Short Courses

ONLINE SHORT COURSE

HEALTH DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT (HDRNA)

Second Quarter Training: April - June 2025

WHAT IS THIS SHORT COURSE ABOUT?

Welcome to the Health Disaster Recovery Needs Assessment (HDRNA) and Recovery Planning short course, developed jointly by Stellenbosch University, PERIPERI U and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide an introduction to systematic needs assessment approaches in health disasters.

This in-depth course focuses on addressing resilient recovery related to health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic and is based on the methodologies and tools of the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) and development of Disaster Recovery Frameworks. Participants will actively engage in discussions and practical exercises, encouraged to share their experiences and perspectives, and deliberate on the concepts and methods taught throughout the course.

Although the training may focus on Covid-19 problem solving, the general principles, theories, tools and assessment methods taught throughout this course should be applicable to similar health risks and emergencies (such as an Ebola outbreak, a Cholera epidemic or potentially even mass contamination such as radiation or chemical spills) so that those attending and completing this course can apply these same lessons to other situations.

The design, content development and operation of this course have been funded by the European Union through the "Capacity Building for Post Disaster Needs Assessment and Recovery Planning - PDNA Roll Out III Project", and the Government of Sweden through the UNDP "Sahel Resilience Project".

WHAT IS THE COURSE STRUCTURE AND FORMAT?

This webinar-based course will tentatively take place three times a week for approximately two hours per webinar session over a period of three weeks with a short take home assignment to complete and submit within two weeks of the final class session.

The course will consist of ten core lessons, which will provide participants with access to all training materials, readings, and other learning materials. The self-paced online course will be hosted on Stellenbosch University's short course teaching and learning platform, SUNOnline. On this platform, participants will have access to all learning materials and tools required to complete the course via this platform. Participants with limited internet access can download texts and other learning materials to study offline.

LESSONS AND THEMES

Lesson 1:	The HDRNA: brief background and introduction.
Lesson 2:	The pre-disaster context: collecting and using baseline data.
Lesson 3:	The four dimensions of effects: damage, disruptions to goods and services, governance and increased risks.
Lesson 4:	Estimating the economic value of effects: damage and loss.
Lesson 5:	The human impact: people's lving conditions, poverty, food insecurity, social inclusion and gender.
Lesson 6:	The macro-economic impact: GDP, import/exports, revenues/expenditures, the balance of payments.
Lesson 7:	Cross-cutting issues: employment and livelihoods, governance, gender, the environment, and disaster risk reduction.
Lesson 8:	Estimating recovery needs: short, medium and long-term needs.
Lesson 9:	Developing the recovery strategy: the vision and guiding principles, coordination arrangements, monitoring mechanisms, and financial management.
Lesson 10:	Final assessment: developing the final HDRNA report for the health and commerce/industry sectors.

WILL THERE BE ASSESSMENTS?

In addition to completing quizzes during the webinar participants will also be required to complete a short assignment at home and submit within two weeks of the final class session.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

This short course is open to practitioners, technical experts and government officials particularly from the Sahel and West Africa region.

WHAT ARE THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF THE TRAINING?

At the end of this training, participants should be:

1. Equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to participate in and provide technical support to a HDRNA/PDNA relating to health disasters, particularly in the health and commerce and industry sectors.

2. Able to develop a HDRNA report for the health and commerce/industry sectors.

WILL I RECEIVE A CERTIFICATE AFTER COMPLETING THE COURSE?

Upon successful completion of the course lessons and all quizzes, participants are entitled to receive an official digital certificate from Stellenbosch University. Participants should note that certificates may take several weeks to be officially processed and sent to them. A provisional certificate will be sent to confirm completion if requested.

HOW TO REGISTER AND START THE COURSE

Registrations to take part in the second quarter 2025 version of the course are now open. The training will take place between 15 April - 30 April 2025. All participants are required to submit their short take home assignments two weeks after attending the webinars.

Please note that by registering for the short course via this PERIPERI U webpage, you are entitled to take part in the course free of charge ! Use this link here to begin the registration process:

Please note that some parts of the registration process is entirely in English, registration instructions will be provided to help you understand all the instructions you need to follow to successfully register for the course.

Also note that this registration process is not automatic and that it may take a few days before you are officially registered and can officially start the course. Thank you in advance for your patience.

Start the registration process for the HDRNA course by clicking here !