Strengthening Emergency Preparedness and Resilience
in Bangladesh (SERB)
SERB addresses institutional and technical capacity gaps in disaster response at the national and local levels. It focuses on developing safer health facilities by assessing their safety and upskilling health workers.
The program also seeks to create competent Urban Community Volunteers and strengthen their network in Bangladesh, who can be deployed in case of emergencies.
SERB assists the Government of Bangladesh in achieving an integrated approach to emergency management at national and community levels, supporting the ongoing and past efforts in emergency preparedness.
SERB Components
Hospital Preparedness
Hospital Preparedness for Emergencies (HOPE)
HOPE course is the foundational course for emergency preparedness in health facilities. It prepares the hospital staff to develop and implement response plans during crises.
The course is developed to strengthen the capacity of each professional involved in day-to-day operations. This includes doctors, and the non-medical and support staff such as administration, security, facility maintenance, and other support personnel. HOPE has been adapted for training the Upazila Health Complex in Bangladesh.
Hospital Incident Command System (HICS)
HICS builds on the basic knowledge of HOPE. The course includes a five-day specialized training, designed for hospitals to assist them with all-hazards emergency planning and response efforts. The course intends to develop the capacity of the hospital incident command team to command, coordinate and control an emergency incident.
Safety Assessment
Hospital Disaster Safety Assessments (HDSA)
Drawing inspiration from the WHO’s HSI tool, ADPC has developed the HDSA tool under the SERB program to assess hospital safety against disasters in Bangladesh. The indicators of this national tool are customized to the needs of the country.
It is a preliminary diagnosis of the hospital’s safety and capacity to continue providing critical services during emergencies. This assessment includes identifying vulnerabilities and listing priorities to deal with existing gaps to manage emergencies.
Response Planning
Hospital Emergency Response Plan (HERP)
An emergency response plan is based on HDSA findings and recommendations. It focuses on how a hospital will respond to an actual threat from early warning, activation, command and control.
The HERP tool has been conceptualized under the SERB program, for Bangladesh as a national tool used to frame a strategy to address and manage emergencies.
Validation Simulations
Hospital Emergency Response Plan (HERP) Validation Simulation
After developing an emergency response plan for a health facility, the plan has to be tested through a simulation exercise to check its functionality.
The simulation/table-top exercise allows the hospital management committee to understand the plan and try out its efficacy in case of an emergency. The HERP will be adopted after getting feedback from the simulation exercise.
Capacity Building
Advanced Refresher Training for Urban Community Volunteers
Advanced Refresher training is designed for community volunteers to familiarize them with the basic rescue and life-saving skills, necessary for a collapsed structure emergency.
These volunteers are deployed to rescue and treat victims in case of disasters.
Multi-Hazard Approach
Multi-Hazard Emergency Operational Plan (MHEOP)
MHEOP is a comprehensive emergency plan that identifies disaster risks of potential hazards and formulates a plan of action to reduce its impact.
The plan addresses multi-hazards and promotes the operationalization of the Standing Orders on Disasters 2019.
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