Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations secretary general, has called for preparedness by countries for emergencies, as part of his message on World Health Day.

He said that when disaster strikes, well-prepared and functioning medical services are a priority as floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters can take a terrible toll on human life.  

Ban stressed that hospitals, clinics and other health facilities must react swiftly and efficiently, and that they must serve as safe havens rather than becoming disaster zones themselves."When a hospital collapses in an earthquake, burying patients and staff, the human cost multiplies," he stated, and added, "When an infectious disease spreads because a hospital is poorly ventilated or constructed, or because health care workers lack adequate training, we are failing people at their most vulnerable."

The UN boss maintained that to focus attention on these simple but important principles, the slogan: "Save lives.  Make hospitals safe in emergencies" has been adopted as part of celebrations of World Health Day for 2009.

He argued that it is a global call to action for countries to work to prepare their health systems for emergencies. Collaboration between different United Nations entities and other international actors, he said, is crucial to helping countries to achieve this goal. According to Ban Ki-Moon, the World Disaster Reduction Campaign for 2008-2009 has pooled the efforts of the World Health Organisation, the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and the World Bank towards making health facilities more able to stand up to cyclones, earthquakes and other hazards.

He said: "We must protect public health by designing and building health care facilities that are safe from natural disasters. We must also ensure they are not targeted during conflicts." Health care workers, he went on, must be trained to work safely in emergencies, so they can save lies, rather than becoming victims themselves. Ban also urged countries to ensure guaranteeing the continuity of the health services that communities rely on, such as immunisations, dialysis and the delivery of babies, once the immediate emergency has passed. Admitting that it may not be possible to prevent all disasters, the UN boss maintained that "we can work together to ensure that when they occur, hospitals and other health facilities are ready and able to save lives”.