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This year, the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) again invites YOU to participate in the Abstract selection process for the Annual Educational Conference (AEC) & Exhibition, being held in partnership with the International Federation of Environmental Health. The "Be a Voice" initiative gives you the opportunity to tell us what you'd like to experience at the AEC. Tell us topics you'd like to hear about and speakers you'd like to see. View submitted abstracts and provide feedback on them. Help NEHA develop a training and education experience that continues to advance the proficiency of the environmental health profession AND helps create bottom line improvements for your organization!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Environmental Health and Disaster Management – An International Effort for Training and Awareness (50m Lecture)


Globally, environmental health professionals have a critical role in mitigating public health
risks before and after disasters. Their roles will expand in the future as the world’s population density increases and climate change makes extreme weather events more frequent. Many of these risks can be either mitigated or addressed within the existing capacities of environmental health professionals; however, a disaster response has unique challenges, and a specific skill set from a range of professions and collaboration at all levels of government are required. To build this capacity, the International Federation of Environmental Health, the CDC and NEHA have collaborated to develop the course, ”Environmental Health and Disaster Management”. This course recognizes that environmental health professionals are in the best position to assess and address the impacts of disasters. The content is guided heavily by the successful Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response course developed by CDC.

http://www.health.state.mn.us/
To date, 5 courses have been taught internationally. Comparison of knowledge gains and feedback from participants indicated a high-level of need for a two to three day course across the Asia-Pacific and in other parts of the world. The main reason for this is the need to shorten the time required out of the office. This approach would allow more people to attend the course, particularly managers, decisions makers and those who need to travel a long-distance. Requests have been made for future courses in Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Jamaica and South Africa. This demand is expected to increase if future courses target participants from Ministries of Health and emergency management agencies who play an active role in emergencies.

To sustain this initiative, IFEH is eager to continue developing strong collaboration with CDC, NEHA and in-country environmental health associations. Such a course would promote environmental health and ensure that professionals are adequately equipped to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the adverse impacts of disasters internationally. Achieving this will not only benefit the environmental health profession but also ultimately help save many lives and protect livelihoods worldwide
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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 10, 2013 at 1:57 PM

    I have attended EHTER and loved it. This material SHOULD be taken globally. Environmental Health is Environmental Health no matter the locale or language spoken. This information must be shared with our international colleagues!

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  2. AnonymousOctober 17, 2013 at 8:45 AM

    This lecture should be extremely interesting. I am very glad to see that this fine course is now going on an international scale! Kudos to both IFEH and CDC for working together! I'm looking forward to the intermediate and advanced levels of EHTER being completed in the next year or two.

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  3. Mel Knight REHSOctober 17, 2013 at 12:06 PM

    I have learned from direct experience that the environmental health professional is a key player in disaster management, especially during recovery phase. Nearly all environmental health issues and solutions are universal and they do not change with national borders. This is one of the premier IFEH offerings.

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    1. Craig M. Corwin, REHSNovember 20, 2013 at 8:26 AM

      I agree, Mel. When disaster struck a few years ago with the monstrous tornado that swept through the Birmingham, Alabama area, environmental issues were right up there with emergency shelters. In fact, we were involved with shelter appraisals, dealt with a "boil water" notice issued by the water works board, and were acutely involved with food safety issues. Environmental issues are always of utmost importance regardless of the nation or region of the world involved.

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  4. Roger McPhearson, RSNovember 18, 2013 at 9:27 AM

    Excellent Topic !!!! Looking forward to this one.

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