Prepared for ACTION in face of disaster:

A manifesto of medical students from Asia-Pacific

This statement was written by the participants of the Asian Collaborative Training on Infectious Diseases, Outbreaks,
Natural Disasters, and Refugee Management (ACTION) 2010 held last August 23-29, 2010 in Manila, Philippines. Hosted
this year by the Asian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA)-Philippines, ACTION is an annual conference organized by
the Asia-Pacific region of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA). The conference
revolved around the theme, “Health Management in Hospitals and Beyond in Times of Emergencies.” This year’s
participants came from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, and Taiwan.

During emergencies such as natural disasters, countries are thrown into chaos by a barrage of health concerns,
structural losses and financial crises. This is most especially true in the Asia-Pacific region, which is greatly vulnerable,
both in geographic and socioeconomic terms, to the ill effects of disasters. The imminent threat is even intensified as
global climate change, which is very much of our own doing, continues to affect the course of environmental
phenomena, such as typhoons, tsunamis, and heat waves.

We medical students from Asia recognize that the health sector plays an imperative role in ensuring the safety and
health of every citizen especially in times of public health emergencies. As future doctors, it is our responsibility to take
an active part in this goal – and the time to achieve this is not tomorrow but now.

First, we aspire to become the bridges between doctors and patients, hospitals and communities. To accomplish this,
knowledge is essential, and so we will strive to be aware of the emergency situation and to keep abreast of further
developments. This vital information will be forwarded to the relevant agencies in order to effect immediate action.
Moreover, we will use this information to start our own initiatives and programs to prepare communities for disasters
and to respond to their needs promptly and effectively. We possess the energy and creativity of youth as well as the
technology – from mobile phones to social networking websites – that will enable us to connect every person involved in
emergency situations.

Second, should opportunities arise and our conditions allow, we will, without hesitation, volunteer to help in the actual
emergency response, whether through university task forces, non-governmental organizations, or even government
agencies. We will do this by ensuring our own safety as well, so that we can serve more people. We will share our
resources, collect relief goods, raise funds and help in any way we can. We will exert extra effort to spend time with the
victims and listen to their needs and concerns. We believe that even by listening, we would be able to provide comfort
and cause healing, not just physically, but also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Even a small act like this
contributes largely to the full recovery of a community devastated by emergency.

Third, we will also strive to become leaders in health emergency management, whether in a small community or in a
national scale. We will coordinate efforts from adults and youth alike, and we will mobilize our fellow students and even
youth who do not go to school but are willing to help. Since emergency situations require a holistic and integrated
response, we will ensure that response teams are multidisciplinary, engaging young people from different backgrounds
in terms of gender, race, affiliation and educational attainment. As leaders, we will create mechanisms that will ensure
efficiency and healthy communication among the members of the health emergency management team.

In order to fulfill these roles, we will avoid becoming victims of disaster. Thus, we should prepare by becoming aware of
local hazards existing in our respective communities, as well as help not just in the response and recovery phase but
more importantly in the prevention and mitigation stage. We will help design evacuation routes and devise emergency
kits that will be useful for the community.

Now more than ever, we medical students possess the burning desire to be of great help to people in times of disasters.
However, the opportunities for us to be able to do so are being kept away from us. We believe that public health
emergencies and their management should be taught in medical schools, so that medical students, who will be future
health professionals, will gain a greater understanding of these public health threats early in their work. The medical
university, as a scholarly institution, should be involved in equipping medical students with the information and skills
needed to enable us to become relevant and responsive in health emergency management even as students and as
young people. As early as first year in medical school, we should be trained in triage, basic life support, rapid health
assessment, and disaster response and rehabilitation, to name a few topics. We would want to learn about the previous
experiences of the health sector in responding to past disasters, especially in the region, so that we can adopt the
successful strategies and look for ways to correct the ineffective ones.

Moreover, medical schools should inform medical students of the different opportunities for volunteerism and
leadership existing in their communities and countries. They can link us with both government and non-government
organizations that deal with disaster response. We can also help in education campaigns and planning sessions for local
communities. In engaging with communities, we promise to listen to them to the utmost because we acknowledge their
innate knowledge about their locality and wide range of experience.

Lastly, we commit to serve as champions for protecting communities against disasters, and ambassadors of our
respective countries and communities to others at both local and international platforms. We recognize the need to
speak out especially for the voiceless, so that we can influence governments and other stakeholders to create healthy
policies and initiate programs that protect and save lives in times of disaster and beyond. Engaging with other
communities and countries will also enable us to share our ideas and experiences as well as learn from others. This
effort will greatly contribute in our mission to improve our local and national health care systems and make them
resilient in times of emergencies. Finally, we will maximize these local, national, and international platforms to create
common understanding and passion about public health emergencies and foster partnerships and friendships among
the world’s different peoples.

The future of our region’s health lies in our hands. To be prepared for ACTION in face of disaster remains our collective
aspiration.

Edited by Ramon Lorenzo Luis R. Guinto, co-president of the Asian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA)-Philippines.