The Emergency Response Framework provides WHO staff with essential guidance on how the Organization manages the assessment, grading and response to public health events and emergencies with health consequences, in support of Member States and affected communities. Building on the principles of the ERF, this course provides an overview of WHO’s role in emergencies, the Incident Management System (IMS) and its key functions, and the process from verification to response to a public health emergency.
Photo credits: WHO / Mehak Sethi
Language: English
Health topic
Course information
Overview: Every individual working in and responding to outbreaks and public health emergencies for WHO must be familiar with WHO’s approach to emergency management, including the principles of the Emergency Response Framework (ERF), such as WHO’s core commitment and guiding principles in emergencies, WHO’s grading of emergencies, and the Incident Management System (IMS), among others. This course is intended to provide an overview of WHO’s approach to emergency management, the ERF and the IMS, with a fictional outbreak to guide learners through an emergency response from detection to response.
Course duration: Approximately 2 hours.
Certificates: Participants can gain a Record of Achievement by scoring 80% and over on the course assessment. Participants who receive a Record of Achievement can also download an Open Badge for this course. Click here to learn how.
What you'll learn
- Explain the principles of the Emergency Response Framework
- Identify and describe WHO’s responsibilities and accountabilities during emergency response
- Describe emergency related resources, such as the eSOPs for emergencies and the contingency fund for emergencies
Course contents
Module 1: Introduction to the course:
This module gives an overview of the “Introduction to the Emergency Response Framework (ERF)” course.Module 2: WHO responsibilities and funding for emergency response:
By the end of this module, learners will: list and describe the World Health Organization’s core commitments in emergency response; list and describe the WHO’s guiding principles for emergency response; explain the WHO’s no regrets policy; describe the purpose of the Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE)Module 3: The ERF and signal detection, verification and assessment :
By the end of this module, learners will: describe what the Emergency Response Framework (ERF) is, its purpose, and what is required for its successful implementation; outline the key steps under the ERF when responding to a health emergency; list methods that can be used to detect a health emergency; describe how a signal can be verified; define what a Rapid Risk Assessment (RRA) is, and its purpose; outline the key elements of an RRA; explain what a public health situation analysis (PHSA) is, and its purpose; outline the key elements of a PHSA; describe the similarities and differences between an RRA and a PHSA; describe how a finalized RRA and/or PHSA is communicated.Module 4: Grading of public health events and emergencies:
By the end of this module, learners will: describe the triggers and purpose of grading a public health event or emergency; outline who is responsible for grading; describe the timing requirements for grading; list and describe the different levels of grading; state how grading decisions are made and communicated; describe the difference between an acute emergency grade and protracted emergency grade.Module 5: The Incident Management System:
By the end of this module, learners will: outline the WHO Incident Management System (IMS) and its purpose; list the actions that WHO should take within 24 hours of grading; describe the tiers of WHO responsibility and accountability and the delegation of authority during an emergency; outline the role and responsibilities of the incident manager and the Head of WHO country Office (HWCO)/WHO Representative (WR); describe the core functions and sub-functions of the WHO Incident Management System (IMS); describe how emergency response performance is measured.Module 6: Fictional case study :
By the end of module 6, learners will: review key concepts and timelines as described in ERF 2.1 through a fictionalized case study.Final assessment:
This module offers a final assessment to learners.
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Certificate Requirements
- Gain a Record of Achievement by earning at least 80% of the maximum number of points from all graded assignments.
- Gain an Open Badge by completing the course.