This book focuses on problems encountered in areas of high risk for seismic events. It introduces the essential aspects of carrying out vulnerability assessments and applying practical measures to mitigate damage in hospitals addressing structural and nonstructural aspects as well as administrative and internal organization. In a period of only 15 years between 1981 and 1996 93 hospitals and 538 health care centers in Latin America and the Caribbean were damaged as a consequence of natural disasters. The direct cost of these disasters has been enormous; just as devastating has been the social impact of the loss of these critical facilities at a time when they were most needed. For these reasons special consideration must be given to disaster planning for these facilities. Assessing and reducing their vulnerability to natural hazards is indispensable. Principles of Disaster Mitigation in Health Facilities is an updated compilation of various documents on the topic already published by PAHO/WHO. Sections of previous publications have been revised to address the needs of professionals from a variety of disciplines particularly those involved in health facility planning operation and maintenance. Figures and photographs illustrate situations that can increase disaster vulnerability in health facilities. Examples are given of how countries in Latin America have conducted vulnerability assessments and applied specific disaster mitigation measures in their hospitals and health centers.

In this pathbreaking history, Donna J. Guy shows how feminists, social workers, and female philanthropists contributed to the emergence of the Argentine welfare state through their advocacy of child welfare and family-law reform. From the creation of the government-subsidized Society of Beneficence in 1823, women were at the forefront of the child-focused philanthropic and municipal groups that proliferated first to address the impact of urbanization, European immigration, and high infant mortality rates, and later to meet the needs of wayward, abandoned, and delinquent children. Women staffed child-centered organizations that received subsidies from all levels of government. Their interest in children also led them into the battle for female suffrage and the campaign to promote the legal adoption of children. When Juan Perón expanded the welfare system during his presidency (1946–1955), he reorganized private charitable organizations that had, until then, often been led by elite and immigrant women. Drawing on extensive research in Argentine archives, Guy reveals significant continuities in Argentine history, including the rise of a liberal state that subsidized all kinds of women’s and religious groups. State and private welfare efforts became more organized in the 1930s and reached a pinnacle under Juan Perón, when men took over the welfare state and philanthropic and feminist women’s influence on child-welfare activities and policy declined. Comparing the rise of Argentina’s welfare state with the development of others around the world, Guy considers both why women’s child-welfare initiatives have not received more attention in historical accounts and whether the welfare state emerges from the top down or from the bottom up.

The North American Mosaic has four overarching features. First, it is, to the extent feasible, based on comparable information on the status and trends of major indicators of the state of the environment in Canada,Mexico, and the United States. Second, the report confirms that these three countries together make up an incredibly complex, dynamic, and interconnected ecosystem in which humans play a dominant and decisive role. Third, the report raises important and sometimes disquieting questions concerning the sustainability of some current trends. Finally, the report is a reminder that our economic, social, and physical well-being are utterly dependent on the life-sustaining services provided by nature. This report emphasizes the importance of developing mutually compatible economic, social, and environmental goals and policies across the three-country region.

This Child-Friendly Schools (CFS) Manual was developed during three-and-a-half years of continuous work, involving the United Nations Children's Fund education staff and specialists from partner agencies working on quality education. It benefits from fieldwork in 155 countries and territories, evaluations carried out by the Regional Offices and desk reviews conducted by headquarters in New York. The manual is a part of a total resource package that includes an e-learning package for capacity-building in the use of CFS models and a collection of field case studies to illustrate the state of the art in child-friendly schools in a variety of settings.

Vacant urban land--the product of land market activity, the actions of private agents, and the policies of public agents--is an important challenge for policy makers. Vacant lots on the urban fringe and in central and interstitial areas have affected growth patterns in Latin America. Contributors to this book analyze the problems and opportunities related to vacant urban land in five cities: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Quito, Ecuador; Lima, Perú; and San Salvador, El Salvador.

El presente manual se ha desarrollado para facilitar la programación de cursosde coordinador de seguridad y salud en las obras de construcción que se estánimpartiendo. Para ello se ha estructurado conforme al programa incluido en elanexo B de la Guía Técnica del Real Decreto 1627/1997, estudiando por un ladoriesgos, actividades y medidas de prevención de tipo general, como el riesgoeléctrico, la soldadura, el movimiento de tierras o las estructuras, para posteriormente analizar en mayor profundidad las especificidad de los distintos tipos de obras, edificación, obra industrial, carreteras puentes, túneles, presas y obras marítimas. Para tratar adecuadamente la complejidad de los contenidos anteriores, a lo que hay que añadir los aspectos legislativos, de higiene industrial, de ergonomía y psicosociología, de medicina del trabajo, y de gestión de la prevención, el manual ha sido elaborado por un conjunto de expertos encada una de las materias. Intervienen ingenieros industriales, ingenieros decaminos, canales y puertos, . arquitectos técnicos industriales, licenciados en derecho, licenciados en medicina, licenciados en ciencias exactas y licenciados en psicología. Esta edición contiene además para facilitarle el acceso ala legislación al alumno o lector, un CD-Rom con la reglamentación en vigor enmateria de prevención de riesgos laborales.INDICE: Conceptos básicos sobre seguridad y salud en el trabajo. Marco normativo. Gestión de la prevención. Planificación de la prevención en las obras de construcción. Técnicas generales de análisis, evaluación y control de riesgos. Promoción de la prevención