The relationship between public health issues and emergency management has continued to gain considerable attention. Public health is a prime human development indicator. With increased awareness of linkages between disasters, development and poverty reduction,public health issues have emerged as a key focus area for disaster management workers alike. The relationship between health and the built environment, land management, climate and urbanization are now being incorported into health discourses that were once dominated solely by purely medical issues.

With recent political delopmemts and rising concerns about terrorism and human-made disasters attention has shifted to preparing health-relatied agenciesfor crises and agency coordination in emergencies,which can only be achieved through well-organized, well-trained and coordinated emergency workers. This may involve communities as first reponders. There is also an urgency to builtd capacities of public health professionals to deal with large-scale public health consequences in time of disaster, emergencies and conflict situations. To prepare a cadre of professionals,who can respond to emergencies, it is necessary to build capacities of health worker, volunteers and responders and the management skills to develop and maintain facilities to which disaster victims would be sent. Training is seen as a tool to bring awareness and skills to emergency workers,disaster planners and medical personal.

Most courses offered by other institutions focus on 'response', and training individuals from UN agencies and internal NGOs involved in charity and humanitarian assistance, or deal with issues related to the care of refugees in complex emergency situations. These courses put less emphasis on mass casualty management in the context of emergencies and public health issues like SARS and HIV/AIDS or on the linkage with developmentissues.

To address this gap, ADPC has developed expertise in health and medical aspects of response as well as prevention and mitigation of crises. ADPC training courses on health emergencies are being presented in collaboration with UN agencies such as who and UNDP and donor agencies such as the Royal Goverment of Norway,JICA,Ministries of Health,public health colleges in universities, and international NGOs. New programs and projects are being developed and are attracting an audience outside in South Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean among others.

ADPC training includes:

• Public Health and Emergency Management in Asia & the Pacific (PHEMAP)delivered in collaboration with the Regional Offices of WHO for South East Asia (SEARO) and the Western Pacific (WPRO).This is a comprehensive trainingprogram designed for Ministries of Health as the institutions responsible for providing a comprehensive and coherenthealth response to an emergency. PHEMAP courses can be adapted to all levels of a ministry and cover the ^5thregional courses are being organized and implemented at the country level in Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and Philippines.
  
• Public Health in complex Emergencies (PHCE) is organized in collaboration with the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University,World Education Inc.(WEI) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The training program in Asia adresses the unique public helth needs of refugees and internally displaced persons. Areas covered are critical public health issues faced by goverments and NGO/PVO personnel working in complex emergencies. Topics include epidemilogy, communicable diseases, environmental health, nutrition,reproductive health, weapons, violence and trauma, protection and security,psychosocial issues and coordination,
  
• Hospital Emergency Preparedness & Response Course (HEPR) is designed to assist health service providers, both administrative and medical, to plan response to emergencies that involve large numbers of casualties.
  
• Disasters and Development (D&D) has recently been launched jointly by ADPC, the South East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) of WHO, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The course promotes a more effective public health risk/emergency management approach as a contribution to sustrainable development in a comprehensive and integrated manner.

ADPC is also address ing a critical issue gaining widespread concern and attention-public safely and security.Public safety, like public health,is a fundamental need. Only in a safe physical and social environment will people prosper. Asafe environment includes safe air, soil, food, water, public transport, appliances, practices, protection form violence and prevention of accidents. Safety is also a collectivepsychology-public perception of being safe is an important element of individual and communal well-being. A high level of public awarenessis needed, maintained by informed debate and public education.

The whole concept of public health is being revisited but programs cannot be deloped or implemented as stand-alone activities or undertaken by any single agency. Therefore,there is a call for integration of health sector concerns with other sectors in a participatory manner.

Vision

To promote excellence in public health managementin emergenciesin the Asia and Pacific region

Mission

To reducethe impact of disaster on communitiesand countries in Asia and Pacific through preparing health services and :

raising awareness and enhancing knowledge and    skills

Strengthening sustainable institutetional    mechanisms

facilitating exchange of information,experience and    expertise