| HOME | ABOUT US | PROGRAMS | PUBLICATIONS | DATABASE | WHAT'S NEW | ACCESS | LINKS |
|
AUICK Second 2007 Workshop AUICK held its Second Workshop of 2007 in Kobe, Japan, from 27 August to 7 September, 2007, with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Kobe City Government. The theme of the workshop was “Maternal and Child Health Care in Natural Disasters”. Nine participants were invited from the nine AUICK Associate Cities, as well as an interpreter, a UNFPA representative and resource persons.  ‘The
lives of up to 7 million women, children and newborns can be saved each
year if proven and cost-effective interventions are expanded to reach
those in need. We are committed to working together to scale up action
to achieve Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] 4 and 5 to dramatically
reduce child and maternal mortality by 2015. This is a major effort,
and no one agency can do it alone. Commitment and partnership are
essential.’ Survivors
of the 1995 Great
Hanshin-Awaji CONTENTS 1. BACKGROUND Between
1995 and 2005, over 2.5
billion people were affected by natural disasters. In 2006,
three-quarters of more than 21,000 deaths from natural disasters were
in Asia. The continent is the area most hit by the disasters, creating
a huge need for emergency assistance. Through the facilitation of presentations, best practice case studies, city reports, site visits and discussions on maternal health care in disaster situations, the workshop aimed to provide senior officials in charge of the provision of health care in AUICK’s nine Associate Cities (AACs) with the opportunity to learn from experiences of Kobe city representatives on maternal and child health care provision, especially in the context of a natural disaster. Recognizing that many of the AACs themselves had experienced natural disasters and learned useful lessons from that, the workshop was also designed for AAC officials to learn from one another as well as from the experience of Kobe. After the exchange and sharing of knowledge and information on the situations and challenges which each city faces, the participants each made a concrete plan to consolidate lessons learned and to improve MCH services and disaster preparedness in their own cities. The implementation of the plans would be monitored by AUICK over subsequent years. AUICK invited senior officials of government health departments or appropriate organizations from the nine AUICK Associate Cities: Chittagong (Bangladesh), Weihai (China), Chennai (India), Surabaya (Indonesia), Kuantan (Malaysia), Faisalabad (Pakistan), Olongapo (Philippines), Khon Kaen (Thailand), and Danang (Vietnam). The participants included the following (in alphabetical order by country): Dr.
Shahana Perveen <Accompanying
Interpreter>
The workshop began with the opening remarks from AUICK President, Dr. Hirofumi Ando. He welcomed the participants on behalf of AUICK. The theme of Maternal and Child Health Care in Natural Disasters was chosen for the workshop in part because of the vulnerability of the region to such phenomena. Natural disasters have been increasing in number and scale in recent years, and are becoming a major obstacle to sustainable development. Annually since 1970, they have affected 160 million globally, killed about 100,000 people and caused more than $33 billion dollars in damage. In particular, Asia is the region where natural disasters often happen, as in the case of the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, which sacrificed about 230,000 people, and earthquakes in Pakistan and Indonesia. The Asian share of natural disasters in recent years (2000-2004) is about 40 percent of the total number, and more than 80 percent of the deaths and the number of people affected, as well as about 50 percent of the total financial damage. Developing countries seem to suffer greatly from these natural disasters. As the UNFPA State of World Population 2007 points out, urban areas where large populations (especially women and children) reside in weak infrastructures appear very vulnerable. Each city has to formulate and implement its own unique policies as measures to deal with natural disasters, which take into account their type, frequency, size and pattern. Dr. Ando went on to point out that the workshop was designed to facilitate the exchange of information and experiences not only between the city of Kobe and the participants’ AUICK Associate cities (AACs), but also among the participants themselves, so that they would have a better understanding of the priority to be given to MCH services, and so that by the end of the workshop, each participant could prepare a viable action plan to implement upon returning to his/her city. In short, the participants are the key players of the AUICK workshops.
Dr.
Hirofumi
Ando and Dr. Gayl
D. Ness
Dr. Gayl D. Ness of the AUICK International Advisory Committee followed by welcoming the participants. He reiterated that they would learn a lot from each other throughout the course of the workshop. He highlighted the fact that Kobe City’s organization comes in part from its administrators’ long tenure in the city, all of whom spend time in the ward offices where they gain great experience in how to deal with citizens, what citizens want and how to organize their high quality of life. This brings about a lifelong commitment to the city. Mr. Manabu Shinya, Deputy Executive Director, and the members of the AUICK Secretariat were then introduced. 4.2. Presentations 4.2.1. Gender Issues in Natural Disasters 
Ms.
Yoko Saito, UNCDR Hyogo Office 4.2.2. Disaster Management in Kobe
4.2.3. Best Practice Report: India - A Tsunami’s Grim Lessons 
Dr.
Prem P. Talwar,
Member of the AUICK
International Advisory Committee 4.2.4. Best Practice Report: Danang - A City Braced for Typhoons
4.2.5. Maternal and Child Health Care Services of Kobe City
4.3. Site Visits Maternal and Child Health Care Services in Natural Disasters: The Viewpoint of the World Health Organization On 30 August, 2007, AUICK workshop participants visited the WHO Kobe Centre, to learn about its role as part of a network of worldwide research institutions utilizing global knowledge to respond to local concerns and needs. »»More 4.3.2 Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Museum Also on August 30, 2007, the workshop group visited the museum built to preserve the memory of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of January 17, 1995. »»More 4.3.3 Hyogo Kobe Children’s Hospital On August 31, 2007, the workshop group visited the Hyogo prefectural Children’s Hospital. Vice-Director Dr. Eiji Nishijima led the group on a detailed tour the hospital. »»More 4.3.4 Kobe City Nursing School Maternal and Child Health Care – Lessons Learnt from the Great Earthquake On Friday afternoon, 31 August, the workshop participants visited the Kobe City College of Nursing. Profs. Masayo Takada and Kyoko Aoyama explained health care provision during the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and subsequent measures to prepare for future disasters. »»More 4.3.5 Kobe City Nursing School Mental Care for School Children in Natural Disasters A major disaster such as the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake can induce intense and long-term psychic trauma through the disaster itself and the ensuing environmental changes. Dr. Masahara Uemoto of the Kobe City College of Nursing explained changes in the psyche of children who have experienced a disaster, and outlined how they should be treated, based on experience and research results. »»More 4.4 Maternal and Child Health Care in Natural Disasters – Roles of Local Government An Open Forum Discussion, ‘Maternal and Child Health Care in Natural Disasters - The Roles of Local Government’, was arranged by AUICK with UNFPA on 3 September, 2007. It was designed to provide an opportunity for the sharing of ideas among workshop participants and representatives from UNFPA, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNCDR, WHO and Kobe City Government. Citizens of Kobe also attended, as key sponsors of the AUICK project.»»More 4.5. Courtesy Call On The Mayor Of Kobe On 3 September 2007, the workshop participants and resource persons visited Kobe City Hall to pay a courtesy call on the Mayor of Kobe, Mr. Tatsuo Yada, with members of the AUICK International Advisory Committee.
4.6. City Reports and Action Plans In
all AUICK
workshops, each
participant is required to make an Action Plan to address problems in
his/ her city relevant to the workshop theme, with the aim of improving
services in all of the AUICK Associate Cities. The Action Plan is a key
component of the workshop, based on lessons learned through
presentations, discussions and site visits. Time is given for the
planning, drafting and presenting of the plans, and participants are
assisted by the AUICK Secretariat and each other. Before the plans are
made, guidelines are given for their formulation and implementation.
Participants are advised to:
A
list
of steps/ actions to
be carried
out under the plans should be
designed to achieve:
A
chronological time frame of
actions
is then made with:
A
flow
chart or calendar form
is used
for: 4.6.2 Development of Action Plans Following guidelines and advice on the formulation of their action plans, workshop participants were given time to draft, present and re-formulate their plans with the assistance of the AUICK Secretariat, resource persons and each other. The results are shown on the following pages: »
Chittagong,
Bangladesh by Dr, Shahana Perveen On the concluding day of the Second 2007 Workshop, the participants gathered to share their views and suggestions. They appreciated that the workshop had provided much opportunity for interaction both among AACs and with Kobe City. The
visit to Hyogo
Prefectural Kobe
Children’s Hospital was particularly praised for its lessons
on the complexities of providing healthcare to newborn children. The
explanation on MCH equipment and nursing strategies at the Kobe City
Nursing School was commended, and the UNFPA Discussion session was
described as very beneficial as a forum for direct interaction with
Kobe citizens, and a lesson on the guiding principles of UNFPA.
|
Mr.
Eiji Inaba,
Kobe City Crisis Management Office
Dr.
Nguyen The Hung, Professor, Danang University 
