Is the response over? The transition from response to recovery in the health sector post-Haiyan.

WPSAR Vol 6, Suppl 1, 2015 | doi: 10.5365/wpsar.2015.6.2.HYN_007 www.wpro.who.int/wpsar 5 a Offi ce of the WHO Representative in the Philippines, Sta Cruz, Manila, Philippines. b Health Emergency Management Bureau, Department of Health, Sta Cruz, Manila, Philippines. Submitted: 1 June 2015; Published: 6 November 2015 doi: 10.5365/wpsar.2015.6.2.HYN_007 The Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan divides disaster management into four phases: (1) prevention and mitigation; (2) preparedness; (3) response; and (4) recovery and rehabilitation.1 The recovery process is defined as “a sequence of interdependent and often concurrent activities that progressively advance a community toward a successful recovery” and extends from ongoing preparedness to long-term recovery with an overlap between the acute response and short-term and intermediate recovery.2 In this paper, this period of overlap between response and recovery in the Philippines occurred three to seven months post-Typhoon Haiyan – February 2014 to July 2014.