China

Prof. Emily ChanProfessor, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong KongCentre Director, Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian ResponseCentre Director, Centre for Global Health

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Sendai, Japan, 14-18 March 2015

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

Asia has the highest number of natural disasters and affected population

Poor ethnic minorities residing in remote rural areas are the most vulnerable population

Many public health interventions serve as effective strategies to enhance communities’ resilience to adverse impact

Evidence-based disaster management models and disaster epidemiology research outputs are lacking in Asia

Climate change further subject vulnerable population to the risk of environmental health hazards

Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response (CCOUC)

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

•Established on 19th April 2011 •As a 10-year collaborative project between the University of Oxford and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Vision and Mission

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

OUR VISION is to minimize the negative health impact of disasters as experienced by vulnerable populations in the Asia Pacific region.

OUR MISSION is to serve as a platform for research, education and community knowledge transfer in the areas of disaster and medical humanitarian crisis policy development, planning and response.

Key Theme: Disaster Resilience

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

Top-down

•Policy making•Health service provision•Road and communication facilities

Resilient Communities

Bottom-up

•Individual disaster preparedness•Knowledge and skills on disaster prevention• Household plan•NGO participation

Research Evidences Needed Urgently

• How individual / household conceptualize emergency health risk?

• What are the evidence for building the appropriate training / tool kits?

• What are the metrics to measure effectiveness of health education intervention?

• How to make warning effective?• How to translate all these findings into policies and programs?

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

Disaster Resilience Capacity Building A) Research• Knowledge, attitude and practices of disaster preparedness and

response in settings• “Clinical effectiveness”of field interventionsB) Education• Awareness on emergency health risk• Health education based interventionC) Tools• Disaster Preparedness Kit• Homemade Oral Rehydration Salts• Evaluation tool

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

ETHNIC MINORITY HEALTH PROJECTSince 2009

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

An Overview

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

When: Phase 1 2009-2016Phase 2 2013 onwards

Where (Site Selection Criteria): remote, rural and disaster prone areasWho: Ethnic minority communities living under extreme povertyWhy: Research, disaster resilience enhancement, health promotion, knowledge transfer and training of professionals

Phase 0•Site Selection

Phase 1•Needs Assessment

Phase 2•Health Intervention (I)•Further Needs Assessment

Phase 3•Health Intervention (II)• Impact Evaluation

0 Month 3 Month 6-9 Month 1 Year

Focal Point

Disaster Risk Climate Change Waste Management

Environment Health Health Behavior Water

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

Methods of Health Interventions

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

School-based Activities Drama

Poster PresentationSouvenirs

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

Some of Our Findings

Among those residing in disaster prone area,Knowledge<40% never heard/aware of disaster preparedness kit>90% never heard of Oral Rehydration Solution

Disaster Preparedness Activities6.2 times more likely if had direct experiences with disaster

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.

For More Information

http://ccouc.org

Prof. Emily YY Chan. 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. 15 th March 2015.