Disaster Risk Management: the Missing Link to Health Systems Resilience

Abstract

Introduction: In recent decades, global health systems have faced a series of complex and unpredictable disasters and crises, revealing their fragility even in developed countries. Events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the escalation of natural disasters due to climate change, and humanitarian crises arising from conflicts and widespread migration have shown that the response capacity of health systems is more limited than previously thought. Under these circumstances, the concept of ‘health system resilience’ has emerged as a key policy approach, emphasizing the ability to predict, absorb, adapt, and recover from shocks. However, an examination of existing policies and programs indicates that ‘disaster risk management’ still lacks adequate standing in the operationalization of health system resilience and is often considered marginally or purely reactively.