For students attending the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Public Health in Disasters (EMJM PHID) Programme outline (EMMPHID)

Presentation

Disasters cause damage, suffering and death and leave people in need of life-saving assistance A disaster disrupts the functioning of a society, leading to human, material, economic and environmental losses that overwhelm local capacity and necessitate national or international response [UNDRR]. 

Disasters are caused by hazards, but whether a situation will develop into a disaster or not depends on several factors, related to on the one hand vulnerability, on the other hand: coping capacity and resilience. Throughout the history of mankind, we have been accompanied by disasters. While we may think of epidemics, floods, earthquakes and wars as unusual or rare events, they are in fact common and affect more than 200 million people every year. 

Disasters do not only cause caseloads of new injured and sick but also disrupt the health system and its capacity to deal with preventive programmes and common conditions already present before a disaster. A public health approach is fundamental in assessing and addressing  any disaster situation. The master´s programme Public Health in Disasters, is a multi-disciplinary program that focuses on causes, risk factors and impacts, reducing risks, responding to and recovering from disasters, from a public health perspective. 

The aim of the master´s programme is to, through knowledge, experience and research build capacities that will reduce disaster risks and contribute to better and more targeted public health based response following disasters.

Anneli Eriksson Research Specialist Ph.D
Programme Director