Training programs for responders to international disasters and complex humanitarian emergencies
Citation: Jacquet GA, Obi CC, Chang MP, et al. Availability and diversity of training programs for responders to international disasters and complex humanitarian emergencies. PLoS Currents Disasters. 2014 Jun 23;6.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: The authors of the review reported that they had no external funding for this review.
What is this? International humanitarian relief efforts depend on volunteers and responders in disasters, who need to be adequately trained.
In this systematic review, the authors searched for studies of training programs for responders to humanitarian emergencies and disasters. They did the most recent search in September 2013 and identified 21 training programs that were available for responders to international disasters and complex humanitarian emergencies.
What was found: There is no universally accepted training program available for humanitarian emergency and disaster responders.
The SPHERE standards were developed in 1997, defining fundamental aspects of humanitarian aid including WASH, nutrition and food aid, shelter aid and the provision of health services; but many organizations did not use SPHERE standards in training personnel.
With the increase in humanitarian emergencies and disasters, the maintenance of well-trained personal to respond to these emergencies was found to be a challenge.
Implications: The authors of the review concluded that local training in various languages would minimize the cost burden of finding interpreters and attaining visas and that a central database of available training programs for humanitarian emergency and disaster responders would be helpful because many non-governmental organizations do not include this information on their websites. They also stated that future research should consider surveying participants in training programmes on their experiences.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of place of residence, education, language and occupation.
This summary was prepared by Yasmeen Saeed and finalized by Mike Clarke.