Olness K1
1Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Objective: It is important that more child’s health specialists become knowledgeable about disasters, especially those defined as complex humanitarian emergencies.
Background: Disasters, including natural, chemical and war related, have increased 10-fold in the past 15 years. More than half the victims of disasters are children. The special needs of children, with respect to both short- and long-term issues, are not generally recognized by relief workers.
Discussion: For the past 6 years, I have taught an intense, 1-week course, “Management of Complex Humanitarian Emergencies: Focus on Children and Families” at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. This course has been endorsed by the International Pediatric Association and by the American Academy of Pediatrics. One hundred fifty child health professionals have completed this training; 20 from other parts of the world, including Uganda, Thailand, Laos, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico and Turkey. In March 2001, we completed a trainer’s program for the same course at Khon Kaen University in Thailand, with the support of the Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute. Khon Kaen will now become a center for training in Southeast Asia. In 2000, the American Academy of Pediatrics established a Child Disaster Network that will provide volunteers with training and/or experience in working with children in disasters. This network will be available to United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGO) relief agencies on very short notice when disasters occur.