Division of Global Emergency Care and Humanitarian Studies, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MassachusettsUSA.
Partners In Health, Boston, MassachusettsUSA.
Prehosp Disaster Med. 2020 Apr;35(2):220-224. doi: 10.1017/S1049023X20000229. Epub 2020 Feb 19.
Countries most affected by disasters are often those with limited local capacity to respond. When local capacity is overwhelmed, international humanitarian response often provides needs-based emergency response. Despite global progress in education and the development of international humanitarian response standards, access to training and integration of local actors in response mechanisms remains limited. In May 2017, the Haiti Humanitarian Response Course (HHRC) was implemented in Mirebalais, Haiti to increase local capacity and allow for effective future engagement with international humanitarian actors in a country prone to disasters.
In collaboration with the Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais' (HUM; Mirebalais, Haiti) Department of Medical Education and Emergency Medicine (EM) residency program, four physicians from the Division of Global Emergency Care and Humanitarian Studies at Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston, Massachusetts USA) facilitated the course, which included 53 local physicians and staff. Following 15 hours of online pre-course preparation, through didactics and practical small-group exercises, the course focused on key components of international humanitarian response, minimum standards for effective response, and the roles of key response players. The course was free to participants and taught in English and French.
The HHRC reduced the barriers often faced by local actors who seek training in international humanitarian response by offering free training in their own community. It presents a novel approach to narrow critical gaps in training local populations in international humanitarian response, especially in environments prone to crises and disasters. This approach can help local responders better access international humanitarian response mechanisms when the local response capacity is exhausted or overwhelmed.
The HHRC demonstrates a potential new model for humanitarian and disaster training and offers a model for similar programs in other disaster-prone countries. Ultimately, local capacity building could lead to more efficient resource utilization, improved knowledge sharing, and better disaster response.
受灾害影响最严重的国家往往是那些应对本地能力有限的国家。当本地能力不堪重负时，国际人道主义救援往往会提供基于需求的紧急响应。尽管在教育和国际人道主义救援标准的发展方面取得了全球进展，但获得培训和将当地行为体纳入应对机制的机会仍然有限。2017 年 5 月，在海地米拉巴莱实施了海地人道主义应对课程（HHRC），以增强当地能力，并使海地在这个容易发生灾害的国家能够与国际人道主义行为体进行有效的未来合作。
与米拉巴莱大学医院（HUM；海地米拉巴莱）医学教育和急诊医学系（EM）住院医师项目合作，来自布莱根妇女医院全球紧急护理和人道主义研究系的四位医生（美国马萨诸塞州波士顿）协助了该课程，其中包括 53 名当地医生和工作人员。在完成 15 小时的在线课前准备后，通过讲座和实践小组练习，该课程侧重于国际人道主义应对的关键组成部分、有效应对的最低标准以及关键应对人员的角色。该课程对参与者免费，并以英语和法语授课。
HHRC 通过在当地社区提供免费培训，减少了寻求国际人道主义应对培训的当地行为者经常面临的障碍。它提供了一种新颖的方法，可以缩小在国际人道主义应对方面培训当地人口的关键差距，特别是在容易发生危机和灾害的环境中。这种方法可以帮助当地应对人员在当地应对能力耗尽或不堪重负时更好地利用国际人道主义应对机制。
HHRC 展示了人道主义和灾害培训的一种潜在新模式，并为其他易受灾国家的类似项目提供了一个模式。最终，当地能力建设可以提高资源利用效率、改善知识共享并更好地应对灾害。
