Key Concepts of Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction

Summary

This educational video delves into the critical concepts of disaster readiness and risk reduction. It emphasizes the shift from mere emergency response to proactive hazard management and vulnerability reduction. The script advocates for integrating disaster risk reduction policies into management practices, highlighting the importance of preparation, response, and recovery in building community resilience. It also underscores the role of science in informing effective disaster risk management strategies, drawing a parallel to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the historical success of rubella vaccination in disaster prevention.

Takeaways

• 📚 The video emphasizes the importance of disaster readiness and risk reduction, urging viewers to subscribe and engage with the content.
• 🔗 The script provides several recommendations for further learning, including videos and articles that explore natural disasters and their impacts.
• 🌏 It highlights the Philippines as the fourth most disaster-prone country, according to a UN report, and encourages applying learned concepts to understand disaster risk management.
• 🏗️ The concept of disaster risk reduction includes prevention, mitigation, and adaptation strategies to lessen the effects of disasters.
• 🛡️ Disaster management involves preparedness, response, and recovery, which are crucial for communities to effectively deal with disasters.
• 🌐 The video script references various sources, including the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, to provide a comprehensive view of disaster risk reduction.
• 🛑 Historically, disaster efforts focused on emergency response, but modern approaches prioritize reducing hazard exposure and vulnerability through proactive measures.
• 🌱 The script identifies poor planning, environmental degradation, poverty, inequality, and climate change as key drivers of disaster risk.
• 🏘️ Disaster risk reduction aims to address these drivers and reduce the vulnerability and exposure of people to natural hazards.
• 🔬 The video underscores the role of science in disaster risk reduction, showcasing how scientific research and vaccination campaigns have mitigated health disasters like rubella.
• 🌟 It concludes by stressing the importance of continuous learning, adaptation, and improvement in disaster risk management, drawing parallels to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the need for scientific solutions.

Q & A

What are the key concepts discussed in the video on disaster readiness and risk reduction?

The video discusses key concepts such as disaster risk reduction, disaster management, prevention, mitigation, adaptation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

What is the importance of the video recommendations provided at the beginning of the script?

The video recommendations are meant to supplement the main topic with additional perspectives and information from various sources, including National Geographic, Vox, and GMA News, to deepen the understanding of disaster readiness and risk reduction.

How does the concept map from the teaching guide for senior high school relate to disaster risk management?

The concept map illustrates the relationship between disaster risk reduction and disaster management, emphasizing that preparation for disaster risk management involves both reducing disaster risks and managing disasters effectively through prevention, mitigation, adaptation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

What is the difference between disaster risk reduction and disaster management?

Disaster risk reduction focuses on the analysis and management of factors that constitute a disaster to reduce its effects, including prevention, mitigation, and adaptation. Disaster management, on the other hand, involves preparedness, response, and recovery activities that are taken when a disaster occurs.

What does the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) define as disaster risk reduction?

According to UNDRR, disaster risk reduction is about reducing the exposure and vulnerability of people to hazards, and managing the conditions of hazards to minimize the risk and disastrous effects, rather than just focusing on emergency response.

Why is it important to address the drivers of risk in disaster risk reduction?

Addressing the drivers of risk, such as poor planning, degradation of the environment, poverty, inequality, and climate change, is crucial because these factors can worsen the effects of natural disasters by increasing the exposure and vulnerability of people.

How does the video script relate the concept of disaster risk reduction to everyday choices and actions?

The script emphasizes that everyday choices, such as where we build our homes, the materials we use for construction, and the government policies that guide development, can either increase vulnerability to disasters or contribute to resilience and disaster preparedness.

What is the significance of the case study on rubella vaccination in the context of disaster risk reduction?

The rubella vaccination case study demonstrates how scientific discovery and its application through vaccination can prevent a health disaster, illustrating the power of science in reducing disaster risks and the importance of integrating scientific knowledge into policy and practice.

How does the script suggest building resilience in communities to face disasters?

The script suggests building resilience by anticipating risks, preparing to adjust through decision-making tools, sharing and learning from experiences, integrating sectors for greater coordination, and including the most vulnerable in risk management strategies.

What is the role of science in developing effective disaster risk reduction policies and disaster risk management practices?

Science plays a critical role in understanding and assessing risks, informing policy-making, and developing strategies and interventions that can prevent or mitigate the impacts of disasters, as exemplified by the use of vaccines in the rubella case study.

How does the script highlight the importance of integrating disaster risk reduction in development planning?

The script points out that poor planning and development choices can exacerbate disaster risks, and by integrating disaster risk reduction into planning, it can lead to more resilient communities and infrastructure, better prepared to face disasters.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction

The video script begins with an introduction to the topic of disaster readiness and risk reduction, emphasizing the importance of understanding key concepts to prepare for and mitigate the effects of natural disasters. The speaker recommends several resources, including a National Geographic video, a Vox video, a news article from GMA News, and a TED Talk, all of which are linked in the description. The script introduces a concept map from a teaching guide that outlines the components of disaster risk management, including prevention, mitigation, and adaptation under disaster risk reduction, and preparedness, response, and recovery under disaster management.

05:01

🌐 Resources and Definitions for Disaster Risk Reduction

This paragraph focuses on providing additional resources for understanding disaster risk reduction, with a particular emphasis on the role of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). The speaker defines disaster risk reduction as the process of lessening exposure and vulnerability to hazards, shifting the historical focus from emergency response to proactive risk management. The paragraph also discusses the importance of addressing the root causes of risk, such as poor planning, environmental degradation, poverty, and climate change, and stresses the need for a comprehensive approach to disaster risk management education.

10:02

🏞️ The Importance of Reducing Exposure and Vulnerability

The speaker clarifies the difference between disaster risk reduction (DRR) and disaster risk management (DRM), with DRR involving policy-making and DRM being the implementation of those policies. The paragraph highlights the need to integrate DRR policies into DRM practices to reduce disaster risks. It also presents a world map showing the death rate from natural disasters, indicating the global scope of the issue and the importance of developing resilience in communities to prevent loss of life and property.

15:02

🛡️ Building Community Resilience to Disasters

This section delves into how to build community resilience to disasters by identifying and addressing both intensive and extensive risks. The speaker explains the difference between the two types of risks and provides strategies for enhancing resilience, such as anticipating risks, preparing through decision-making tools like evacuation maps, sharing knowledge, and integrating efforts across different sectors. The importance of including the most vulnerable in resilience planning is also emphasized.

20:03

🧬 Science in Disaster Risk Reduction: The Rubella Example

The speaker presents a case study on the use of science in disaster risk reduction, focusing on the prevention of congenital rubella syndrome through vaccination. The paragraph outlines the history of rubella's impact, the discovery of its link to birth defects, and the subsequent development and global implementation of a vaccine. The success of the rubella elimination campaign is highlighted, demonstrating how scientific advancements can prevent health disasters and improve global well-being.

25:05

🌐 Science and Decision Making in Disaster Risk Management

The final paragraph concludes the video script by emphasizing the role of science in decision-making for effective disaster risk reduction. It references a report by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction that promotes the use of scientific methods to inform policy and action. The speaker connects the historical success of rubella vaccination to current global efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, urging viewers to recognize the importance of scientific research and its application in preventing disasters and protecting public health.

Keywords

💡Disaster Readiness

Disaster readiness refers to the preparedness measures taken by individuals, communities, or nations to effectively respond to and cope with disasters. In the video, this concept is integral to the theme, emphasizing the importance of being prepared to minimize the impacts of disasters. The script mentions various resources to educate viewers on disaster readiness, including a TED Talk and news articles.

💡Risk Reduction

Risk reduction involves strategies and actions aimed at decreasing the likelihood and potential consequences of disasters. The video discusses this concept as part of disaster risk management, highlighting the need to analyze and manage factors that contribute to disaster risks, such as through prevention, mitigation, and adaptation strategies.

💡Disaster Management

Disaster management encompasses the organizational and administrative efforts to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. The script explains that it includes preparedness, response, and recovery phases, which are crucial for reducing the adverse effects of disasters on communities.

💡Prevention

Prevention in the context of disaster management is the act of taking measures to avoid the impacts of a disaster before it occurs. The video script uses the term to illustrate the proactive steps that can be taken to lessen the effects of hazards, such as through advance actions and planning.

💡Mitigation

Mitigation refers to efforts aimed at reducing the severity or impacts of a disaster. The script explains mitigation as lessening the effects of disasters through structural and non-structural measures, which can include building codes and land-use planning.

💡Adaptation

Adaptation in the script is described as the adjustment of natural or human systems in response to the potential effects of a disaster. It is a key component of disaster risk reduction, focusing on how communities and infrastructure can be altered to better withstand hazards.

💡Resilience

Resilience is the ability of a community or system to withstand, adapt to, and recover from adverse situations, such as disasters. The video emphasizes building resilience as a way to reduce vulnerability and enhance the capacity to deal with disasters effectively.

💡Vulnerability

Vulnerability, as discussed in the script, is the susceptibility of a community or system to the potential harm caused by a disaster. It is a critical concept in disaster risk reduction, as reducing vulnerability is a primary goal to minimize the impacts of disasters.

💡Natural Hazards

Natural hazards are naturally occurring events that pose a risk to communities, such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. The video script clarifies that while these hazards are inevitable, the occurrence of a disaster is contingent on human failure to prepare and adapt to these hazards.

💡Rubella Syndrome

Rubella Syndrome, also known as Congenital Rubella Syndrome, is a condition that arises when a pregnant woman contracts rubella, leading to severe birth defects in the baby. The script uses this as a case study to illustrate how scientific advancements and vaccination programs can prevent a health disaster, drawing a parallel to disaster risk reduction in other contexts.

💡Development Planning

Development planning in the script refers to the strategic decisions and processes involved in urban and economic growth. Poor planning is cited as a driver of disaster risk, as it can lead to increased exposure and vulnerability to disasters. The video advocates for better planning to reduce these risks.

Highlights

Introduction to key concepts of disaster readiness and risk reduction in the context of bio class bites.

Recommendation to subscribe and engage with the channel for more informative content.

Suggestion to watch a National Geographic video on the world's worst natural disasters for educational purposes.

Highlighting the importance of understanding the ring of natural disasters around the Pacific through a Vox video.

Discussion of the Philippines being the fourth most disaster-prone country according to a 2015 UN report.

Emphasis on applying learned knowledge to understand disaster risk and management through a GMA News article.

Encouragement to remember personal experiences with disasters and how families coped with them.

Summary of the video's essence through a TED Talk by Rachelkite on disaster prevention.

Concept map explanation from a teaching guide showing the relationship between disaster risk reduction and management.

Clarification of terms: prevention, mitigation, and adaptation within disaster risk reduction.

Description of disaster management components: preparedness, response, and recovery.

Importance of a good disaster risk management program for a city, nation, or country.

Recommendation to visit Prevention Web and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction for more information.

Historical shift from focusing on emergency response to reducing and managing disaster conditions.

Identification of risk drivers such as poor planning, environmental degradation, poverty, and climate change.

The goal of disaster risk reduction is to reduce hazard exposure and vulnerability, not just to respond to disasters.

The concept that there is no such thing as a natural disaster, only natural hazards that become disasters through lack of preparation.

The role of choices in land inhabitation, building homes, infrastructure, and research in disaster preparedness.

Differentiation between disaster risk reduction (policy) and disaster risk management (implementation).

The dynamic nature of risk and systems requires continuous updating of resilience and disaster preparedness.

Case study on preventing congenital rubella syndrome through rubella vaccination as an example of science in disaster risk reduction.

The success of the Pan-American Health Organization in eliminating rubella and congenital rubella syndrome by 2010.

The ongoing importance of science and vaccination in addressing current and future health disasters, such as COVID-19.

Transcripts

[Music]

hello welcome back to bio class bites

in this video we are going to talk about

key concepts of disaster readiness

and risk reduction don't forget to

subscribe to my channel and like and

share this video

before we actually discuss the main

topic of this video i have several

recommendations for you to check out

the first one is this video from

national geographic entitled

rare footage of some of the world's

worst natural disasters

linked in the description below this one

is another video

from vox entitled why there's a ring of

natural disasters

around the pacific why this one is very

interesting and with review or recap

everything that we have tackled um in

grade 11 about earth and life science

this one is a news article from gma news

online published in 2015

the philippines fourth most disaster

prone country in the world

uh from un report so as we gain more and

more

knowledge and understanding about

disaster risk

and management i hope that as you read

this article you'll be able to apply

everything that we have learned so far

and see if we can derive more

information and understanding from it so

again

link in the description below

another uh video from gma news the worst

disasters that hit the philippines from

2018 and 2015.

uh so again link in the description

below i recommend that you watch this

video

and try to remember um if you

if you ever experienced any of this uh

disasters

and try to remember how your family

coped and

survive those disasters

and finally the essence of this entire

video can be summarized

uh from this ted talk from rachel kite

entitled from disaster response to

disaster prevention

so this video will set the mood for the

entire um

series and i hope you will find the time

to watch her talk okay this is very

informative

this is recommended and required again

all the links are found in the

description below

this concept map is taken from teaching

guide for senior high school

on disaster readiness and risk reduction

so it shows us

that the preparation for disaster risk

management involves

disaster risk reduction and disaster

management

so disaster risk reduction tells us that

in order for us to

reduce the effects of disaster

um we need to we need to look into

analysis and management

of the different factors that um

constitutes a disaster

so that includes prevention okay so that

that tells us the outright avoidance of

the impacts of disaster right so this

includes the intention to completely

avoid potential impacts

uh through action taken in advance so to

prevent

to prevent the impacts of that

particular hazard

mitigation tells us the lessening or

limitation

lessening of the impact so so one is to

prevent

another is to mitigate or to lessen the

impacts

of those disasters adaptation tells us

that

um it involves the adjustment of natural

or human systems

adjustment of natural of natural or

human infrastructure in response to a

possible effects of a disaster

so this three prevention mitigation and

adaptation

falls under disaster risk reduction

however shoe disaster occurs now we have

disaster

management that includes preparedness

okay

this involves the knowledge and

capacities developed by governments

and professional and professionals and

experts

recovery organizations and communities

and individuals

that allows them to anticipate respond

recover

and recover from a possible disaster

while response refers to the provisions

of emergency services and public

assistance during or immediately after

a disaster so so preparedness for what's

what what's ever coming um

response okay to provide assistance

immediately after a disaster

and then recovery so that involves the

restoration

and improvement where appropriate of

facilities and livelihoods

of those regions that are affected by

that disaster

so preparedness response and recovery

fall

under disaster management so once all of

these

are accomplished then we can say that

that particular city

or nation or country has a very good

disaster risk management

program in place

[Music]

to learn more about disaster risk

reduction and disaster risk management

i recommend that you visit this page

from prevention web

and united nations office for disaster

risk reduction

all the links are found in the

description below so most of my

quotations and most of my

um um topics um are actually derived

from this websites and other

recommendations

so you might want to check those out

so according to undrr what is disaster

risk reduction

so we have already talked about this uh

in the previous videos on basic concepts

that um natural hazards are always

present and they're always there

so there's not there's no way for us to

actually of completely avoid it but the

best thing that we can do is to lessen

the

exposure and vulnerability of the people

against those hazards

so historically dealing with disasters

in the past

mostly focus on emergency response so

how are we going to respond

after the disaster however towards the

end of the 20th century

high modern period we are now more and

more geared towards

reducing and managing the conditions of

the hazards

again reducing the exposure and

vulnerability

of the people so not anymore what to do

after

but what to do before and during and

after

a particular hazard so that to minimize

the risk and

disaster uh disastrous effects so

again in the past the the the disasters

mostly for disaster actions

mostly focus on response but nowadays we

are geared towards reducing and managing

hazard exposure and vulnerability so

that we can actually prevent

more losses okay or less in the losses

and deaths and reduce the impacts of

those disasters

so since we cannot reduce the

or completely avoid those natural

hazards

what we need to do is to reduce the

vulnerability and exposure of the people

okay of the city of the citizens so that

includes

identifying and reducing the drivers of

risk okay

and sadly you know those risks those

disasters

risks are results of poor planning poor

economic

and urban development planning choices

and practices

right we've seen that here in the

philippines

degradation of the environment so these

are the causes or drivers of risk

poor planning and urban development

choices

degradation of the environment okay

poverty extreme poverty um inequality

and of course we've just talked about

this

climate change so all of this can

actually worsen

the effects of natural disasters should

they occur

okay because they are they add up to the

exposure and vulnerability of the people

so the goal of disaster risk reduction

is not anymore to respond

respond to the disaster but to actually

reduce the hazard exposure and

vulnerability of the people

and address these three so these causes

of risk

poor planning degradation of the

environment poverty and climate change

so this quote we've mentioned this

before there's no such thing as natural

disaster

okay we only have natural hazards so

disaster only happens when we fail to

prepare for the hazards

right when we fail to adapt and to

mitigate those hazards

so the disasters usually follow um

disasters usually follow hazards and

again

uh it depends on the impact on the

hazard if we fail to make choices

on how to mitigate and address those

hazards so

these choices relate to how we grow our

food

where and where where and how we build

our homes

are we using um um

updated and strong type of materials

are we using hard materials to build our

homes are we up to codes when it comes

to

engineering protocols and uh fire codes

right what kind of government we have

what actions do they take

how our financial system works and most

importantly

what we teach in schools that's why um

disaster risk management as a subject

i think no personally i think should not

only be taught

uh in grade 12 but should be uh should

be taught at every level

um in uh uh depending on the complexity

or the ability of the students to

understand the lessons

but they should not just be taught on

one grade level but

across across levels in a comprehensive

uh manner in a comprehensive approach

so each decision that we make make us

more more or

less vulnerable to disaster or more

resilient

towards them so there's no such thing as

this natural disaster

disasters only happen if we fail to um

address those hazards

so again as a review we've talked about

this in the previous uh video series on

basic concepts

so no such thing as natural disaster we

just have natural hazards

we just have volcanic eruptions we just

have earthquakes

we just have tsunami we just have um

hydro meteorological hazards

all of them occur in nature naturally

disaster only happens if we fail to

prepare for them

so in order to prepare for them we have

to make choices

right as us as a family as a locality as

a nation

as a species as to where we inhabit the

land

how we build our houses our homes and

our infrastructure

and what research we should do in order

to know more about

the the landscape of our uh landscape of

of our regions

so no no no such thing as natural

disaster we just have to make choices

and then of course reduce the exposure

of the citizens

and reduce their vulnerability right

so risk disaster risk is a combination

of the hazard

exposure of the people near that hazard

and their vulnerability

and finally should we should we fail to

prepare for those hazards

and address exposure and vulnerability

death loss and damage

is actually um the result of that right

so if we want to lessen death loss and

damage

we want to increase the resilience of

the

citizens also lessen their exposure and

vulnerability

now this one is a video from united

nations office for disastrous reduction

their introduction to drr and resilience

you could check this out i'll provide

the link in the description below

now let us clarify drr and drm

so drr disaster risk reduction

um is a policy making procedure so

disastrous reduction mostly referred to

the policies

or the laws or the procedures or the

protocol in place

so this is the policy okay

drm disaster risk management is the

implementation of those policies

okay this is the action taken by all

stakeholders

so policy those are the disasters

reduction

loss and procedure and protocol so to to

to take that into action

or to use that or to implement that is

that disaster risk management

okay so it describes the drm

it describes the actions that aim to

achieve the objective of the disaster

risk reduction policies

now this one is another important thing

now although we've mentioned this before

having um disaster risk or in

ex if a community experiences a disaster

after

a natural hazard uh it is an indicator

of poor development or poor planning

poor choices so reducing disaster risk

requires integrating the drr the policy

and putting that into action into drm

into management practice

okay so again drr risk reduction

that's the policy those are the laws

those are the procedure

if you they put that into action if you

implement that then that's disaster risk

management

this is a world map from our world in

data that shows us the death rate from

natural disasters

as of 2017 this is the annual number of

deaths

from all forms of natural disaster per

100 000 people

so we have uh several countries okay

that can be that ranges from um

one to uh possibly one thousand

uh that's per 100 000 people so

countries such as mexico um

some some caribbean islands

colombia peru chile mauritiana

niger congo

um i think this is iran

right greece uh india

bhutan mongolia some countries in

southeast asia

um uh cambodia i think

okay so we have several countries we

have

several countries that experience uh

death or the citizens

died from natural disasters so if you

want to

read more about this you can visit our

world in data

[Music]

so most of the world efforts are

directly towards

reducing the vulnerability and exposure

of the citizens

while building up their resilience or

their ability to adapt and survive those

disasters

so one thing that we should be looking

into when we evaluate a community is

to check their intensive and extensive

risks

so extensive risk refers to

uh the risk that the citizens could

experience

from low with low severity but

quite a frequent disaster okay or quite

frequent disasters

so for example here in the philippines

it's quite

um frequent for us to experience um

typhoons and flooding

based on our location so that's

considered

an extensive risk intensity intensive

risk

is described it's used to describe for

high severity

based from low frequency disasters or it

only happens

not that once or or just um

not that frequent okay in other words so

extensive

uh low severity but it happens all the

time

intensive risk it doesn't happen all the

time but when when it does happen

it has a lot of it causes a lot of

damage so

intensive risk is usually associated

with major hazards

such as a massive earthquake or um

a volcanic eruption while extensive risk

usually these are the common

but there is that commonly are

experienced by

a nation or community so in order to

address those type of risks we need to

build up the resilience of

a system or a community so that refers

to the ability

of a community to to expose to a hazard

to resist

absorb accommodate and eventually

recover

from that hazard in an in a timely and

efficient manner

so identify the risk then build up this

resilience of a community those are the

goals to prevent all these

deaths so we have here an image an

example of construction of a retaining

wall

to limit flooding in afghanistan so this

one would mostly

address extensive risk if they are

already anticipating

flooding right flooding in their

community

so how do we build resilience so so we

know that we have to identify the

intensive and extensive risk and then we

need to build up

resilience how do we do that so number

one anticipate risk

understand and assess the risk that your

community would most likely experience

that's why in one of your assignments

you are tasked to come up with

a hazard maps a hazard map of your home

so that you can

assess the risk of your homes number two

is to prepare to adjust

use tools to support decision making in

the face of uncertainty

of future or future risk right

that's why you're also tasked to come up

with the family evacuation map

because that's the goal how will you

prepare to adjust in case of a disaster

then number number three share and learn

okay share and learn what you know what

you've learned from this lesson what

you've learned

uh with your family evacuation map in

order to improve

people's flexibility to deal with

different challenges

right um we have a lot of families

that already have a family evacuation

plan but we also have families who do

not have family evacuation plan

so it's important for us to share what

we know not just with our immediate

family

but if it's possible with all our

relatives as well

as well number four is to integrate

sectors promote greater dialogue and

coordination across

sectors um and discipline okay so this

this does not just involve the local

government unit or the national

government but also the different um for

example

the the different departments um such as

uh department of education department of

um

social um welfare and development and

all that

uh even the dpw dpwh should also be

involved as they're the ones

maintaining um the public roads and all

that

that include the most vulnerable in in

building up resilience

so manage risk across levels connect

decision making

and consider the weakest part of the

system not just

part of the country weakest part of the

country or weakest part of the city

even the weakest part of your family or

the weakest part of your

of your evacuation plan how do we

address those who will need

the most right so small island

developing states

okay so those are islands mostly found

in sea or you know

in the pacific or wherever and low

middle income

countries continue to lack resilience to

disasters

right that's why um more and more um

um more and more charity or more and

more donations

should go towards those uh low to middle

income

countries okay so because risk and

systems are dynamic

resilience should be thought of as a

process rather than a simple

simply outcome right so um preparation

to adjust and sharing must always be

continuously

updated right this involves learning

adaptation anticipation anticipation and

improvement

in basic disaster risk management

now the best way to come up with

disastrous reduction policies and

proper implementation of those into

disaster risk management

is to use science and in decision making

and i'm glad to read that the united

nations office for disaster risk

reduction

published this report in 2013 entitled

using science for disaster risk

reduction

report of the uni sdr

scientific and technical advisory group

okay you can access this i'll provide

the link

in the description below so they had a

lot of case studies there but

um i chose this one because it's very

timely with what we are experiencing

right now

so this one is a case study

rubella syndrome or entitled preventing

congenital

rubella syndrome health disaster risk

reduction through

rubella vaccination okay so the problem

um

was was that you know um if a woman

contracts or if a pregnant mother

contracts

um rubella during her pregnancy or also

known as german missiles

her unborn baby could also become

infected okay

so the the the mother may experience

the mild symptoms or mild illness while

the unborn baby

will most likely suffer major birth

defects

those within those would be deafness

blindness heart defects

and blood disorders so you can see here

an image of a newborn baby with

microcephaly or small head size

okay um so severe learning disabilities

can also occur

and this may worsen throughout the life

of that baby

and can also be associated with the

deformities of the skull

as we've seen here in some cases the

unborn baby will

will die from infection so what is uh

rubella

so rubella is actually an infectious

disease

caused by a virus it spreads from person

to person through sneezing and

coughing and um this disease is actually

very dangerous so

so much so that outbreaks of rubella uh

in the 1960s are actually considered

epidemic

okay epidemic so in united states alone

approximately 10 11 000 babies died in

1960s

and 20 000 babies were born with birth

defects

so what how did science um

solve or eventually solve this concern

so

uh in the first half of the 20th century

so that's between 1901 to

night around 1940s and people were not

yet aware

that there's a link between rubella and

birth defects okay so they have not yet

established that

however in 1941 an australian eye doctor

named dr norman greg was able to

discover

um uh accidentally know

through overhearing mothers that that

that said that they had rubella when

they when they were um

pregnant and then that resulted into uh

their children being born with eye

problems so he reviewed the records he

checked

about it he researched about it and he

was able to show

in his work that uh having if if the

mother had

arabella in early pregnancy it could

cause

serial serious birth defects in babies

as mentioned here

um so that was actually a a great

discovery in 1940s

uh this allowed uh people to take notice

and take action against it so the um

so after so that's what that happened in

1941 so in 1969

a vaccination to prevent rubella became

first

available and in 1969 the world now has

a way of preventing

um harm and preventing um babies being

born with

uh this deformities um so

so so this map shows us uh countries

using rubella vaccine

right and countries uh meeting world

health organization criteria for

rubella vaccination vaccine introduction

as of 2009

so as you can see majority of the

countries in the world already have

um rubella vaccine for their babies

so was it able to make a difference did

uh dr

greg made a difference um yes of course

um so the world that so the pan-american

health organization

um aimed to eliminate rubella by 20

2003 and eventually the congenital

rubella syndrome

by 2010 so the world the number of world

health organization

uh using states using rubella containing

vaccine

grow grew from 40 percent to 67 percent

by 2009 okay so

there's an increase as of 2009 so

rubella has been eliminated in the world

health organization region of the

americas

um and their experience uh the country's

experience

was able to be a guide was able to be

turned into

a guiding protocol for the rest of the

countries okay for the rest of the

countries

which eventually of course successfully

uh

successfully eliminated rubella in their

countries

right so the lessons identified

include high level commitment and

partnerships

linked political commitment with

technical strategies use proven

surveillance tools

recognize outstanding performance and

provide ongoing training for

surveillance staff okay so they were

able to

to address that and this is now what we

have uh

nowadays um so

greg's scientific work so that was the

doctor in 1951

has saved countless lives and prevented

disability

family tragedy and economic loss around

the world

however we still have the congenital

rubella syndrome

in some parts of the globe that do not

have rubella vaccine

so eventually you know eventually as

time goes by hopefully

all of these countries will have good um

and excellent rubella vaccine programs

so that's just one application of

science in um that was able to

address this um disaster from

um from happening okay

so the this report from um

uni sdr scientific and technical

advisory group

they had other case studies on how

science was able

to save a lot of people from disaster

right through disaster risk reduction

so you could check those out again link

in the description below

now um i chose that case study because

it talks about um a medical um

issue that was result that was um

addressed through vaccination through

scientific um

uh method and nowadays now this is what

we are experiencing right now

so we are um uh still having the

where's the covet pandemic is still

raging on

and this is today's um february

26 right 26 or 27

on january 27 2021

and here in the philippines we do not

have yet um the vaccines

um for uh kovid and

we have several people who have

undergone vaccination but not for the

mass

not for the regular citizens and i

am it's important to note all the

contributions of the medical personnel

of the researchers

of the science researchers and of the

scientific experts

in coming up with those vaccine and

eventually hopefully

um we will be able to overcome this

covet the same way we overcome

rubella uh in 1960s

so if you want to this one is a video

from kyrgyzstan

the corona virus explained and what you

should do

i'll provide the link in the description

below

that ends our video i hope you learned

something new don't forget to subscribe

to my channel and like and share this

video till next time goodbye