Webinar on Building Urban Health Resilience and Preparedness for Public Health Emergencies in response to Climate Change | 2 September 2025
Introduction
Dr. Suvajee Good, WHO SEARO Regional Advisor for Social Determinants of Health and Well-being, opened the session by highlighting the importance of city resilience as the world confronts new climate change challenges. The goal of the session was to equip mayors and city officials with knowledge about urban health resilience and preparedness for public health emergencies in response to climate change, so that cities in the region can be better equipped to adapt and prepare for challenges.
Climate Change and Impact on Health in South-East Asia: Key Concerns for Urban Settings | Faustina Gomez
Key Summary
- Urban hospitals and clinics must be “future-proofed against climate risks”. This includes having flood-proof water and sanitation systems.
- Cities need robust drainage systems to prevent disease outbreaks from waterlogging.
- Emergency warning systems in the community are vital for sharing simple safety messages during extreme weather events.
- Dedicated financing is essential to ensure that urban resilience plans move from paper to practice.
Faustina Gomez emphasized the importance of ensuring that health systems are resilient against climate disasters – encompassing infrastructure and capacity of healthcare workers – including designing hospitals with flood-proof water and sanitation systems and training health workers to recognize heat-related illnesses. She also mentioned the importance of ensuring the availability of essential medicines in case of climate disasters.
A key point was that every urban hospital or clinic built today must be “future-proofed against climate risks”. In urban areas, there is a need for robust drainage systems to prevent waterlogging and disease outbreaks, and reliable water and sanitation services to protect against waterborne diseases.
Community awareness campaigns were mentioned as important to share simple messages on how to stay safe during heatwaves, floods, and outbreaks. She also stressed that without dedicated financing, plans for urban resilience will remain on paper.
Presentation is available here
Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) | Dr. Pushpa Rajan
Key Summary
- Emerging threats are unpredictable and require a proactive, coordinated approach.
- The PRET framework is a flexible tool for planning for emerging infections.
- Cities should adopt all-hazards planning and conduct simulation exercises to test their readiness.
- Strong institutional support and sustained funding are critical for success.
Dr. Pushpa Rajan noted that unpredictable emerging threats require proactive and coordinated preparedness. He highlighted that urban settings are critical for health emergency planning due to their high population density and complex vulnerabilities.
The PRET framework offers a flexible, transmission-based planning approach for emerging and re-emerging infections. Dr. Rajan stated that cities must adopt all-hazards planning, integrate PRET tools, and conduct simulation exercises to test readiness. Securing strong institutional support and adequate and sustained funding are also essential for the success of these efforts.
Presentation is available here
Community Engagement and Resilience Building to Public Health Threats in Urban Settings | Dr. Rose Aynsley
Key Summary
- Responding to emergencies in urban areas is complex due to diverse populations and varying risk perceptions.
- Addressing “infodemics”—the rapid spread of misinformation—is a crucial part of disaster preparedness.
Dr. Rose Aynsley explained that responding to emergencies in urban settings is more complex than in rural areas due to diverse populations, varied risk perceptions, and different access challenges.
She noted that the health sector often sees a strong correlation between “climate skeptics and certain vaccine hesitancy groups” and that the spread of misinformation can have real harm, including direct health impacts, increased morbidity and mortality, and social issues like mistrust in government responses.
She stressed the need to move beyond the traditional scope of work to address this issue as a critical part of disaster preparedness and response.
Presentation is available here
Making Cities Resilient | Sunisa Ho
Key Summary
- A resilient city is one that can “build back better” after a disaster and quickly return to normal.
- Good governance is key, including knowing who to contact and where to get resources during an emergency.
- There needs to be a dedicated budget for risk assessment, not just for infrastructure.
Sunisa Ho explained that a resilient city is one that, when faced with a disaster, can “build back better” and return to normal very quickly. She introduced the UNDRR’s “Making Cities Resilient 2030” (MCR2030) initiative and highlighted the importance of good governance, which includes knowing who to contact and where to get resources during an emergency. She also noted that there needs to be a dedicated budget for risk assessment, not just for building infrastructure.
“System of Systems” Approach: Cities are complex, with multiple interconnected systems like healthcare, energy, and transportation. A failure in one system can cause cascading failures in others, requiring a systems-based approach to resilience.
Disaster Risk Reduction: The goal is to move from a reactive, destructive approach to a proactive, regenerative one.
Case Study: The city of Erzin, Turkiye, was highlighted as a successful example of urban resilience. Despite being near the epicenter of a major earthquake, the city had no building collapses or casualties due to the mayor’s strict enforcement of building codes.
Presentation is available here
Q&A
What can cities do to prepare for a threat where the risk is very high?
Dr. Pushpa responded that a “surge capacity plan” is needed and that this might require additional funding to address the risks sufficiently.
How can cities begin to work on climate adaptation with limited funding?
Gomez suggested starting small and simple focus on low-cost, high-impact actions like identifying the most vulnerable communities and implementing early warning systems for heatwaves and floods.
Build partnerships and secure funding: Collaborate with local organizations, health departments, and NGOs to leverage resources. Acknowledge that dedicated financing is crucial to move plans from theory to practice.
What is the importance of engaging communities?
Dr. Aynsley responded that community engagement is crucial and that having dedicated staff and funding, along with good local leadership, is essential for sustainability.
Future Reading Materials
- World Health Organization.”Workshop held to share key findings on Hospital Safety Assessment across Nepal.” WHO, April 25, 2025. https://www.who.int/nepal/news/detail/25-04-2025-workshop-held-to-share-key-findings-on-hospital-safety-assessment-across-Nepal
