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Online Course on Public and Environmental Health in Emergencies

This course aims to instruct participants on how to critically design WASH responses to humanitarian crises while focusing on protecting public health.

Apply now for

20222023

For whom?

Professionals from the humanitarian WASH aiming to improve their competencies for career development; professionals from the water and sanitation sector (private, public or non-governmental sectors) aiming to expand their expertise to the humanitarian sector; students from IHE aiming to diversify their learning pathway with humanitarian WASH knowledge.

Prerequisites

A bachelor's degree or equivalent. Good command of English language. Completed the “Building a Better Response” online course. Preferably experience in the WASH sector (technical and/or social sciences oriented).

Dates, Fee, ECTS

Start: 05 September 2022
End: 13 January 2023
Duration: 18 weeks
ECTS credit points: 5
Deadline IHE application: 04 September 2022 - 23.59 (CET)
Course fee: € 1065

Start: 04 September 2023
End: 12 January 2024
Deadline IHE application: 27 August 2023 - 23.59 (CET)
Course fee: € 1065

VAT is not included in the course fee

Learning objectives

Upon completion, the participant should be able to:
  1. Explain the link between public health and the environment in the WASH sector
  2. Analyse public health data/sources during different phases of a humanitarian crisis to assess the progression/regression of public health outcomes
  3. Select context-appropriate WASH interventions in emergencies, including health care facilities
  4. Design an adequate WASH response (incl. hygiene promotion and behaviour change programmes) during the different phases of a humanitarian crisis focusing on public health outcomes

Topic 1: Introduction to WASH and public health in emergencies

  • Introduction about the type of emergencies and disasters (tbc what is covered in the governance module)
  • Introduction to communicable diseases and link to health
  • Effects of disasters on environmental & public health facilities and services
  • Introduction to the SPHERE standards on water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion

Topic 2: Design a WASH response to reduce risks of public health emergencies or to respond to public health crises

  • The phases of humanitarian emergencies (in acute emergency phase vs protracted/long term crisis) from the public health perspective.
  • Prevention and public health emergency preparedness.
  • Introduction to the phases of project cycle management, highlighting the key phases from the public health perspective.
  • Effective programme/project design and implementation.
  • Monitoring and evaluation.

Topic 3: Epidemiology in emergencies

  • Foundation of field epidemiology
  • Conducting a field (outbreak) investigation (rapid assessments; cross sectional surveys) [incl. data collection methodology (objectives and data needs; protocols; surveys; sample size)]
  • Data analysis (basic statistics; interpretation of outbreak data)

Topic 4: WASH approaches in emergency contexts

  • Description of WASH approaches in low- and medium-income countries
  • Health impacts of WASH interventions in disease outbreaks

Topic 5: WASH in health care facilities

  • Health organization for emergencies and disasters
  • Infection Prevention & Control

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