Humanitarian Academy

Health

Health in emergencies: priorities, primary health care and epidemic surveillance

Mortality, primary health care, MISP, measles, EWARN and cholera: protect people's health when systems collapse.

  • 4 days · 24 hours
  • 3 levels · 3 certificates
  • 3 scenarios
  • Verifiable certificate
Start the course
  • Free, unlimited access
  • 4 one-day modules
  • 3 scenarios and 12 quiz questions
  • 3 graded case studies and 3 exams
  • Certificate in your name, verifiable online

What you will learn

  • Measure mortality, interpret emergency thresholds and set the public health priorities of a crisis.
  • Organise quality primary health care and essential services: consultations, reproductive health, vaccination, mental health and medicines.
  • Detect and respond to epidemics with an early warning system, and coordinate the response with the Health Cluster.

Course information

Level
Beginner → Intermediate → Advanced (one certificate per level)
Study time
24 hours over 4 days (lessons, case studies, exercises)
Format
Online, at your own pace, free and unlimited access
Assessment
Per level: graded case study + 20-question exam (30 to 40 min, pass marks 70%, 75% and 80%)
Credential
Named, numbered certificate of achievement, verifiable online (QR code)
Reference frameworks
Sphere Association · Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) · Inter-Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crises (IAWG)

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A 3-level certification pathway

Progress from Beginner to Advanced. Each level ends with a graded case study and a timed exam, and leads to its own verifiable certificate.

Level 1Beginner

Exam: 20 questions · 30 min · 70% to pass

Beginner certificate

By the end of this level, you will be able to:
  • Calculate the CMR and U5MR and compare them with the Sphere thresholds.
  • Recognise the main causes of preventable death in emergencies.
  • Know the essential primary health care services.
  1. Day1Public health priorities in emergenciesWhy people die in emergencies · Measuring mortality: CMR and U5MR · Sphere emergency thresholds · Initial assessment and priorities · Conducting the initial health situation analysis step by step (D0 to D14) · Measuring mortality in the field: prospective surveillance and retrospective surveys · Worked example: the Kalombo displacement site, from arrival to the 30-day plan · Reusable tools: key figures, checklist and mortality surveillance form · Common mistakes, donor expectations and variations by context · Interview questions and key references Scenario: The deaths no one sees
  2. Graded case study : The first month of a displacement camp Kalinga camp, 24,000 displaced people who arrived in three weeks · 20 questions including a case study · 70% to pass
Level 2Intermediate

Exam: 20 questions · 30 min · 75% to pass

Intermediate certificate · Opens after the Beginner certificate

By the end of this level, you will be able to:
  • Organise the MISP for reproductive health and measles vaccination.
  • Manage medicines and IEHK kits.
  • Integrate mental health and psychosocial support in line with the IASC.
  1. Day2Primary health care and essential servicesPrimary health care: organisation and Sphere benchmarks · The Minimum Initial Service Package for reproductive health (MISP) · Measles vaccination and routine immunisation · Mental health, psychosocial support and medicines · Opening and running a primary health care facility step by step · The MISP in practice: the first 48 hours and quantified planning · Microplanning a measles vaccination campaign · Medicines and supplies: from emergency kits to consumption-based quantification · Worked example: planning essential services for the Bassoré site (25,000 people) · Integrating mental health and non-communicable diseases into primary care · Common mistakes, contextual variations, interview questions and references Scenario: Night shift at the maternity unit
  2. Day3Surveillance, epidemics and coordinationThe early warning system (EWARN) · Responding to cholera · Responding to measles and other epidemics · Health Cluster, HeRAMS and protection of health care · Setting up an EWARN step by step · Verifying an alert and investigating an outbreak · Cholera: organising case management and the response in practice · Worked example: the cholera outbreak at the Kalombo site · Working in the Health Cluster and protecting health care: the operating procedure · Common mistakes, contextual variations, interview questions and references Scenario: The cluster meeting in the middle of an epidemic
  3. Graded case study : A maternity unit under pressure Bora health centre, post-conflict return area · 20 questions including a case study · 75% to pass
Level 3Advanced

Exam: 20 questions · 40 min · 80% to pass

Advanced certificate · Opens after the Intermediate certificate

By the end of this level, you will be able to:
  • Set up EWARN and verify alerts.
  • Respond to a cholera or measles outbreak.
  • Coordinate with the Health Cluster, use HeRAMS and protect health care.
  1. Day4Advanced module Outbreak management and health system strengtheningOrganising the response: incident management · Reading the data: epidemic curve, attack rate and case fatality · Preserving essential services · From recovery to system strengthening · Setting up incident management: structure, rhythm and a costed response plan · Reading outbreak data without getting it wrong · Maintaining essential services during an outbreak: method and indicators · Worked example: the measles outbreak in Morinka district · From recovery to strengthening: transition, preparedness and accountability · Common mistakes, contextual variations, interview questions and references
  2. Graded case study : Cholera alert in the rainy season Mbéli district, 180,000 inhabitants including 40,000 displaced people · 20 questions including a case study · 80% to pass

Who is it for?

Doctors, nurses, midwives, community health supervisors and workers, health project managers and coordinators, epidemiologists, Health Cluster members and anyone who wants to work in the humanitarian health response.

The certificate

With at least 70% correct answers in the final assessment, you receive a certificate in your name, with a unique code that recruiters can verify on Humanitaires Jobs. A free Humanitarian Network account is required.

Key concepts

The vocabulary you need to master for this course and the exam.

CMR
Crude mortality rate, expressed as deaths per 10,000 people per day.
U5MR
Under-5 mortality rate, expressed as deaths per 10,000 children under 5 per day.
MISP
Minimum Initial Service Package for sexual and reproductive health, to be implemented from the onset of a crisis.
PEP
HIV post-exposure prophylaxis, to be started within 72 hours.
BEmONC / CEmONC
Basic / comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (with caesarean section and blood transfusion).
EWARN
Early warning, alert and response system set up in emergencies.
Case fatality rate
Proportion of deaths among the cases of a disease.
IEHK
Interagency Emergency Health Kit, used to start primary health care.
HeRAMS
Health Resources and Services Availability Monitoring System, led by WHO.
MHPSS
Mental health and psychosocial support.
ICG
International Coordinating Group on vaccine provision (cholera, meningitis, yellow fever, Ebola).
SSA
WHO Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care.

References and recommended reading

The official texts and sector reference works on which the course is based.

  1. Sphere Association (2018). The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards (Health chapter). spherestandards.org/fr/manuel-2018
  2. Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) (2007). IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. interagencystandingcommittee.org
  3. Inter-Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crises (IAWG) (2018). Inter-Agency Field Manual on Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings. iawg.net
  4. World Health Organization (2012). Outbreak surveillance and response in humanitarian emergencies: WHO guidelines for EWARN implementation. www.who.int
  5. World Health Organization (2017). Interagency Emergency Health Kit (IEHK) 2017. www.who.int
  6. Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) (2017). Ending Cholera: A Global Roadmap to 2030. www.gtfcc.org
  7. Global Health Cluster, World Health Organization (2020). Health Cluster Guide: a practical handbook. healthcluster.who.int
  8. World Health Organization (2018). Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care (SSA). extranet.who.int/ssa