TAU at Forefront of Nepal Disaster Relief

Prof. Kobi Peleg and Col. Gili Shenhar, the director and academic coordinator of TAU's Executive MPH program in Emergency and Disaster Management at the School of Public Health, are living what they teach — this time in earthquake-stricken Nepal. 

The Israeli humanitarian mission was sent to the Himalayan nation after it was devastated by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake on April 25. More than 8000 people died and thousands were left wounded and in need of food and shelter. The Israeli medical delegation of 260 people arrived in the following days, representing one of the largest teams sent to Nepal. It includes a search and rescue unit as well as a multidepartmental field hospital. The field hospital has two operating rooms, 80 hospital beds, four intensive-care rooms and specialists in neonatal and adult care. The team includes over 100 army physicians, paramedics, and other health personnel.

As an international disaster management expert, Prof. Peleg is in Nepal as part of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team, which coordinates the activity of the hundreds of overseas organizations who are providing rescue and medical aid and other forms of emergency assistance. UNDAC's responsibility is to assess urgent needs and help the Nepalese government respond efficiently to the disaster. Col. (res.) Gili Shenhar is also in Nepal coordinating the IDF medical mission.

Prof. Peleg has held command positions at IDF field hospitals in Haiti in 2010, in Rwanda in 1995, and in the 1988 Armenian earthquake. Following the 2013 typhoon in the Philippines, Prof. Peleg coordinated the efforts of the Israeli delegation and agencies including the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the Philippines Ministry of Health, and local medical authorities. Col. Shenhar has been on the UNDAC team since 2007 and has served advisory roles in the IDF Home Front Command.