Education - Humanitarian Response in Health Course

Program in Public Health, Northwestern University
Winter Quarter 2011
Tuesdays, 1/4/11-3/8/11, 6-9pm

Humanitarian response in health is a seminar series, focusing on the health aspects of humanitarian crisis response. The course will emphasize the public health aspects (e.g., not the medical or clinical aspects) of response, including rapid assessments, water and sanitation management, shelter, nutrition, communicable disease control, logistics, security, and ethical issues. Practical projects, based on simulated disasters and humanitarian emergencies, will be done.

Objectives
At the end of this course, participants should be able to

Identify the key humanitarian management and stakeholder parties and organizations, including domestic and international governmental and NG organizations
Define the health aspects of humanitarian response, including medical and mental health
Design rapid and ongoing health assessment in a crisis setting, using epidemiologic methods and cluster sampling
Design response measures and programs to protect health, including water, sanitation, nutrition, and shelter programs
Be knowledgeable about logistics
Identify and use appropriate communication and information technology
Understand how political, economic, and geographic factors have an influence on response
Know about security measures and how to minimize violence
Define some of the controversies in humanitarian response
Respond to a humanitarian crisis in an effective and ethical way

The Humanitarian Disaster Simulation Exercise April 2011
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

Simulation Course links
“How many doctors does it take to build a latrine?”- Public Radio International 2009
“Local ‘refugee camp’ offers lessons for aid workers”- Boston Globe 2008
“Simulation of Darfur Refugee Camps Trains Future Humanitarian Leaders”- Harvard School of Public Health NOW

Week	Topics
1/4/11	Course intro/expectations Definitions When is it a disaster? Types of disasters Immediate response operations (search and rescue, trauma) Management strategies
1/11/2011	Water/sanitation Food/nutrition
1/18/2011	Martin Luther King Day: no class Shelter and camp design
1/25/2011	Surveillance Needs assessment Information and communication technology Project 1 due
2/1/2011	Communicable disease control, diagnosis, and treatment Project 1 reports
2/8/2011	Medical care Mental health Reproductive health Special populations (children, pregnant women, elderly, animals [companion and livestock])
2/15/2011	Logistics Transportation infrastructure Government and NG agencies Responder health
2/22/2011	Media Environment Pest/vector control Managing volunteers Project 2 due
3/1/2011	Security (personnel and supplies) and violence Disaster-specific factors: earthquakes, urban disasters Recovery and Beyond Project 2 reports
3/8/2011	Project 3 due