Ben Yahmed S, Koob P
Division of Emergency and Humanitarian Action, World Health Organization, Geneva.
World Health Stat Q. 1996;49(3-4):172-8.
Vulnerability is increasing year by year. Statistics show that not only are the human and economic costs of emergencies and disasters increasing, but that the cost of relief assistance has increased 10-fold in the last 11 years. Relief assistance alone can lead to increased vulnerability, by reducing development assistance and leading to further social crises The concept of vulnerability consist of two aspects, susceptibility and resilience; vulnerability reduction aims to reduce susceptibility to hazards and increase community resilience to emergencies. Vulnerability reduction involves vulnerability assessment, hazard prevention and mitigation, and emergency preparedness. Vulnerability reduction aims to decrease community susceptibility and increase community resilience, and can focus on emergencies thus preventing many disasters. Vulnerability reduction protects human development, and prepared communities can maintain and improve their level of development. Vulnerability reduction is the responsibility of all, including the health sector, and all sectors at all levels must assist communities to participate in reducing vulnerability. The health sector work in vulnerability reduction requires coordination at all levels within a country. WHO has been assisting in this work at the international, regional and country levels for many years. There is a need for statistical indicators of vulnerability and the harm caused by major emergencies. Data from these indicators will assist in monitoring and evaluating vulnerability reduction, and targeting communities at risk.
脆弱性逐年增加。统计数据表明，不仅紧急情况和灾害造成的人员伤亡和经济损失在增加，而且在过去11年中，救援援助成本增长了10倍。仅救援援助就可能导致脆弱性增加，因为它会减少发展援助并引发进一步的社会危机。脆弱性概念包括两个方面，即易感性和恢复力；减少脆弱性旨在降低对灾害的易感性并增强社区对紧急情况的恢复力。减少脆弱性涉及脆弱性评估、灾害预防和缓解以及应急准备。减少脆弱性旨在降低社区的易感性并增强社区的恢复力，并可专注于紧急情况，从而预防许多灾害。减少脆弱性保护人类发展，有备无患的社区能够维持并提高其发展水平。减少脆弱性是所有人的责任，包括卫生部门，各级所有部门都必须协助社区参与减少脆弱性。卫生部门在减少脆弱性方面的工作需要在一个国家内进行各级协调。多年来，世卫组织一直在国际、区域和国家层面协助开展这项工作。需要有脆弱性以及重大紧急情况造成的危害的统计指标。这些指标的数据将有助于监测和评估减少脆弱性的工作，并针对处于风险中的社区。
