Content Overview

This course focuses on understanding health and health system impacts as well as health care needs in natural disasters (e.g. floods, earthquakes) and complex emergencies (e.g. armed conflicts). It looks at the role of public health in disaster situations, disaster preparedness and response, needs assessment me-thods and prioritisation. This course aims to create awareness about the relief and development context in which international organisations work as well as the driving forces and determinants of inter-agency coordination in the field.

Course Topics

• Disaster situations,
• Disaster preparedness,
• Development programmes,
• Cross-cultural awareness,
• Gender based and sexual violence,
• Working relations in the field, donor coordination,
• Relief to development continuum,
• Applied epidemiology in needs assessment and
• Relief planning for natural disasters and complex emergencies.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course participants should be able to:

• explain the health and health systems impacts of disasters
• explain the importance of addressing gender based violence and mental health impacts
• differentiate between natural disasters and complex emergencies in terms of health impacts and needs
• apply rapid needs assessment methods and prioritization in disaster situations
• use strategic and operational planning and health management tools in disasters
• apply epidemiological methods in disaster situations
• explain the driving forces and determinants of inter-agency coordination in the field
• distinguish between development-oriented humanitarian aid and mainstreaming preparedness in development policies
• identify methods for quality assurance and minimum standard setting in humanitarian aid
• apply socio-cultural aspects in the field work appropriately