scholarly journals Guidance for Health Risk Assessment at Recurrent Mass Gatherings: The Jeddah Tool Framework

Author(s):  
Kingsley L. Bieh ◽  
Anas Khan ◽  
Ahmed El-Ganainy ◽  
Badriah Alotaibi ◽  
Sujoud Ghallab ◽  
...  

Abstract A wide range of natural and man-made hazards increases the health risks at mass gatherings (MGs). Building on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed the Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (H-EDRM) framework to strengthen preparedness, response, and recovery from health emergencies in the communities and emergency-prone settings, such as MGs. The Jeddah tool is derived from the H-EDRM framework as an all-hazard MG risk assessment tool, which provides a benchmark for monitoring progress made in capacity strengthening over a given period for recurrent MGs. Additionally, it introduces a reputational risk assessment domain to complement vulnerability and capacity assessment matrixes. This paper describes the key elements of the Jeddah tool to improve the understanding of health risk assessment at MGs in the overarching contexts of health emergencies and disaster risk reduction, in line with international goals.

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s116-s116
Author(s):  
Ellen Bloomer ◽  
Tina Endericks

Introduction:Risk assessment for mass gatherings (MGs) is undertaken to enable public health authorities to systematically identify and assess the generic characteristics of an MG, which introduce or enhance particular threats and develop measures to reduce or mitigate these threats. The World Health Organization Collaborating Centres on Mass Gatherings and Global Health Security (WHO CCs) produced a comprehensive guide to MGs called “Public Health for Mass Gatherings: Key Considerations” (KC2). This is being converted into an eLearning resource. A public health risk assessment toolkit is being developed by the WHO CCs to complement and guide organizers in their planning process for the health risks associated with an MG event. Preparations for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games (BCG) are underway and it is important to involve a public health element in the planning for the BCG.Aim:To develop a public health risk assessment toolkit for MGs and pilot it as part of the planning process for the BCG.Methods:Based on KC2 principles, methods included developing and finalizing a public health risk assessment toolkit for MGs. This study also piloted the toolkit for the BCG.Results:A toolkit will be developed. Key learning will be documented on how the toolkit can be improved. The pilot will identify the key public health risks for the BCG, and assess how to mitigate them.Discussion:The development of this toolkit will be an innovative contribution to the resources available for those organizing MGs. It will support organizers to conduct risk assessments and thus maximize the potential for health from the event. Piloting the toolkit for the BCG is an opportunity for validating it, and provides valuable learning for its use in future events. It will support the risk assessment process for the BCG and share learning regarding the key risks for this event.


Author(s):  
Reza Aghlmand ◽  
Saeed Rasi Nezami ◽  
Ali Abbasi

In recent years, in addition to water resources’ quantity, their quality has also received much attention. In this study, the quality of the urban water distribution network in northwestern Iran was evaluated using the water quality index (WQI) method. Then, some important trace elements were investigated, and finally, the health risk assessment was evaluated for both carcinogenic elements (Ni, Cd, Cr, Pb, and As) and non-carcinogenic elements (Ca, Mg, Na, K, F, NO3, and Cu) using carcinogenic risk (CR) and hazard quotient (HQ), respectively. In the present study, the WQI was calculated based on both World Health Organization (WHO) and Iranian drinking water standards. Comparing the results of these standards revealed that the WQI based on the Iranian standard was slightly higher. Regarding the calculated WQI for the study region, the status of water quality for drinking consumption is in the good water quality class (25 < WQI < 50). It was observed that Cu and Cd have the highest and lowest concentrations in all sampling points, respectively. Hazard Index (HI) results showed that the non-carcinogenic substances studied had a low risk for both adults and children (<1.0). However, the CR results showed that Ni, Cd, and As were above the desired level for both children and adults. The results of this study can be applied for efficient water management and human health protection programs in the study area.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melisa Mena-Benavides ◽  
Manuel Urrutia ◽  
Konstantin Scheffczyk ◽  
Angel A. Valdiviezo-Ajila ◽  
Jhoyzett Mendoza ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;Understanding disaster risk is the first priority for action of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) and is the essential information needed to guide disaster governance and achieve disaster risk reduction. Flooding is a natural hazard that causes the highest number of affected people due to disasters. In Ecuador from 1970 to 2019 flooding caused the highest amount of loss and damage to housing, and from 2016 to 2019 there were 1263 flood events reported. However, the differentiated impacts in flood exposed areas and what can be done to reduce risk and its impacts are still not well understood. In this research, we explored the different dimensions of flood risk, namely hazard, exposure, and vulnerability, and investigated the drivers of risk in different ecological regions of Ecuador. The assessment was conducted at the parish level, the smallest administrative scale, for three selected provinces of Bolivar, Los R&amp;#237;os, and Napo, representing not only the country&amp;#8217;s three main ecological regions but also commonly affected territories due to flooding. Using an automated flood detection procedure based on Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar data, flood hazard information was derived from flood frequency and flood depth for the years 2017, 2018, and 2019. The drivers of exposure and vulnerability were derived from scientific literature and further evaluated and complemented during a participatory workshop with over 50 local experts from the different regions. Centered on this exercise, an indicator library was created to inform the data selection from various sources and provides the basis for deriving a spatially explicit flood risk assessment using an indicator-based approach. Impact data are available to validate the risk assessment at the parish level and with this reveal key drivers of flood risk in different ecological regions of Ecuador. This information will provide the basis to derive targeted measures for disaster risk reduction.&lt;/p&gt;


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1031-1031
Author(s):  
Toshio Koike ◽  
◽  
Kuniyoshi Takeuchi ◽  
Shinji Egashira

In March 2015, the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction with a two-part goal: to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks through the implementation of integrated and inclusive measures that prevent and reduce hazard exposure and vulnerability to disaster, and to increase preparedness for response and recovery, thus strengthening resilience. The first priority for action was given to ”understanding disaster risk,” including focusing on the collection and use of data, risk assessment, disaster prevention education, and awareness raising. The stance of emphasizing science and technology was clearly expressed. In September 2015, the UN Summit meeting adopted the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Four of the 17 goals include targets related to disaster prevention and mitigation, which has given rise to active discussions over measurement methods and indicators for the targets. The Paris Conference of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21), held from the end of November to early December 2015, placed an emphasis on the importance of science and technology in both mitigation and adaptation. In light of these international discussions and their outcomes, we called for papers on the following three topics for this special edition featuring water disasters. (1) Prevention of new water disaster risks: rainfall prediction, flood and drought prediction, river bed change prediction, climate change, land use plans, etc. (2) Reduction of existing water disaster risks: disaster data and statistics, risk monitoring, risk assessment, etc. (3) Resilience reinforcement and inclusive measures: disaster recovery, risk communication, competence development, etc. Nineteen papers were applied to this special issue. All papers were peer reviewed, and sixteen papers are included herein. We received invaluable comments and suggestions for all applications from the points of view of various fields from many experts in Japan and overseas. We would like to express our gratitude for these.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iftekhar Ahmed

Purpose While there are many such toolkits on community-based participatory methods, the key considerations and principles of conducting a participatory capacity and vulnerability analysis (PCVA) are less covered, yet they are central to the effective conduct of a PCVA, the reason why this paper focuses on such issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper is derived from a toolkit that was produced for Oxfam Australia. Disasters and climate change are major drivers of poverty and significantly affect the communities that development programs of Oxfam Australia aim to assist. Recognising the importance of building its organisational capacity to address these risks, Oxfam Australia initiated and commissioned the production of a PCVA toolkit to support disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation programs; the production of the toolkit was led by the author. The methodology of producing the toolkit consisted of discussions with experts and a review of similar toolkits. Findings Details of the PCVA process and how to conduct one in a community setting are provided including PCVA concepts, briefing, logistics and management and principles of working with communities. Importantly, the different stages of conducting a PCVA are explained, and some selected tools are presented as illustrative examples. In conclusion, the importance of the PCVA considerations and principles are reaffirmed vis-à-vis the sensitivity and soft skills required in a low-income developing country setting. Originality/value The participatory development approach, which the toolkit follows, has been widely advocated for the past few decades and most non-governmental organisations involved in community development espouse this approach. Consequently, a wide range of participatory development toolkits have been developed, many of which relate to disasters and climate change. The PCVA toolkit discussed in this paper draws on the repertoire of toolkits already available and used over a long time. Nonetheless, effort was given to assembling a range of tools that were most suitable for the purpose of this particular PCVA toolkit. Instead of focussing on the tools, which are available from the freely downloadable toolkit and available in the public domain, in this paper, the PCVA process and its main principles are explained, and the key considerations to carry out an effective PCVA is discussed. Perhaps even more than the actual tools, these considerations and an understanding of the PCVA principles are significant because they underpin the utilisation of the toolkit.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-88
Author(s):  
Peter Emmanuel Cookey ◽  
Thammarat Koottatep ◽  
Peter van der Steen ◽  
Piet N. L. Lens

Public health risk assessment of onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) in the city of Port Harcourt, Nigeria and its environs was carried out between the period of August 2012 and April 2013. The objective of the study was to show how the public health risk assessment tool can be used to improve public policies on OWTS. The study involved desk study reviews of the related literature on OWTS, an audit survey of 245 OWTS in the residential area of the city, a public policy survey of OWTS in Port Harcourt city, a public health risk assessment, field observations and investigations. The results revealed that there were no specific policies, legislative and regulatory standards for sustainability of OWTS practice and no risk assessment considerations in the current policy instruments. In general terms, the public policy instruments of OWTS were found to be inadequate for improved and standard system construction, installation, operations and maintenance, compliance, enforcement and inspection. The outcome of the risk map showed widespread and dispersed risk in the use of OWTS.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (09) ◽  
pp. 647-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kingsley Bieh ◽  
Ahmed ElGanainy ElGanainy ◽  
Saber Yezli ◽  
Mamunur Malik ◽  
Hani Aziz Jokhdar ◽  
...  

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