Managing Environmental Health in Disaster and Humanitarian Settings
About the course:
Environmental health, humanitarian and disaster professionals from across the world have a critical function in mitigating public health risks during a response to a disaster and humanitarian crisis.
This course will identify the critical role you may have in mitigating environmental health risks from a disaster or during a humanitarian crisis. This includes the need to conduct assessments to identify and address key risks such as those relating to drinking water, shelters, overcrowding, food safety, wastewater, disease causing vectors, solid waste and hazardous materials. Many of these risks are within the existing roles of environmental health professionals, however, a disaster response and humanitarian crisis has unique challenges and a specific skill set is required from a range of professions and all levels of government.
The course recognises that environmental health professionals are in the best position to assess and address the impact of disasters and humanitarian crisis due to their skill set and population-based focus. The content is guided by the successful Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response (EHTER) course run by CDC. It will provide training on how to apply environmental health skills and information in a disaster setting.
Objectives:
- Demonstrate how environmental health infrastructure and practices are central to disease and disaster management and humanitarian activities
- Provide an overview of key environmental health infrastructure and how this can be affected after a disaster and during a humanitarian crisis
- Understand what should be considered to mitigate the environmental health risks
- Provide guidance on assessing, addressing and responding to environmental health impacts of a disaster and humanitarian crisis using a population focus
Course content:
The course includes the following topics:
- Disaster Control and Humanitarian Crisis
- Drinking Water
- Food Safety
- Wastewater
- Solid Waste and Hazardous Materials
- Vector Control
- Shelters
- Building Assessments
- Responder Safety
Target audience:
Environmental health specialists, professionals and students who plan to broaden their understanding of the role environmental health in disaster and humanitarian settings. Participants can be from the local, provisional, state, federal, international and private sectors. The course is also relevant for health and disaster professionals who require further knowledge of environmental health in disaster management and humanitarian planning and response.
Course cost:
Euro 75 for students (valid student ID card required)
Euro 150 for low income countries (eg Portugal, Spain, South Africa)
Euro 200 for medium income countries (eg Singapore, Malaysia)
Euro 300 for high income countries (eg UK, Australia, Europe and USA)
Status of income for each member registration see the index below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index
Registration includes Course Materials and Award Certificate of Completion.
Registration information:
Local participants please contact:
- Carolina Carvalho - a-carolina@hotmail.com
- Susana Paixão - supaixao@estescoimbra.pt, +351 919786091
- Maria Helena Furtado - helena_furtado_1992@hotmail.com
International participants please contact:
- Dr Peter Davey - peter.davey@griffith.edu.au