Overview

• Humanitarian Principles – the Code of Conduct
  
• Lessons learned in the response to emergencies over the last 30 years
  
• New structures in emergency response as a result of lessons learned
  
• Challenge of myths and misconceptions about emergencies

Facilitation Notes

This session is intended to provide an introduction to the emergency context for development staff working in the health and nutrition sector. This is part 1 of a 2-part introduction and should be accompanied by Introduction to Public Health in Emergencies Part 2: Indicators and Concepts.

While covering the accompanying slides, it is important to reinforce the paradigm shift between development and emergency settings, focusing on how humanitarian perspective/concept/law differs from the development context. Limit the lessons learned to key messages and use a variety of region-specific settings. Additional facilitation notes are included within the slides.

Begin session with 15-minute Myths and Misconceptions Exercise (detailed below), followed by the accompanying slides and time for questions and discussion.

Timing

1 Hour and 15 Minutes

Plan 15 minutes for exercise, 45 minutes to review slides and 15 minutes for questions/answers. Plan for additional time if using many visual aids.

Exercises and Group Work

Myths and Misconceptions Exercise:

To test participants' awareness of myths and misconceptions about emergency response, the following True/False questions are written on flipcharts around the room. After a short introduction to the exercise, participants are given 5-10 minutes to walk around, putting a check or colored dot next to the answer they think is correct. The questions are reviewed as a group before the final answers are revealed.

1. Field hospitals are a top priority in all emergencies.

• False: The expense often outweighs the benefit, however depending on the emergency, the need might be great enough to justify the expense
  
• Also, most who need care cannot be reached– SC focuses more on community-level interventions

2. Dead bodies pose an immediate threat in emergencies.

• False: No immediate threat – the health risk is exaggerated
  
• Burial is usually very culturally important and a rush to bury bodies can cause psycho-social scars on a community
  
• Exception: if bodies are infected with a communicable disease or pose a health risk to others (e.g. decomposing bodies near water source)

3. Worldwide, there are more internally displaced persons than refugees.

• True

4. It is possible to involve the community in a public health intervention in the acute emergency phase.

• True

5. Communicable disease outbreaks are to be expected after a natural disaster.

• True and False: The perceived risk is higher than the actual risk

6. External health workers are essential in emergencies following a natural disaster.

• False: A large influx of external people can be burdensome and difficult to coordinate
  
• When using external health workers, appropriate training is essential

Visual Aids and Demonstrations

1. Indroduction Part I PowerPoint Presentation

2. Provide region-specific visuals (video, photos, etc.) of past emergency contexts – be inclusive of all possible contexts.

3.Flip charts and colored dots can be used for the exercise.

Resources

Lessons learned from complex emergencies over past decade. Peter Salama, Paul Spiegel, Leisel Talley, Ronald Waldman. The Lancet, 2004

Thirty years of natural disasters, 1974-2003: the numbers. D. Guha-Sapir, D. Hargitt and P. Hoyois. Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, 2004