WHO reviews SOS workbook

NEW DELHI: The havoc wrought bytsunami seems to have forced the World Health Organisation to take a fresh lookinto the health management guidelines for South and South-East Asianregion.The guidelines prepared by WHO for the purpose of calamitymanagement had focused on the local needs, but the sheer reach of the killerwaves which devastated a number of countries has forced it to think afresh onthis issue. A WHO officer said that the organisation''s plan for post-calamitymanagement will have to take disasters with a multi-national spread intoconsideration."We might have to add new chapters as the tsunami hasunveiled fact which should be taken into account in mass casualty management,"said a WHO official.Experts from various nations in the region wereworking on guidelines for emergency health preparedness to deal with problems inthe wake of such a disaster. Pre-tsunami, they had planned to show moresensitivity to local variations. The approach has not been jettisoned since itis a big improvement over the "one size fits all" outlook that has come in forsharp criticism for not making allowance for local factors.