The World Health Organization (WHO) calls on people to react for safe hospitals in South-East Asia. Formula 1 racing driver Heikki Kovalainen is the first to take on the challenge.

HELSINKI -- (BUSINESS WIRE) --

South East Asia faces some of the world's worst natural disasters. Health facilities provide lifesaving services during these emergencies, yet they often fail when most needed. WHO is working to ensure health facilities are build to withstand disasters, have contingency plans in place and that staff are trained to help people under post-disaster conditions. This will save thousands of lives.

Last year, governments officially committed to ensuring hospitals, old or new, are made safe. With the help of public support, WHO now seeks to push decision-makers and the hospital industry in to taking concrete action to prevent future, needless loss of life. To do this, WHO has launched a social media challenge which aims to engage 1 million people in safe hospitals. The message is simple: disasters destroy in seconds - we need you to react fast! The campaign spearhead enables people to test how fast they can react and shows how little time it takes to support an important cause. Every reaction contributes towards the wave of public support needed by WHO to push decision-makers in to making hospitals safe.

One of the fastest men in the world, Lotus team Formula 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen, has become the first champion to join the campaign and challenge the public to beat his reaction time. "I feel that this is a meaningful and effective way to help ensure hospitals and health facilities continue to treat and support people in all kinds of emergencies. I'm honoured to launch the challenge and help in raising awareness of safe hospitals in South-East Asia."

"Health facilities are often among the first casualties of emergencies - health workers are injured and services are not available to treat and save victims. We need to make as many people as possible aware of this issue and urge people to take action on behalf of safe hospitals, so this support means a lot to us. said Dr Roderico H Ofrin, Regional Adviser, Emergency Health Action, SEARO, WHO.

The campaign will also enable people to later test their reaction times against other celebrity champions.

For more about the issue and the reaction test go to: www.fastreaction.org or www.facebook.com/clickabrick

Press images you can find here: xfer.taivas.fi/WHO_HK_press 2.zip

CONTACT:

WHO:
Roderico Ofrin, Regional Adviser
Emergency Health Action, WHO SEARO
ofrinr@searo.who.int
or
Heikki Kovalainen:
Heikki Kovalainen's contact person
Mikael Hästbacka
mikael.hastbacka@numea.fi
or
Campaign information
Planning Director
Peggy Bauer
+358 40 828 3140
peggy.bauer@taivas.fi