Prof. Dr. Krasae Chanawongse, Chair of ADPC Board of Foundation, addressing the participants during the HOPE-SA Sensitization Workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka

A diverse group of over 60 professionals participated in a sensitization workshop that was held in Colombo to launch a regional project on Hospital Preparedness for Emergencies-South Asia (HOPE-SA). The project aims to strengthen the capacity of selected public hospitals in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Pakistan.

The workshop offered a platform to the experts to promoting the significance of hospital resilience to the impacts of disasters. It also introduced the key components of the HOPE training course and discussed implementation strategies with partners in Sri Lanka.

In his welcome remarks, Prof. Dr. Krasae Chanawongse, Chairman ADPC, said that enhancing the resilience of national health systems by integrating disaster risk management into primary, secondary and tertiary health care, especially, at the local level, is very important.

“Sri Lanka has a very strong public-private partnership. Hence this could be a good opportunity for government, academe, NGOs, private partners and civil organizations to strengthen systems through institutionalization”, Prof. Krasae said.

While delivering the keynote address, Dr. R.R.M.L.R. Siyambalagoda, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health, Nutrition & Indigenous Medicine, said that the Ministry will continue to strengthen the national health system.

“Like our neighboring countries, Sri Lanka has higher exposure to disasters, which needs to be addressed through improved early warning systems, better preparedness, weather forecasting and greater investment in the resilient infrastructure of hospitals, healthcare facilities, and schools,” he said.

HOPE-SA builds on the success of the PEER Program and aims to offer high-quality training courses that prepare hospitals for mass casualty incidents. HOPE-SA is a capacity building and technical assistance program for health facility staff and healthcare personnel – including medical and non-medical staff. It builds the capacity of healthcare facilities to effectively respond to emergencies and provides them with expert assistance to enhance preparedness.

Major Gen. (Retd.) L.B.R. Mark, Director General, Disaster Management Centre, Dr. Amal Harsha de Silva, Deputy Director General (Medical Services-I), Ministry of Health, Nutrition & Indigenous Medicine Dr. H.D.B. Herath, National Coordinator, Disaster Preparedness and Response Division (DPRD), Ministry of Health, Nutrition & Indigenous Medicine also spoke at the occasion.

Group Discussion on identification of strategies for establishing sustainable capacity building program for hospital preparedness in Sri Lanka

Those who attended the workshop included medical and allied professionals, engineers, architects, hospital directors and administrators from the Ministry of Health, disaster risk management experts, UN agencies, academic institutions, representatives of private hospitals, and officials from the US Embassy in Sri Lanka.

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) organized the event with support from the United States Agency for International Development/Office of the Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and in partnership with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health, Nutrition & Indigenous Medicine.

ADPC’s Public Heath in Emergencies Department will implement the HOPE-SA activities in partnership with national organizations in the six priority countries of South Asia.