Methodology A residential part of the course was designed including five modules: planning, disaster medicine, epidemiology, hazardous material and bio-terrorism, public health and urban search and rescue. The participants had to deliver individual presentations of selected topics based on personal experience and expertise. After successful completion of a written examination, the participants were awarded with a certificate for this part of the course from an accredited university institution in disaster medicine. The participants were given the opportunity to continue writing a memoir (short thesis) based on field studies, literature and computer research during the 6 months following the course. An accepted memoir resulted in a University Diploma in Vulnerability Reduction and Emergency Preparedness.
Results During 1995-2001, five courses were organised with a total of 114 participants from 22 countries. Forty of these participants continued to examination for University Diploma. Evaluation showed that the delegates, most of whom had extensive experience of disaster relief work, considered that the objectives of the course were accurate and were appropriately met and fulfilled by the design of the course.
Conclusion The course filled an important gap in presenting the management of major emergencies and disasters as a development issue and a community risk management strategy rather than a humanitarian response issue. The design of the course included a lengthy residential stay at a centre with facilities that allowed efficient provision of education on this level and also provided a base for continued research activity and establishment of an international network for future global collaboration.
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