First Interregional Meeting on Strengthening Preparedness for Health Emergencies and Disasters in Cities and Urban Settings

PART 1

Panel discussion: Towards Risk Reduction in Cities and Urban Settings with a Development Perspective

Moderator: Ing. Daniel Arteaga, Advisor UNDRR Americas

Strategic Disaster Risk Assessment in the Health Sector
Juan Carlos Sánchez, International Consultant

Health Risk Management in Conflict-Affected Urban Settings
Tanja Schmidt, Team Lead, Preparedness, Readiness and Capacity Building, Health Emergencies Programme, WHO Regional Office for Europe

Resilient Cities: Ecuador’s experience in building resilient cities
Titular (TBC). National Secretariat for Risk Management Ecuador

Interactive exercise with guiding questions

PART 2

Expert panel: Protecting health from the risk of forest fires in the urban environment

Moderator: Dr. Adriana Echeverría, Risk Management Coordinator, Health Secretariat, Metropolitan District of Quito/ Alternate moderator: Raquel Lejtreger

Interactive discussion: Best practices, challenges, and lessons learned in protecting health from wildfires in urban areas

• Ecuadorian Red Cross’s perspective on responding to wildfires in urban settings, with a focus on public health protection and humanitarian assistance during these emergencies
  Roque Soria, National Relief Director, Ecuadorian Red Cross
• Strategies of the Quito Fire Brigade in the prevention and response to forest fires in urban areas and discuss the logistical and operational challenges they face
  Esteban Cárdenas Varela. Commander of the Quito Metropolitan District Fire Department (TBC)
• Quito’s risk management approach to forest fires, including planning, prevention, and inter-institutional coordination
  Christian Arias. Director of Risk Management DMQ

PART 3

Panel Discussion: Key Challenges Facing Cities and Urban Environments in the Face of Climate Change

Moderator: Mgs. Patricia Carrillo. Security – Risk Management Directorate

Impact of the Climate Crisis on Health in Urban Settings
Yolanda González Hernández (TBC). Director of the International Centre for Research on El Niño Phenomenon. CIIFEN

Sea Level Rise in Cities and its Impact on Health
Tshewang Choden Dorji. Advisor, Data Management, Analytics, and Products (DMAP). Health Emergency Information & Risk Assessment, PAHO

New Urban Agenda and Health
Monica Quintana, UN Habitat Regional Office

Interactive Exercise Discussion

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Relevant to the Issues Discussed in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 13: Climate Action

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination.
• SDG 11.5: By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.
• SDG 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator for SDG 3.9: Number of deaths and illnesses attributed to hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination.
• Indicator for SDG 11.5: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected people attributed to disasters per 100,000 population.
• Indicator for SDG 13.1: Number of countries that have integrated disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into national strategies, policies, and planning.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: paho.org