Disaster Recovery and the Road Ahead - IGNOU

Report has identified 16 different types of training courses in Disaster Response for NDRF,
SDRF and other stakeholders.
v) The Psycho-Social Support and Mental Health Services (PSSMHS) are now being considered
as a continuum of interventions and an important component of general health services in
disaster situations. Psycho-social support will comprise of the general interventions related to
the larger issues of promoting or protecting psycho-social well-being through relief work,
meeting essential needs, restoring social relationships, enhancing coping capacities, and promoting
harmony among survivors. The mental health services will comprise interventions aimed at
prevention or treatment of psychological and psychiatric symptoms or disorders.
vi)
vii)
Significance of PSSMHS by the Government has been recognized by the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare, National Institute for Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS)
and a large number of NGOs. The purely clinic/hospital-based planning and delivery of services
has given way to community-based services with active utilization of community resources. The
nature of manpower involved in service delivery has also undergone a significant change. Earlier,
only psychiatrists were visible, but now all mental health professionals, clinical psychologists,
psychiatric social workers, professionals, para-professionals and trained community level workers
(CLWs) and volunteers can be seen as effective service providers.
Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has developed expertise and facilities
for CBRN casualties (like radiation monitoring vans, detection equipment, protective suits and
radio protectors). Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has also got facilities for detection
and decontamination. A few training programmes have been conducted for doctors from the
armed forces on radiation hazards and their management at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine
and Allied Sciences (INMAS), DRDO, Delhi.
viii) The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has undertaken
standardization efforts in the area of earthquake
engineering. It proposes simple rather than complex
plans. Some new earthquake-resistance techniques have
been developed. One of them is the Base Isolation
Technology. It aims at reducing the forces transmitted
to the building from the ground by placing the building
atop a mechanical system of isolators, sliders and
dampers. Such technologies along with Diagonal
Bracing, Disaster Resistant Pier System, Welded Wire
Fabric Reinforcement could help in disaster-resistant
construction, and favourable resource utilization for
disaster rehabilitation.
Illustration 5
ix)
The National Advisory Council, which works as a think tank for the central government in
India, has proposed a National Rehabilitation Commission to ensure rehabilitation for all those
affected by mega projects, including dams, mines, highways, as well as natural disasters.
x) Disaster management has been incorporated in the training curricula of All India Services with
effect from 2004-05. There is a separate Faculty of disaster management in 29 State Level
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