Natural disasters cannot be prevented but their human impact can be mitigated. Effective medical and public health mitigation and responses require multidisciplinary efforts and appropriate training. Whilst Asia is currently ranked as the most natural disaster prone area globally, limited disaster medical and public health response training opportunities are available in the region. Our paper reports efforts to identify the training gaps and ways to fill them to prepare frontline practitioners and academic researchers in disaster and medical humanitarian emergency relief efforts in Asia.

Grounded on the disciplinary principles of academic training in public health, emergency & disaster medicine and primary care, our paper reviews the current disaster related academic training offered in these disciplines and maps out the training and knowledge gaps in disaster mitigation and response for frontline practitioners and academic researchers. We suggest ways to fill such gaps.

A two-dimensional (clinical versus non-clinical), three-tier education training framework (Entrant level, Continuous medical education needs and Expertise level) is developed. Experiences and key training needs in Asia are highlighted.

The proposed framework identifies areas for comprehensive training for medical and public health practitioners who are interested to engage in medical disaster relief. The proposed framework also aims to strengthen mitigation and response capacities in health systems.