Bethesda, Md. – The National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH), a center at the Uniformed Services University (USU) in Bethesda, Md., has taken over direction of the long-running international Health Emergencies in Large Populations (HELP) course.
The training brings together participants representing civilian and military organizations from 14 to 16 strategically prioritized countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
Previously, the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM) hosted the course in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the University of Hawaii. Created in 1986, the training resulted from collaboration between the ICRC, the World Health Organization, and the University of Geneva.
The HELP course training spans two weeks of lectures and workshops. Attendees concentrate on providing humanitarian relief during disasters, armed conflicts, and other health emergency events. Using multidisciplinary training based on scientific evidence, best practices, and professional ethics, the course develops the knowledge base, skills, and approach humanitarian workers will need to address those affected by a disaster.
The transition of the training between CFE-DM to the NCDMPH occurred in January. Taking over the HELP course expands NCDMPH’s portfolio to international landscapes, an area included in their mandate from Homeland Security Presidential Directive-21 (HSPD-21). CFE-DM is undergoing a shift away from a focus on health, so it was a reasonable time for the NCDMPH to assume leadership of the course.
NCDPMH will partner with CFE-DM in instructing the course. Instructors include volunteers from international humanitarian communities, the Department of Defense, and other U.S. interagency organizations. Past subject matter experts have included personnel from Special Operations Command Pacific, as well as the Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit-6.
With NCDMPH’s partnership-based approach, the HELP course will continue to provide essential training to civilian and military professionals around the world responding to the most severe types of disasters, said Dr. Jeff Freeman, director of NCDMPH.
The course takes place each summer in Honolulu. Participation is largely by invitation only. Each year, course leadership sends an invitation to the US embassies in participating nations. They are asked to nominate one person from a civilian organization, such as the Ministry of Health, and one from a military and/or security organization, such as the Ministry of Defense. This year, the course will take place from August 19-30, 2024.
“Most importantly, the HELP course brings together professionals representing humanitarian, civilian, and military organizations—enabling the exchange of knowledge and sharing of multidisciplinary experiences from public health to humanitarian operations,” said Freeman.
“We’re thankful to our CFE-DM colleagues for the opportunity to lead the HELP course and look forward to continuing this critical training in the region.”
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About the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences: The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, founded by an act of Congress in 1972, is the nation’s federal health sciences university and the academic heart of the Military Health System. USU students are primarily active-duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who receive specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, TBI and PTSD, disaster response and humanitarian assistance, global health, and acute trauma care. USU also has graduate programs in oral biology, biomedical sciences and public health committed to excellence in research. The University’s research program covers a wide range of areas important to both the military and public health. For more information about USU and its programs, visit www.usuhs.edu.
