Register for a global course by Shailvi Gupta, MD, MPH, a 2020-21 GLOBALtimore Fellow.

Global Public Health Emergencies (PH 717)

Complex humanitarian emergencies are caused by and result in a complicated set of social and often political circumstances, oftentimes having lasting and detrimental effects on a society's health. Every one of the many global humanitarian emergencies is unique and intricate and should be approached as such. The goal of this course is to provide an understanding of the public health implications of complex humanitarian emergencies - which are quite complicated, interlaced and nuanced.

The course will look at components of a complex humanitarian emergency and differing this with a disaster, which is also devastating but different in nature. The course will discuss issues of vulnerable populations within such emergencies, touching on refugees as a special population.

As public health professionals, understanding the political context of complex humanitarian emergencies is crucial in trying to assist. We will begin to delve into this topic to ultimately understand how fragile and complicated complex humanitarian emergencies are and what we can do to be most effective. The course ends with a discussion of resilience within communities and reconstruction, which are important but often forgotten components.