2.3. Funding for the rehabilitation phase
A country’s financial resources destined to cover routine health programs are usually quickly exhausted in emergency situations. This includes funds allocated for emergencies, and it is not easy to obtain supplementary resources.
As requests for emergency support from the international community are being prepared, health officials are advised to incorporate line items covering the needs for immediate and short-term rehabilitation of infrastructure, programs, and services where damage assessments show that operational rehabilitation is feasible. Aid agencies are more amenable and sensitive to requests for assistance during the emergency phase. Thus, requests for assistance should include needs that are projected to be present in the immediate post-emergency period.
It is important to assess the functional capacity of the entire health network, including not only large hospitals, but also primary care facilities, many of which can be rehabilitated in the short term with relatively little investment (facilities that have sustained complex damage require more detailed consideration in the reconstruction phase).
