Environmental Health And Disaster Risk Management Department
Introduction
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Prof. Christine A. Otieno |
The Department of Environmental Health was established in 1995 with 3 lecturers and 14 students for the Bachelor of Science (BSc.) Environmental Health Programme. The Department has grown today and has a students’ population of 200 students. The BSc. Environmental Health is a four year Programme that aims at producing graduates capable of addressing environmental health issues from a global perspective and analyzes environmental health problems with a view to proposing solutions. The need for developing manpower in this discipline has been necessitated by increasing environmental health challenges resulting from natural causes and human activities including urbanization, industrialization, and generation of -wastes, global warming, emerging and re-emerging diseases, non-communicable diseases and bioterrorism.
The students acquire the necessary knowledge and skills through the Problem Based Learning (PBL) strategy conducted in form of overviews, lectures, tutorials, self-directed learning, practical, assignments, projects, demonstrations, field visits and attachments. The students gain practical skills by conducting applied research, and participating in the prevention and control of diseases through community health education activities during attachments.
The mission of the Department is to train environmental health practitioners through innovative medical education strategy and produce professionals who will approach environmental health issues with a holistic perspective and critically analyze problems with a view to integrating theory and practice in the assessment and provision of preventive and promotive health services.
Through the school of Public health, the department collaborates with OHCEA. Established in October 2010, OHCEA empowers academic leaders with One Health leadership training and strategic planning to facilitate the regional transition to a One Health approach. The Department also collaborates with Wash Alliance Kenya which is a non-state actor that supports the Kenyan government in the overall achievements of goals in the Water, sanitation and Hygiene sector.
To meet the need of our graduates and market, The Department of Environmental Health is developing three postgraduate curricula: Master of Science in Food Hygiene and Safety, Master of Science in Occupational Safety and Health; and Master of Science in Water and sanitation.
