The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the University of Geneva have signed an agreement to increase and facilitate cooperation on emergency preparedness and disaster relief programs.
The collaboration will directly involve PAHO's Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief program and the University of Geneva's Multifaculty Program in Humanitarian Action.
PAHO's Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Program was created in1976 after an earthquake in Guatemala. Since then it has become a world-renowned program that actively participates with other organizations in disaster preparedness, disaster mitigation in hospitals and water systems, and coordinating health needs assessments and assistance in emergency and other situations.
The University of Geneva program offers a masters degree in humanitarian action that covers analyzing humanitarian action related to armed conflict, natural disasters and associated population displacement as well as major social problems in industrialized societies such as abuse, detention and exclusion.
The agreement, which will go into effect immediately and last until April 2006, aims to improve professional development needs, based on the understanding that through synergy both organizations can have the greatest impact. It allows for the humanitarian action program to undertake academic research and analysis on certain topics and activities with PAHO.
A PAHO staff member will serve on the advisory board of the Multifaculty Program in Humanitarian Action. "Through this individual, PAHO will be able to provide advice and input to the University's Humanitarian Action Program," said an Emergency Preparedness official. Increased cooperation between PAHO and a European university is also expected to provide more visibility to the area of disaster preparedness.