The health of refugees and other forcibly displaced people is a key priority for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The UNHCR Programme, Field and Community Service Officers required a training course that gives participants crucial background information across all areas of Public Health that need to be considered during a refugee situation. This includes issues such as sanitation, hygiene, reproductive health, and food security.
The training had to prepare participants to contribute to the many different aspects of protecting public health, for example helping to identify potential problems, liaising with external experts, and contributing to the planning process. The resource also had to educate, while demonstrating how the learner could apply this information in a practical context.
To meet these very specific requirements, we developed a scenario-based training resource that placed UNHCR staff in a wide range of public health scenarios they might encounter in a real-life refugee situation. This gave participants the opportunity to practice applying this new information in a safe learning environment.