International Health Law (2019)

Every year hundreds of millions of people are affected by emergencies due to natural hazards and weather-related natural disasters. These events are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In fact, as reported by the World Health Organization (who), earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, heat waves and droughts have an immediate and devastating impact on human lives and health, including mental health effects.1 Longer-term implications are also noteworthy, especially when natural disasters result in the destruction of the physical, biological and social environment of the affected populations. Furthermore, catastrophic events like strong earthquakes and tsunamis can seriously damage or even destroy health facilities and infrastructures, causing disruption of service delivery. This leads to reduced access to and functionality of public health services at all levels. Against this background, it is evident that responding to public health emergencies caused by natural disasters is one of the biggest challenges facing national health authorities and international partners alike. However, although complexities and criticalities still underlie the work of medical responders, the global health community has made major advances in this field by working within the framework of international humanitarian law and practice. This framework requires respect for ethical imperatives of medical and public health interventions in times of emergency; provides normative and operational guidelines; calls for adherence to internationally recognised medical and legal standards; mandates application of relevant humanitarian norms and legal principles, especially equity and non-discrimination; and imposes human rights protection.