Prioritising health action for climate & disaster risk in the Philippines

Nicola BanwellDr. Cordia Chu, Dr. Brendan Mackey, Dr. Shannon Rutherford

Centre for Environment and Population HealthSchool of Environment, Griffith University

Healthactors haveacrucialroleinaddressingdisasterandclimatechange

risksimultaneously

Health&healthsecurityClimateChange

Disasters

• Death• Disease• Injury

• Increasedservicedemand• Reducedcapacity tomeethealthneeds• Health-determiningsectorsandservices

• Considerable overlap in impacts of disasters and climate change on health(Aitsi-Selmi et al., 2015; Keim 2008 & 2011; Mayner, and Arbon, 2010; Phakey, et al., 2016)

• Health is central in Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Adaptation (Arnold, 2002; Aitsi-Selmi & Murray, 2015a, 2015b; Keim, 2011; Mayner, and Arbon, 2010; Murray, Aitsi-Selmi, & Blanchard, 2015)

• Current research call for links between DRR and CCA to be made in health (Aitsi-Selmi et al., 2015; Aitsi-Selmi, & Murray, 2015b; Keim 2008 & 2011; Maini, et al., 2017; Murray, 2014; Murray, Aitsi-Selmi, & Blanchard, 2015; Phakey, et al., 2016)

DisasterRisk

Reduction

ClimateChange

Adaptation

SustainableDevelopment

Therefore: It is important to build linksbetween DRR and CCA in health

But: How will countries deal with this at national, sub-national & local levels?

Nicola Banwell, Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University

Myresearchexaminesin-depthhowlinkscanbebuiltbetweenDisasterRiskReductionandClimateChangeAdaptation inhealthpolicies,strategiesandactivitiestosimultaneouslymanage

climateanddisasterrisks

ThroughacasestudyapproachgroundedinthePhilippines

This research is significant because…

It will contribute to the understanding of how to simultaneously manage

disaster and climate change impacts on health by investigating the:§ Challenges§ Opportunities § Needs§ Use of resilience as a framework

In linking DRR and CCA in health, in a real-world context

Nicola Banwell, Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University

Data collection and analysisLiteraturereview

PhilippineCaseStudy

Globalpolicyexperts

2

3

1Ongoingthematicanalysisandmindmapping

Prelim.thematicanalysis

55Interviews(National,

regional&local)

33National

22Regional&sub-regional(3Regions)

Expertworkshop 20Participants(previousnationalinterviewees)

7Interviews GlobalexpertsinCCA&DRRinhealth

DepartmentofHealthManila,Philippines(May-Dec2016)

WHOClimate&Health,Geneva,Switzerland(Jan-Jun2017)

Analysis

• Thematic analysis • Inductive approach• Currently finalising

second cycle of coding

PolicyAnalysis NationalDRR,CCA&developmentpolicy

Summary of findings to date…

State of linking in health in the Philippines

Nicola Banwell, Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University

DisasterRiskReductionandManagement(DRRM)Act2010

NationalClimateChangeAct2009

DepartmentofHealth

NationalCCframeworks&guidelinesNationalDRRMframeworks&guidelines

NationalDRRMCouncil ClimateChangeCommission

HealthEmergencyManagementBureau ClimateChangeandHealthUnit

ClimateChangeandHealthPolicyDRRMinHealthPolicy

Challenges of linking DRR and CCA in health in the Philippines

• CCA in health is not yet strong enough for linkage on an institutional level beyond policy• Research & evidence • How to implement CCA in health• Org. structure & governance• Leadership & political will

• Don’t understand where DRR & CCA in health could be linked other than disaster preparedness and response

Nicola Banwell, Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University

Resilience as a framework for linking DRR & CCA in health

• Useful as a uniting concept to give all actors a stake • Needs to be clearly defined & measurable to be useful for linking• Conceptualisation in DRR & CCA in health differ

• Long term vs. short term • Community vs. systems perspective• “Sometimes they are like the 6-blind men and the elephant…one is talking about

the trunk and the other is talking about the legs, but they don’t know they are

both talking about an elephant.”(Previous Under Secretary of Health, Philippines)

Nicola Banwell, Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University

Needs in linking DRR & CCA in health in the Philippines• Coordination within health & across sectors to understand the importance of

health in both DRR & CCA• Enabling environment

• Leadership• Governance structure

But first…• Understanding that the whole health sector has a stake in DRR & CCA • Understanding of how DRR & CCA in health can be linked in implementationNicola Banwell, Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University

Opportunities for linking DRR and CCA in the Philippines

Hazard

Exposure

Healthimpactfromdisasters&climatechange

VulnerabilitySusceptibility

Capacity

DirectIndirect

Climate-relatedeventsposingrisktohealth Risk

CommunityexposureHealthsystemexposure

Extremeclimaticevents• Community• Healthsystem

• Communityhealthstatus• Determinantsofhealth

Climate-sensitivediseaseoutbreaks

Nicola Banwell, Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University

My next steps…• Pull this all together in a coherent manner• I am considering Questions such as:

• What levels & types of linkages can occur?• Explicit and formal • Implicit and informal

• How to ensure linking DRR and CCA in health does not just stop at ‘no regrets’ strategies?

• To what end?

Nicola Banwell, Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University

Thank you!