Health facilities safety in natural disasters: experiences and challenges from South East Europe

This paper addresses the disaster management approaches of Croatia and Serbia with a special emphasis on the existing technological and legislative systems for safety and protection of health facilities and people. It recommends the two countries to take strategic measures in the future to provide better safety for health facilities and populations, based on the best practices and positive experiences in other countries. This paper encourages both countries to refine their disaster preparedness strategies due to the expected consequences from global climate change. Finally, the principles of environmental security are encouraged to be implemented in public health policies in South Eastern Europe because the effects of natural disasters are amplified in the health sector due to the region's critical medical infrastructure.