Indo-Pacific health emergencies workshop moves to new steward

May 10, 2024

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Leaders of the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM) and the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health discuss the U.S. Defense Department’s National Disaster Medical System pilot program at CFE-DM in Hawaii. IMAGE CREDIT: AIYANA PASCHAL/CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

After more than a quarter century of preparing military and civilian professionals to respond to health disasters in the Indo-Pacific, the Health Emergencies in Large Populations (HELP) workshop is moving to a new administrator.

The Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM), in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, has hosted the HELP workshop for 26 years. Leadership is now transitioning to the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH), a federal interagency organization and academic center at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

The two-week HELP program equips multidisciplinary professionals across humanitarian, health, civilian and defense organizations with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions during humanitarian emergencies.

The ICRC, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the University of Geneva, established the workshop in 1986 in Switzerland. CFE-DM adopted the workshop in 1997 and 800 participants have since graduated from the program at the Hawaii-based center, part of the United States Indo-Pacific Command.

“The HELP workshop is looking at how humanitarian emergencies evolve, and the program adjusts to that,” said Dr. Rudi Coninx, who participated in the inaugural 1986 workshop and later joined the ICRC and WHO, helping develop workshop training material.

“I think that, today, if you want to know what are the overall issues that you will be faced with in humanitarian missions as a humanitarian worker in less than two weeks, the HELP workshop is the place to go,” said Coninx, who still teaches several workshop subjects.

CFE-DM, which was established in 1994, originally focused on military medicine, making the HELP workshop a good fit. However, as CFE-DM’s mission grew to include initiatives on civilian harm mitigation and climate change impacts, the agency identified an opportunity for another organization to take the lead.

Transitioning the workshop to another military-affiliated organization such as the NCDMPH was important to continue facilitating civilian-military partnerships. Participants include military and civilian professionals from Indo-Pacific countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

With regional militaries increasingly providing humanitarian assistance, civilian-military collaboration is vital.

“You see more and more military involved in humanitarian actions and [nongovernmental organizations] involved as well, and quite often they have different views and visions, so it’s important to get to know each other and get along,” Coninx said.

The next HELP workshop is scheduled for August 19-30, 2024, in Honolulu.

“The HELP workshop provides essential training to civilian and military professionals around the world responding to the most severe types of disasters,” said Dr. Jeff Freeman, director of the NCDMPH. “We’re thankful to our CFE-DM colleagues for the opportunity to lead the HELP workshop and look forward to continuing this critical training in the region.”

The transition marks a milestone in the program’s evolution, with the partnership between the CFE-DM and NCDMPH reflecting a shared dedication to strengthening global disaster response and addressing the challenges of humanitarian emergencies. The NCDMPH’s focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and evidence-based practices positions the Maryland-based agency to enhance the workshop, experts say.

“The academic rigor that NCDMPH brings will not only enrich the quality of the HELP workshop, but also strengthen the global HELP network that has been established since its inception,” CFE-DM Director Joseph Martin said. “I trust that under Dr. Freeman’s leadership, the HELP workshop will continue to thrive and provide valuable capacity building to the disaster workforce.”