Articles

Path dependency when prioritising disaster and humanitarian response under high levels of conflict: a qualitative case study in South Sudan

In high-conflict scenarios, humanitarian needs often surpass resources, and humanitarians are faced with ongoing challenges of whom to prioritise and where to work. This process is often referred to as ‘target...

Authors: Rodrigo Mena and Dorothea Hilhorst

Faith in localisation? The experiences of local faith actors engaging with the international humanitarian system in South Sudan

Localisation, as it aims to shift power in the humanitarian system, will involve the increased inclusion of local faith actors, those national and local faith-affiliated groups and organisations that are often...

Authors: Olivia Wilkinson, Kuyang Harriet Logo, Emma Tomalin, Wani Laki Anthony, Florine De Wolf and Asha Kurien

The racialization of expertise and professional non-equivalence in the humanitarian workplace

This paper aims to explore the ways which expertise is covertly racialized in the contemporary humanitarian aid sector. While there are considerable discussions on the expat-local divide among aid professional...

Authors: Junru Bian

Inter-organisational communication: organisational future orientation, inter-organisational interaction quality and inter-organisational group mechanism

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of organisational future orientation and interaction quality on inter-organisational communication, and the mediating role of inter-organisational group m...

Authors: Henry Mutebi, Mose Muhwezi, Joseph M. Ntayi and John C. Munene

Educational inequality in the Kebribeyah Somali refugee camp in Ethiopia: an autoethnography

Due to the Somali Civil War of 1991, more than 10,000 Somali refugees resettled in Kebribeyah, a town in the Somali region of Ethiopia. For nearly three decades, the local and resettled refugee communities sha...

Authors: Ahmed Muhumed and Saleh Ahmed

The humanitarian alibi: an overview and a redefinition

This paper explores and illustrates the diverse manifestations of the phenomenon of the ‘humanitarian alibi’, drawing upon historical and contemporary cases of violent conflict in order to identify substitutio...

Authors: Matthew Bywater

Moving beyond informal action: sustainable energy and the humanitarian response system

Energy and humanitarian action have long been uneasy bedfellows. In the field, many humanitarian practitioners lack the time or remit to engage with a complex issue such as energy, and the topic to date has re...

Authors: Peter James Matthew Thomas, Sarah Rosenberg-Jansen and Aimee Jenks

Media influence on humanitarian interventions: analysis of the Rohingya refugee crisis and international media coverage

In 2017, the long-festering discriminatory treatment to the Rohingyas in Myanmar, both in law and practice, resulted in the largest cross-border humanitarian crisis in Asia. During the 2016‑2017 Rohingya refug...

Authors: Michelle J. Lee

Explicability of humanitarian AI: a matter of principles

In the debate on how to improve efficiencies in the humanitarian sector and better meet people’s needs, the argument for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making (ADMs) systems has...

Authors: Giulio Coppi, Rebeca Moreno Jimenez and Sofia Kyriazi

CHILD-SAN: a new disability-inclusive framework for emergency sanitation for children aged five to 11, based on a systematic review of existing guidance

The specific sanitation needs of children aged five to 11 years old—those too old to use small potties, but usually too young to safely and confidently use adult latrines during both the day and night, and inc...

Authors: Claire Rosato-Scott, Barbara E. Evans and Dani J. Barrington

Towards attaining the recommended Humanitarian Sphere Standards of sanitation in Bidibidi refugee camp found in Yumbe District, Uganda

Adequate sanitation is one of the most important aspects of community well-being. It reduces the rates of morbidity and severity of various diseases like diarrhea, dysentery, and typhoid among others. A study ...

Authors: Zaitun Bako, Alex Barakagira and Ameria Nabukonde

From solidarity to resistance: host communities’ evolving response to the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Bangladesh sets an admirable example of solidarity with the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar by hosting more than a million Rohingyas despite its resource constraints. However, there is a perceptible shift from ...

Authors: Anas Ansar and Abu Faisal Md. Khaled

Faith and spirituality as psychological coping mechanism among female aid workers: a qualitative study

Despite evidence that faith-based and spiritual coping supports people’s mental health, stigmata prevail in the aid sector around the need for psychological support in general and around this coping mechanism ...

Authors: Ozgul Ozcan, Mark Hoelterhoff and Eleanor Wylie

Humanitarian support in a denial of access context: emergent strategies at the interface of humanitarian and sovereign law

The principles of international humanitarian law (IHL) have evoked considerable debate in the practice of humanitarian support, particularly in terms of emerging tensions with sovereign (national) law. Drawing...

Authors: Erwin Biersteker, Julie Ferguson, Peter Groenewegen and Kees Boersma

A forced migration from Myanmar to Bangladesh and beyond: humanitarian response to Rohingya refugee crisis

It is widely agreed that the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar are currently named as the most persecuted minority in the world. The racial prosecution is triggered by the decades of longstanding insurgency between ...

Authors: Malang Faye

An alternative perspective for acquisitions of amber from Myanmar including recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Council

Recent publications have been actively recommending strong embargos on Burmese amber trade and research. Although the motivation of these actions seeks to prevent armed groups from obtaining capital via amber ...

Authors: Adolf Peretti

Frictions of implementing EU humanitarian aid in Greece (2016–2019)—the Emergency Support Instrument and its practical ramifications

With the closure of the border with then-Macedonia in early 2016, it was foreseeable that Greece would become the “last station” for a large number of refugees. Flanked by the agreement between Turkey and the ...

Authors: Cordula Dittmer and Daniel F. Lorenz

Dying in honour: experiences of end-of-life palliative care during the 2013–2016 Ebola outbreak in Guinea

With no cure and a high mortality rate, Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks require preparedness for the provision of end-of-life palliative care. This qualitative study is part of a larger project on palliati...

Authors: Elysée Nouvet, Kevin Bezanson, Matthew Hunt, Sekou Kouyaté, Lisa Schwartz, Fatoumata Binta Diallo, Sonya de Laat, Oumou Younoussa Bah-Sow, Alpha Ahmadou Diallo and Pathé Diallo

Effect of beneficiary participation in program design and implementation on satisfaction and acceptability among internally displaced persons in Borno, Nigeria

Insurgency and other security challenges have intensified across Nigeria with a resultant displacement of over a million people from over 100,000 households who depend on interventions from government and non-...

Authors: Igbaver Isaac Ieren, Salome Kabuk-Agbadu and Chukwuma Umeokonkwo

Isolation, self-blame and perceived invalidation in aid personnel: identifying humanitarian-specific distress using the PostAID/Q

Humanitarian-specific psychological distress following deployment can elude detection using contemporary measures of trauma-related stress. This study assesses the unidimensional structure and convergent valid...

Authors: Lynne McCormack, Heather Douglas and Stephen Joseph

Do No Harm in refugee humanitarian aid: the case of the Rohingya humanitarian response

The article broadly examines how humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees inadvertently harmed poorer hosts and adversely affected local capacities for peace. The article also discusses possible ways of easing t...

Authors: Abu Faisal Md. Khaled

Self-efficacy and humanitarian aid workers

As a result of frequent exposure to trauma, aid workers are at high risk for negative psychological symptoms. Training specifically geared at fostering critical incident self-efficacy in humanitarian aid worke...

Authors: Christine R. Turner, Donald Bosch and Anne A. T. Nolty

Identity in transition: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of international humanitarian workers’ experiences of returning home

This interpretative phenomenological analysis explores aid workers’ understanding of identity and belonging through the transition from working in humanitarian aid to returning home. Semi-structured interviews...

Authors: Emilia Marie Wersig and Kevin Wilson-Smith

Weathering the storm: contesting disaster governance after Hurricane Matthew in Haiti

As a disaster unfolds, survivors’ experiences, actions and motives often become overshadowed by the humanitarian response. This is especially the case in contexts where the national state and international org...

Authors: Samantha Melis and Mikel Jean

Politics of citizenship during the COVID-19 pandemic: what can educators do?

As a once in a 100 years emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in repercussions for the economy, the polity, and the social. Also, the ongoing pandemic is as much a teaching moment as it to reflect on ...

Authors: Adeela Arshad-Ayaz and M. Ayaz Naseem

Humanitarian behavior across high-/low-context cultures: a comparative analysis between Switzerland and Colombia

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) attempts constantly to motivate its audience through social media to adopt humanitarian attitudes and behaviors. Owing to its multicultural audience, the res...

Authors: Omid Alizadeh Afrouzi

The implications of international rescue and relief operations for domestic regulatory regimes—lessons from the 2011 East Japan Earthquake

This article attempts to reveal how and why international rescue and relief operations had difficulties, following the 2011 East Japan earthquake, in being smoothly received in a country like Japan with well-p...

Authors: Yoshi Kodama

The child refugee in Calais: from invisibility to the ‘suspect figure’

This paper examines child refugees in the context of Calais in France, contextualizing them against the politics of the ‘Jungle’ (a makeshift camp) in policy and media discourses in the UK by delineating three...

Authors: Yasmin Ibrahim

The humanitarian-development nexus: humanitarian principles, practice, and pragmatics

The humanitarian–development nexus is increasingly being cast as the solution to humanitarian concerns, new and protracted crises, and to manage complex war-to-peace transitions. Despite widely endorsed amongs...

Authors: Jon Harald Sande Lie

Humanitarian crisis and sustainable development: perspectives and preferences of internally displaced persons in the northeastern Nigeria

This study seeks to contribute to the knowledge of linkages between humanitarian actions in conflict situations and sustainable development. We analysed data generated from qualitative interviews and focus gro...

Authors: Muazu Shehu and Adamu Abba

Closing well: national and international humanitarian workers’ perspectives on the ethics of closing humanitarian health projects

Project closure is a core feature of humanitarian action. However, how decisions to end projects are made, and how closure is planned and implemented, has implications for upholding ethical commitments, and ca...

Authors: Matthew Hunt, Lisa Eckenwiler, Shelley-Rose Hyppolite, John Pringle, Nicole Pal and Ryoa Chung

Mental health and access to care among refugee mothers relocated to San Diego: a comparative study of Iraqi and Somali refugee communities

Mental illness is common amongst refugees and can differ depending on cultural background, experiences, and access to care. Given significant risk factors including high rates of exposure to sexual violence an...

Authors: William Jude Bruno, Kathryn Ries Tringale and Wael K. Al-Delaimy

Syrian refugees’ perspectives and service providers’ viewpoints on major needs and future plans in Jordan

The ongoing civil war in Syria created the world’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. As exile continues for many Syrians, this study aimed to explore what refugees perceive as their major needs and pl...

Authors: Mitra Naseh, Natalia Liviero, Maryam Rafieifar, Zahra Abtahi and Miriam Potocky

Faith-based organizations: humanitarian mission or religious missionary

This paper analyzes Islamic FBOs’ humanitarian approaches, programs, and challenges. Politicalized religious interpretations are also on board to investigate their missionary aspects. I design my argument base...

Authors: Riham Ahmed Khafagy

Partnerships with local organisations are vital for conducting health research in Syria—personal reflections

Throughout the 9 years of the Syrian conflict, humanitarian actors have accumulated enormous experience of dealing with this complex environment and collected substantial data—only a tiny fraction, however, is...

Authors: Abdulkarim Ekzayez

Harmonising data systems for cash transfer programming in emergencies in Somalia

Quality data and information are fundamental for effective implementation of cash transfer programmes in emergency contexts. Establishing a robust information system can facilitate the equitable and responsive...

Authors: Boniface Owino

How social capital can inform targeting formal social safety net interventions in vulnerable communities in eastern Ethiopia: an ethnographic case study

Safety nets in Ethiopia are targeted and delivered in a context in which informal social capital practices also operate. But the role of social relations is largely overlooked in welfare programming. Understan...

Authors: Getachew Shambel Endris, Paul Kibwika, Bernard B. Obaa and Jemal Yousuf Hassan

Data to the rescue: how humanitarian aid NGOs should collect information based on the GDPR

Data collection is valuable before, during and after interventions in order to increase the effectiveness of humanitarian projects. Although the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets forth rules for t...

Authors: Theodora Gazi

To counter the rationality of sexual violence: existing and potential policies against the genocidal use of rape as a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The population in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been terrorized by widespread sexual violence for decades. Local armed groups, including the government army, continue to systematically rap...

Authors: Kjeld van Wieringen

Engineering and humanitarian intervention: learning from failure

In this paper, we challenge the belief that failure is necessarily a bad outcome. Instead, we argue that failure—specifically articulated as productive failure—should rather be seen as an educational moment an...

Authors: Adeela Arshad-Ayaz, M. Ayaz Naseem and Dania Mohamad

Promoting digital humanitarian action in protecting human rights: hope or hype

The digital transformation has affected every aspect of human being by bringing fundamental changes in technology, culture, operations, and principles of creating new products and services in the framework of ...

Authors: Dzhennet-Mari Akhmatova and Malika-Sofi Akhmatova

Network analysis as a tool for humanitarian protection: research and practice

In this article, we explore how network analysis could be used for humanitarian protection. Our objective is bringing together what is known about the role of networks for humanitarian aid intervention and exa...

Authors: Romina Cachia and Daniel Holgado Ramos

Big data, privacy and COVID-19 – learning from humanitarian expertise in data protection

The COVID-19 pandemic leads governments around the world to resort to tracking technology and other data-driven tools in order to monitor and curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Such large-scale incursion into priv...

Authors: Andrej Zwitter and Oskar J. Gstrein

Treating implicit trauma: a quasi-experimental study comparing the EMDR Therapy Standard Protocol with a ‘Blind 2 Therapist’ version within a trauma capacity building project in Northern Iraq

Psychological trauma is a silent epidemic which presents as a global public health issue, often in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therap...

Authors: Derek Farrell, Matthew D. Kiernan, Ad de Jongh, Paul William Miller, Peter Bumke, Salah Ahmad, Lorraine Knibbs, Cordula Mattheß, Paul Keenan and Helga Mattheß

Decision-making at the sharp end: a survey of literature related to decision-making in humanitarian contexts

In a humanitarian response, leaders are often tasked with making large numbers of decisions, many of which have significant consequences, in situations of urgency and uncertainty. These conditions have an impa...

Authors: Paul Knox Clarke and Leah Campbell

The potential for computational IT tools in disaster relief and shelter design

The expanding use of IT has brought an increase in productivity to the world of business, industry and commerce. However, this is not mirrored by an equivalent growth in the use of IT by aid agencies in post-d...

Authors: Noorullah Kuchai, Paul Shepherd, Juliana Calabria-Holley, Alexander Copping, Aude Matard and David Coley

Identification and prioritization of critical success factors in faith-based and non-faith-based organizations’ humanitarian supply chain

In the last few decades, an exponential increase in the number of disasters, and their complexity has been reported, which ultimately put much pressure on relief organizations. These organizations cannot usual...

Authors: Muhammad Azmat, Muhammad Atif and Sebastian Kummer

Understanding disasters: managing and accommodating different worldviews in humanitarian response

Over the past decade, humanitarian events affected on average 120 million people annually. Whilst many of these events are human-induced, a large number of the 400 or so complex humanitarian emergencies that r...

Authors: Matthew Clarke and Brett W. Parris

Beyond ethical approval: fostering ethical research practices within inter-sectoral research projects involving academic and NGO sector partners

While research and innovation collaborations between NGOs and academic organisations can create considerable synergies with positive effects for the humanitarian sector, the inter-sectoral nature of such colla...

Authors: Ronan McDermott, Pat Gibbons, Desire Mpanje, Sinéad McGrath, Anne Markey, Pablo Cortés Ferrandez, Dini Haryati and Nur Azizah

Ethical considerations for closing humanitarian projects: a scoping review

Authors: Nicole E. Pal, Lisa Eckenwiler, Shelley-Rose Hyppolite, John Pringle, Ryoa Chung and Matthew Hunt