Using selected global health indicators to assess public health status of population displaced by natural and man-made disasters

The United Nations proclaimed the 1990s as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). Since then the scientific community has undertaken significant research linked to disaster management, primarily focusing on geophysical hazards, risks, vulnerabilities, and early warning systems. However, limited research is available regarding the health status of a population on the move due to natural and manmade disasters, and how disasters influence key public health indicators. Key health indicators include, but are not limited to, immunization coverage, malaria incidence rate, measles incidence rate, malnutrition, and births attended by trained healthcare professionals. The objective of this research is to assess the health status of a disaster-induced displaced population with respect to specific public health indicators. A retrospective analysis of purposely-selected thirty camps of a displaced population in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan is performed by means of an outpatient registry database. The study's findings reveal that the levels of risks and vulnerabilities of camps vary regarding different kinds of indicators. Therefore, there is high probability that if the same programs and interventions are undertaken for all camps, the desired goals may not be possible to achieve.