A bid to keep hospitals and health clinics open amid natural disasters and epidemics is key to saving lives, the UN health agency said Friday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) initiative is called the safe hospital framework and more than 70 countries have already adopted it.

It’s to be presented at the Disaster Risk Reduction world conference taking place in Sendai, Japan, where WHO’s Dr Rick Brennan wants countries to put such healthcare issues at the heart of their emergency response policy.

He spoke to UN Radio’s Daniel Johnson.

Duration: 2’27”