Humanitarian Health

About this course

This Humanitarian Health MOOC provides a comprehensive introduction for people new to the field. You will learn about what happens when a crisis strikes. Which health issues do we have to anticipate? What is the best way to address them? And, importantly, how can we prepare better next time? To answer these questions, we will dive into the actors that work in these settings, the laws and frameworks that guide them, and the ways they try to work together. You will hear about concepts like excess mortality, international humanitarian law, and AI-assisted responses. Beyond technical and operational questions, we will tackle harmful narratives and stories that we tell about all things humanitarian. Some have been repeated so often that many people view them as fact. For example, 'humanitarians are deploying quickly to take care of helpless people after crises'. We will dissect why this view is incredibly problematic and how to change the way we talk about people living through conflict or disasters. We are certain that after this course, you will feel confident in the foundations of humanitarian health. You will be able to apply your new skills in your day-to-day work, to study in a related field, or simply to better understand the global trends that shape today's world.