The Health Emergencies in Large Populations (HELP) course was initiated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and is offered by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in joint collaboration with PAHO/WHO and the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. For more than 25 years, the HELP course has offered humanitarian workers an intensive training experience in public health principles and disaster epidemiology. The course was founded based on the need for humanitarian workers to acquire a holistic understanding of the needs of refugees, internally displaced persons, and others affected by natural disasters and conflict in order to more effectively manage health crises in emergency settings.

The goal of HELP is to create an understanding of the public health needs of populations in disaster and conflict situations. This includes the background, underlying causes, and the dynamics that cause populations to be vulnerable in emergencies. Topics covered during the course include disaster management, food security and nutrition, environmental health, health and surveillance systems, humanitarian ethics, human rights and human security, conflict origins, and security for aid workers.

HELP includes lectures with the sector’s leading practitioners and academics. Through in-class assignments and group exercises, participants gain important skills necessary for humanitarian response, including skills in epidemiological methods and management of health emergencies.

The HELP course is typically offered twice per year, over two weeks in January (‘live’ virtual) and July (in-person).(Note: due to visa challenges of prospective participants the July course will now also be ‘live’ online/virtual)

All healthcare and public health professionals working in large-scale health emergencies and humanitarian assistance should consider attending the course.

Previous participants have come from a variety of civil society, governmental, and private organizations and include nurses, physicians, public health professionals and humanitarian aid workers focused on health in humanitarian emergencies.

You can now apply for the course in July 2025. This course will run from 14-25 July 2025. Some people might be able to receive a discount on the course fees.

How to Apply:

Further details can be found on: http://hopkinshumanitarianhealth.org/education/help-course/

Please visit the website and follow the instructions on the Application form. Apply before 13 June 2025.