Rapid Assessment for Resilient Recovery and ... - GFDRR

and long-term is estimated at THB 603.9 million, THB 760.3 million, and THB 319.3 million
respectively. The reconstruction needs also take into account the increase in disaster
resilience, which add THB 200 million in the short term (before the next monsoon season)
and THB 110 million in the medium term.
Table 51: Health sector –
Recovery and reconstruction
needs in Thai baht,
millions
Health Sector Recovery and
Reconstruction Needs
Ownership
Public
Private
Recovery and Reconstruction Needs
~6
mths
6-24
mths
> 24
mths
Total 1,268 1,049 1,128 870 319
The Ministry of Public Health has put remarkable efforts in recovery and coping with
healthcare needs, through provincial health offices (PHOs), hospitals, and health centers/
health promotion hospitals. Several PHOs, including Nakhon Sawan PHO, have demonstrated
strong leadership and effective management to ensure that health service delivery
continues uninterrupted during and following the flood disasters. Temporary health units
and mobile health clinics were set up in place of health facilities that were closed due to
the high level of floodwater. Hospital Directors in the flood-affected areas instructed their
staff to work seven days a week to cope with the higher workload. Many public hospitals
in unaffected areas initiated mobile health clinics and sent their own medical personnel to
the flood-affected facilities to help relieve the high workload. In Nakhon Sawan, while the
regional hospital needed to be closed as the electrical closet was damaged by the floods,
efforts were made to upgrade temporarily two secondary care-level district hospitals in
the province to tertiary care-level general hospitals, with quick mobilization of health
professionals from the areas which were not affected by floods.
MOPH also increased surveillance activities to closely monitor the health situation and
produce timely information for appropriate response to disease outbreaks, including
providing available and timely public health information campaigns to communicate
essential health risks to the population.
The government, through the MOPH, related ministries and Bureau of Budget, has also
made available concrete plans for reconstruction and rehabilitation. MOPH has launched
a survey with ten indicators to public health facilities in the flood-affected provinces to
measure the reconstruction and rehabilitation needs.
The “Bangrakam model” has been promoted by the government as the best practice in
flood disaster response. Bangrakam is the name of a district in Phitsanulok province. The
district has been flooded for about two months in every monsoon season. However, this
year the flood came earlier, stayed longer, and had a higher water volume. Despite being
flooded for over three months this year, the floods appear to cause fewer problems for the
population of Bangrakam than other areas. The main hospital building was not flooded and
all health centers/health promotion hospitals (some were flooded) were open throughout
the monsoon season, and there were no disease outbreaks during the flood. Bangrakam
District attributed its success in health outcomes during the disaster to the “2R 2P”
method. The first “P” is preparation (before the flood), which includes public information
campaigns, disease surveillance, preparation of medical equipment and supplies, and staff
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