Strengthening health-system emergency preparedness. Toolkit for assessing health-system capacity for crisis management. Part 1. User manual

This standardized toolkit, pilot tested in several countries since 2007, helps countries assess the capacity of their health systems to respond to various threats and identify gaps. It breaks down the complex crisis-preparedness process into manageable units, thus enabling a ministry of health to:

 

• record and classify information regarding its capacity to manage crises;
• establish responsibility for specific tasks;
• determine the relationship between those involved in these tasks (partners, sectors, disciplines) with the aim of synergizing resources;
• identify shortcomings and gaps; and
• monitor progress.

It provides instructions on how to carry out an assessment; suggestions on the selection of assessment sites; recommendations on follow-up of the assessment and development of a plan of action; information about the essential attributes to identify and indicator-related questions to ask; and a list of possible sources of the information required to assess the essential attributes.

 

The assessment form is available as a companion volume.
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(...) The terms “health emergencies” and “health crises” refer to the health threats associated with new or newly emerging diseases, the accidental release or deliberate use of biological, chemical or radionuclear agents, natural disasters, human-made disasters, complex emergencies, conflicts and other events with a potentially catastrophic impact on human health, including the potential implications of climate change.