Articles

The new informatics of pandemic response: humanitarian technology, efficiency, and the subtle retreat of national agency

Digital communication technologies play an increasingly prominent role in humanitarian operations and in response to international pandemics specifically. A burgeoning body of scholarship on the topic displays...

Authors: Christopher Wilson and Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert

Research agenda-setting on cash programming for health and nutrition in humanitarian settings

While the evidence base for cash transfer programming (CTP) in humanitarian contexts is more established for food security, it is very limited for health and nutrition. The aim of this study was to develop a r...

Authors: Aniek Woodward, Andre Griekspoor, Shannon Doocy, Paul Spiegel and Kevin Savage

Pilot testing and evaluation of a toolkit for menstrual hygiene management in emergencies in three refugee camps in Northwest Tanzania

Displaced adolescent girls and women face many challenges managing their monthly menstrual flow with dignity and comfort in various challenging settings around the world, such as refugee camps, informal settle...

Authors: Marni Sommer, Margaret L. Schmitt, Tom Ogello, Penninah Mathenge, Magdalena Mark, David Clatworthy, Samanatha Khandakji and Ruwan Ratnayake

Palliative care in humanitarian crises: a review of the literature

This paper presents findings from a systematic review of the literature (2005–2017) on palliative care in humanitarian crises (e.g., disasters, armed conflicts, epidemics). This review set out to describe pall...

Authors: Elysée Nouvet, Mollie Sivaram, Kevin Bezanson, Gautham Krishnaraj, Matthew Hunt, Sonya de Laat, Stephanie Sanger, Laura Banfield, Pedro Favila Escobio Rodriguez and Lisa J. Schwartz

Social capital in vulnerable urban settings: an analytical framework

Social capital has been identified as crucial to the fostering of resilience in rapidly expanding cities of the Global South. The purpose of this article is to better understand the complexities of urban socia...

Authors: Desire Mpanje, Pat Gibbons and Ronan McDermott

Safety planning for technology: displaced women and girls’ interactions with information and communication technology in Lebanon and harm reduction considerations for humanitarian settings

The appropriate use of mobile technology for service provision, information dissemination, empowerment activities, and data collection in humanitarian settings can have several benefits on both the micro and m...

Authors: Kristy Crabtree and Petronille Geara

The militarization of cattle raiding in South Sudan: how a traditional practice became a tool for political violence

Cattle raiding, a longstanding practice among pastoralists in South Sudan, was historically governed by cultural authorities and ritual prohibitions. However, after decades of on-and-off integration into armed...

Authors: Hannah Wild, Jok Madut Jok and Ronak Patel

Practices and consequences of using humanitarian technologies in volatile aid settings

This article presents the results of an exploratory study into aid agencies’ use of technologies for security purposes. Since there appears to be a consensus in the aid sector that areas of operations are incr...

Authors: Jori Pascal Kalkman

Non-state actors and education as a humanitarian response: role of faith-based organizations in education for Syrian refugees in Turkey

In the shadow of the Syrian conflict generating millions of displaced people, education provision for Syrian children has become one of the biggest challenges for Turkey. This paper sheds light on the role and...

Authors: Aslıhan Tezel Mccarthy

Future role aspirations, achievement motivations and perceptions of personal help-seeking among humanitarian aid trainees

Humanitarian aid workers experience adverse mental health effects from their work at higher rates than the military, police and other emergency service personnel. Whilst there is considerable literature invest...

Authors: Kelsey Skeoch, Garry J Stevens and Melanie Taylor

Medical conditions and treatment in a transit camp in Serbia for Syrian, Afghani, and Iraqi migrants

Thousands of migrants arrived in Europe via the Balkan route, many with various health conditions. The camp of Preševo, Serbia, close to the Macedonian border, was established by the Serbian government and run...

Authors: Einav Levy, Michael Alkan, Sharon Shaul and Yori Gidron

Community-based health needs assessment in Léogâne and Gressier, Haiti: six years post-earthquake

This article summarizes initial findings from a community-based health needs assessment designed to identify resources and gaps within the community and to prioritize community-identified health needs in Gress...

Authors: Elizabeth A. Wood, Kelly S. Chapman, Valery M. Beau de Rochars and Sarah L. Mckune

Who is your constituency? The political engagement of humanitarian organisations

The World Humanitarian Summit of 2016 was an attempt to elevate humanitarian organisations more completely into the international political domain. Humanitarian organisations are agencies which provide life-sa...

Authors: Christopher Lockyear and Andrew Cunningham

Now is the time to deliver: looking for humanitarian innovation’s theory of change

Since the publication of the ALNAP study on innovation in international humanitarian action in 2009, innovation has emerged as a central vehicle for change in the humanitarian sector. As the field of humanitar...

Authors: Kristin Bergtora Sandvik

Post-conflict contexts and humanitarian organizations: the changing relationship with states

The operational environments for humanitarian international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) are conflict zones and situations of natural and man-made disasters. To INGOs, these are defined as “humanitar...

Authors: Andrew J. Cunningham

Providing safe motherhood services to underserved and neglected populations in Yemen: the case for vouchers

States of fragility and insecurity often give rise to urgent health needs that need to be met quickly and effectively, particularly for women and adolescents. Vouchers are a demand-side financing mechanism whi...

Authors: Corinne G. Grainger, Anna C. Gorter, Eman Al-Kobati and Luke Boddam-Whetham

Displacement and dispossession: redefining forced displacement and identifying when forced displacement becomes pillage under international humanitarian law

Conflict-induced migration is arguably the most urgent humanitarian challenge today. A growing number of people are forced from their homes each year. The dispossession of civilians by armed parties, furthermo...

Authors: Kerrin Geoffrey Buck

Kidnapping and the limits of acceptance

For many humanitarian agencies, acceptance—gaining the trust and protection of local communities—is the preferred security management tool for reasons of perception, ease of access and cost (both real and oppo...

Authors: Andrew J. Cunningham

Discussion of “Health service utilization and access to medicines among Syrian refugee and host community children in Lebanon” by Lyles et al.

Authors: Fadi El-Jardali, Michael Woodman, Rawan Hammoud, Ola Kdouh, Randa Hamade and Walid Ammar

The burden of choice: a qualitative study of healthcare professionals’ reactions to ethical challenges in humanitarian crises

Healthcare professionals are a vital aspect of public health delivery in humanitarian crises. Both overt and subtle complexities in the decision making process during periods of instability may involve moral a...

Authors: Sarah Gotowiec and Elizabeth Cantor-Graae

Review of “For Humanity or For the Umma? Aid and Islam in Transnational Muslim NGOs” by Marie Juul Petersen

Marie Juul Petersen, For Humanity or For the Umma? Aid and Islam in Transnational Muslim NGOs, London: Hurst Publishers; 2014, 356 pages, ISBN-13: 978-1849044325, ISBN-10: 1849044325

Authors: Zeynep Sezgin

Review of “The Ethics of Armed Humanitarian Intervention” by Don E. Scheid (ed.) and “Aid in Danger: The Perils and Promise of Humanitarianism” by Larissa Fast

Don E. Scheid (ed.)

Authors: Kai Chen

Are cash-based interventions a feasible approach for expanding humanitarian assistance in Syria?

The conflict in Syria is the largest driver of displacement worldwide with 4.1 million Syrian refugees, more than 6.5 million internally displaced people (IDPs), and 13.5 million people in need (PiN) of protec...

Authors: Shannon Doocy, Hannah Tappis and Emily Lyles

Crisis analytics: big data-driven crisis response

Disasters have long been a scourge for humanity. With the advances in technology (in terms of computing, communications, and the ability to process, and analyze big data), our ability to respond to disasters i...

Authors: Junaid Qadir, Anwaar Ali, Raihan ur Rasool, Andrej Zwitter, Arjuna Sathiaseelan and Jon Crowcroft

Refuting Da’esh properly: a critical review of the “Open Letter to Baghdadi”

The emergence of the “Islamic State” or Da’esh in the Syrian war brought a whole new dimension to the war on terror. To counter the “Islamic State” ideology, Islamic scholars from all around the world issued a...

Authors: Fajri Matahati Muhammadin