Articles

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

Health service utilization and access to medicines among Syrian refugee and host community children in Lebanon

With over 500,000 Syrian refugee children in Lebanon, we undertook this study to assess unmet child health needs and health service utilization among Syrian refugees and affected host communities in Lebanon wi...

Authors: Emily Lyles, Baptiste Hanquart, Michael Woodman and Shannon Doocy

Review of ‘Cultures and Disasters: Understanding Cultural Framings in Disaster Risk Reduction (2015)’ edited by Fred Krüger, Greg Bankoff, Terry Cannon, Benedikt Orlowski, and E. Lisa F. Schipper

Edited by Fred Krüger, Greg Bankoff, Terry Cannon, Benedikt Orlowski, and E. Lisa F.

Authors: Olivia Wilkinson

Comparative study on inter-organizational cooperation in disaster situations and impact on humanitarian aid operations

Given the increased numbers of disasters and humanitarian crises which occur in the face of diminishing global resources, the contemporary disaster management and humanitarian fields face greater challenges to...

Authors: Mizan Bustanul Fuady Bisri

Documenting the complex relationship between self-efficacy, resiliency, and workplace empowerment: a case study of humanitarian workers in Palestine

There remains a critical gap in understanding challenges faced by humanitarian workers who may be key in providing assistance during complex emergencies. This study examines self-reported views by humanitarian...

Authors: Jess Bonnan-White and Ameena Issa

Understanding sexual violence in armed conflict: cutting ourselves with Occam’s razor

Sexual violence has been firmly put on the internal agenda of the humanitarian community. Despite commendable advances in both policy and practice, there continues to be a gap between what is recommended and t...

Authors: Rosanne Marrit Anholt

The humanitarian challenge and the aims and scope of the Journal of International Humanitarian Action

Authors: Hans-Joachim Heintze, Andrej Zwitter and Ronan McDermott

The anatomy of the Milošević trial (2001–2006)

Authors: Hirad Abtahi and Grant Dawson

Power, paternalism and children on the move

In this article I set out to critically explore how campaigning for the rights of “children on the move” impacts on paternalism in humanitarianism. My aim was to trace the development of the notion of childre...

Authors: Kyle Vella

Mitigating humanitarian crises during non-international armed conflicts—the role of human rights and ceasefire agreements

Situations of humanitarian crisis are often caused by armed conflicts. Given the prevalence of non-international armed conflicts today, ways of ameliorating these situations are at the forefront of concerns. T...

Authors: Lottie Lane

Review of ‘In the Eyes of Others: How People in Crises Perceive Humanitarian Aid’ Caroline Abu-Sada (ed.) and ‘Dilemmas, Challenges, and Ethics of Humanitarian Action: Reflections on Médecins Sans Frontières’ Perception Project’ Caroline Abu-Sada (ed.)

Abu-Sada C (ed.)

Authors: James Dominic Smith