About CARPHA

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is the new single regional public health agency for the Caribbean. It was legally established in July 2011 and began operation in January 2013. The Agency is the Caribbean Region’s collective response to strengthening and reorienting our health system approach to address the changing nature of public health challenges. For more information visit: carpha.org

About PAHO

PAHO, founded in 1902, is the oldest international public health organization in the world. It works with its member countries to improve the health and the quality of life of the people of the Americas. It also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of WHO. For more information visit www.paho.org

NY Times

Canada Public Safety

Learn about how Public Safety Canada engages at all levels during a crisis to ensure the best outcome for Canadians.

Responding to emergency events
If an emergency escalates beyond the capabilities of the provincial or territorial government, assistance may be provided by the federal government. Find out more about the process and the types of support that could be offered.

Government Operations Centre
The Government Operations Centre (GOC), housed at Public Safety Canada, leads and coordinates the federal response during a crisis on behalf of the Government of Canada.

Provincial and Territorial emergency management organizations
Provincial and territorial emergency management organizations (EMOs) are a good source of information about how to prepare for emergencies in your region.

Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements
The Government of Canada provides cost-shared financial assistance, administered by Public Safety Canada, to provincial and territorial governments to help with extraordinary costs incurred by large scale natural disasters.

Get Prepared
All Canadians have a role in building resilient communities, helping to keep hazards from becoming disasters, and in recovering from disasters when they do happen. Find out how to prepare for risks in your region.

Acts and Regulations

• Emergency Management Act
• Emergency Management Framework for Canada
• Federal Policy for Emergency Management

Canada

The Public Health Agency of Canada maintains a National Emergency Strategic Stockpile (NESS) to provide health and social service supplies quickly to provinces and territories when their own resources are not enough during an emergency. A 24-hour response capability is maintained.

The NESS is funded and held by the Agency. The Agency manages the NESS by assessing and refurbishing stockpile units, and distributing medical and pharmaceutical supplies when requested by provinces and territories in emergency situations. NESS supports the response to a variety of emergencies with health impacts, including influenza pandemics, terrorism events, and natural disasters.

The system consists of a central depot in Ottawa, as well as a number of other warehouses and pre-positioned supply centres (under the combined management of the provinces and federal government) strategically located across Canada.

The NESS contains various assets, from beds and blankets to a supply of pharmaceuticals, including a range of antibiotics. As well, it maintains medical units that can be deployed on short notice (within 24 hours) to be set up in existing buildings such as schools and community centres.

Additional capacities include supplies to set up first aid and triage stations. Pre-positioned supply centres have a mix of supplies depending on their location and anticipated emergencies that might occur.

While some supplies are stored across the country, many drugs are held for the Agency by the pharmaceutical manufacturers in order to ensure that they are rotated, thus ensuring we have up-to-date drugs when required.

The National Emergency Strategic Stockpile has been used to support a number of emergencies, both in Canada and internationally. For example, PHAC provided blankets, generators and other supplies to various provinces who experienced floods and forest fires in 2011. As well, a significant quantity of pharmaceuticals, supplies and equipment were provided as part of Government of Canada’s response to the south east Asia tsunami crisis.

TFAH

In response to the Zika virus and other emerging health threats, TFAH recommends the need for:

• Policies and communications driven by best available science: When a situation is uncertain and evolving, accompanied by a great deal of fear in the community, policy and communications decisions must be based on the best available science. In recent outbreaks, some policies, such as quarantine decisions, may have been driven by fear or politics. Policymakers should work with public health on risk communications and policies that acknowledge concern among the public and ensure accurate, appropriate information.
• Support for research and development of medical countermeasures: There is an urgent need for diagnostics, treatments and vaccines for Zika and other emerging threats. Congress should provide adequate funds to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the Strategic National Stockpile and Project BioShield to accelerate development, purchase and stockpiling of medical countermeasures for public health emergencies.
• Public health capacity to detect and contain the virus in the U.S.:  Federal, state and local health departments must receive a sufficient, stable annual level of funding to meet and maintain a core set of capabilities to respond to emerging and ongoing threats. Modern laboratory, epidemiological and surveillance capacity, as well as the ability to distribute medical countermeasures if needed, are key to containing an infectious disease threat. The Public Health Emergency Preparedness cooperative agreement is an important source of funding for the domestic preparedness infrastructure.
• Enhanced health system preparedness for infectious diseases: We must build all-hazards preparedness and infection control protocols into the healthcare delivery system, including coordination between healthcare facilities and with public health and enabling providers to screen and respond to potential cases. The Hospital Preparedness Program provides vital support to the healthcare preparedness system, but funding has dwindled in recent years.
• Strengthening the global health infrastructure: Infectious disease control strategies rely on the ability to detect and contain diseases as quickly as possible – which means working with other countries and across borders to contain threats globally. The United States must provide ongoing support for the Global Health Security Agenda and activities such as CDC’s Global Disease Detection program, which build the capacity and coordination needed to identify and contain emerging infectious diseases around the world.

Trust for America’s Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority. www.healthyamericans.org