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4.4. Funding disaster preparedness, risk reduction and humanitarian aid

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In a perfect world, a disaster-affected country would be able to cover the cost of the immediate response to the health impact of an emergency or crisis, and indeed we have witnessed this happening in a number of countries in which there is either a well-organized culture of preparedness and planning or where the emergency situation remains within the scope of what was foreseen. There are, however, cases where the sheer magnitude of the event surpasses the coping capacity of even the most developed or well-prepared countries to mount an adequate response to the immediate health needs (without even taking into consideration the long-term challenges related to rehabilitation and reconstruction). The most notable recent examples of the imperative need for international humanitarian aid are the earthquake in Haiti (2010) and the tsunami in South Asia (2004).

 

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