Managing surge staff and resources at the WHO Representative Office in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan.

WPSAR Vol 6, Suppl 1, 2015 | doi: 10.5365/wpsar.2015.6.3.HYN_023 www.wpro.who.int/wpsar 25 a Offi ce of the WHO Representative in the Philippines, Sta Cruz, Manila, Philippines. Submitted: 17 September 2015; Published: 6 November 2015 doi: 10.5365/wpsar.2015.6.3.HYN_023 The World Health Organization (WHO) Representative Office in the Philippines is accustomed to responding to disasters as the country is frequently hit by typhoons and earthquakes.1 Between 2009 and 2014 the Philippines was hit by 14 typhoons or tropical storms annually.2 WHO Representative Office in the Philippines works closely with and is located alongside the Department of Health (DOH) in Metropolitan Manila. Together, they co-lead the humanitarian Health Cluster that provides immediate response and recovery support, technical expertise and capacity enhancement to manage all types of crises. WHO is guided by the Emergency Response Framework (ERF) with the ERF grading system guiding the extent, complexity and duration of WHO support and the required emergency standard operating procedures during responses, ranging from “ungraded” to “Level 3,” the maximum level of response.3