Safe, Sustainable, and Ready: Climate-Resilient Healthcare Facilities in South Asia

Healthcare facilities are vital institutions for providing medical services to the nearby population on a regular basis and during/after disaster emergencies; thus, their safety and functionality remain essential after any climatic events for community resilience. Disruption of healthcare facilities due to disasters associated with climate change increases the vulnerability of surrounding populations ( https://www.hospitalesporlasaludambiental.net/wpcontent/uploads/2016/07/Global-Green-and-Healthy-Hospitals-Agenda.pdf ). The health sector is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions due to its energy-intensive operations and resource consumption. Healthcare facilities are both significant contributors to carbon emissions and vulnerable to the impacts of climate events; it is essential to integrate both resilience and minimal environmental impact. This paper outlines the key important factors that can keep health facilities operational during and after extreme events while minimizing carbon footprints based on learnings from several hospital safety and resilience projects implemented in parts of South Asia and India. The objective is to build the climate and disaster resilient healthcare facilities to withstand climate-related hazards and promote sustainable and climate-smart practices. A qualitative method was adopted with numerous case studies to highlight the narratives around the topic. The results contribute to high level recommendations and policy-oriented actions for healthcare professionals, decision makers, and health agencies.