It promotes research, training and technical expertise on humanitarian emergencies, with a special focus on public health and epidemiology.
In 1971, Professor Michel F. Lechat [Wikidata], an epidemiologist at UCLouvain, initiated a research programme to study health issues in disaster situations.
CRED promotes research and provides an evidence base to the international community on the burden of disease and related health issues arising from disasters and conflicts to improve preparedness and responses to humanitarian emergencies.
It encourages scientific and policy discussions on existing and potential interventions and their impacts on acute and chronic malnutrition, human survival, morbidity, infectious diseases, and mental health.
[6][7] CRED's multinational and multidisciplinary team includes experts in medicine and public health, informatics and database management, psychology, nutritional sciences, sociology, economics and geography.