The typhoon that tore through the Philippines last Friday reduced remote islands to rubble and made hundreds of thousands of people homeless. International relief efforts are hampered in delivering aid.

Challenges aid agencies face in disasters like this will be discussed Friday, November 15 at McMaster University by Dr. David Sanderson, director of the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP) at Oxford Brookes University in Britain, a centre which advances best approaches to disaster relief. He has worked in development and emergencies in over 30 countries.

The title of Dr. Sanderson’s talk is “We’re Not in The Field Anymore: Challenges in Urban Disaster Response for Aid Agencies”. He will discuss the new urban challenge, identify lessons from practice, and discuss how aid workers need to rethink their approaches.

Currently a visiting professor at Harvard University, Dr. Sanderson’s presentation will take place from noon to 1.30 p.m. in MDCL – 3022. It is part of the Global Health program’s seven-part speaker series and open to the public.