"Medicine & Health 2008"

First Mission Abroad
Advanced Training
Complex Emergencies

Humanitarian Assistance and Complex Emergencies

Humanitarian assistance is the immediate action to try and ease or eliminate consequences of acute emergency situations. Due to the ever more frequent occurrence of natural disasters, war and armed conflict, this chapter was dedicated to courses aimed at the management of emergency situations.

Wanting to help is very honourable but nowadays this is not enough anymore. In order to accomplish something in humanitarian aid it is crucial to be well trained and well prepared, which is why the importance of a well-founded education and postgraduate training in this challenging field of humanitarian aid was stressed out.

Funds invested in early warning and prevention strategies can lead to substantial savings in disaster management. Fieldstudies show that consequence control alone is not sufficient anymore. In the future the establishment of early warning systems and disaster prevention strategies should become a major focus when planning new Humanitarian Aid missions.

The following chapter compiles training possibilities for those wanting to work in humanitarian assistance, there is a detailed list of courses aimed at doctors and other medical professionals with different backgrounds as well as different levels of experience.

One section was dedicated respectively to first missions abroad, advanced training and special themes.

"First mission Abroad" is meant for newcomers without any experience. The courses are conveying basic knowledge and skills needed for humanitarian aid work.

The section "Advanced Training" deals with courses for those already familiar with the field of humanitarian assistance and offers further educational opportunities.

"Complex Emergencies" includes courses for training and further education in various fields such as risk- and conflict management and handles topics from the health sector as well as environmental and humanitarian issues.