Introduction
"Asia is the world's most densely populated continent and suffers the highest number of natural disasters. The health impact of disaster in Asia is exacerbated by significant resource disparity as well as a lack of research and limited technical knowledge transfer in the field of disaster risk management. Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response (CCOUC) has been established by the joint effort of Oxford University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong as a non-profit research centre to carry out research, training and community knowledge transfer in the area of disaster and medical humanitarian response in Greater China and the Asia-Pacific Region since April 2011. CCOUC aims to minimise the negative health impact of disasters experienced by vulnerable populations in the region by serving as a platform for research, education, and community knowledge transfer in the areas of disaster and medical humanitarian crisis policy development, planning, and response. The goal of CCOUC is to be the leading research and academic training centre of the Asia-Pacific Region in these areas. The Centre has participated in the World Health Organization (WHO)’s consultation meeting on disaster health risk management and established international cooperation with leading institutions in the field, including the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) in Belgium, and Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University."
