Strengthening health facility resilience - Workshop to streamline WHO assessment tools in the Western Pacific Region

As climate change, disasters and public health emergencies place increasing pressure on health systems across the world, the need for resilient health facilities has never been more urgent.

To support countries in strengthening preparedness and health infrastructure, the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) jointly convened a regional workshop in Putrajaya, Malaysia from 23-26 June 2025. The workshop brought together national focal points, technical experts and WHO staff to consolidate and streamline three major assessment tools: the Hospital Safety Index (HSI), the Climate Resilient and Environmentally Sustainable Health Care Facilities (CRESHCF) tool and the Water and Sanitation for Health Facility Improvement Tool (WASH-FIT).

"The development of this consolidated toolkit marks a strategic advancement - not just for individual countries, but for the Region as a whole. Strengthening the resilience of our health facilities is key to safeguarding lives and sustaining essential services in the face of climate and health emergencies," said Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO Representative to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore during the session.

Applying the assessment in practice

As part of the workshop, participants visited several health facilities in the Klang Valley and Negeri Sembilan. These site visits to Sultan Idris Shah Hospital in Serdang, Putrajaya Hospital, Precinct 18 Health Clinic in Putrajaya and Nilai Health Clinic in Negeri Sembilan provided an opportunity to apply and test the consolidated questions in real-world settings. The hands-on sessions enabled participants to observe how assessment tools function on the ground and gather feedback from facility staff to further refine the tool's practicality and usability.

^{WHO and MOH teams observed facility conditions and assessed tool applicability on the ground Credit: WHO Malaysia and MOH Malaysia}

Participants also reviewed the overlaps, gaps and use cases of the three existing tools and explored how a simplified baseline assessment could better support countries' efforts to identify vulnerabilities, prioritize action and strengthen readiness. The consolidation initiative responds directly to requests from Member States - including Malaysia - for an integrated approach that reduces complexity while enhancing value.

The initiative aligns with global and regional commitments, including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030), the Asia-Pacific Health Security Action Framework and the 2024 World Health Assembly resolution on climate change and health.

^{Participants took part in interactive sessions to share insights and map out more resilient health facilities Credit: WHO Malaysia and MOH Malaysia}

The four-day workshop also provided a platform for countries to share practical experiences, challenges and innovations in assessing health facility readiness in the face of increasingly complex threats. WHO and partners will continue working with countries to develop and pilot the harmonized tool, with the goal of ensuring that health facilities across the region are safer, more climate-resilient and better equipped to maintain essential services during crises.