Yemen currently faces the “world’s worst cholera outbreak in the midst of the world’s largest humanitarian crisis,” according to a joint statement issued by UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in July 2017. The WHO reports that over 400,000 suspected cholera cases and at least 1,900 associated deaths have occurred in the last three months alone, with 41% of cases being children under 15 years of age. Although cholera is not new to Yemen, a host of factors have fueled this outbreak, among them: the ongoing armed conflict; the disintegration of healthcare systems in the country, hastened by numerous direct attacks on hospitals; severe food insecurity and malnutrition; and already weak infrastructure, poor governance, poverty, and corruption. Whereas cholera is preventable and treatable under normal circumstances, the near collapse of Yemen’s health, water, and sanitation sectors amidst the ongoing armed conflict have fueled the disease’s...
Podcasts
Practitioner Pathways: Establishing a Career in the Humanitarian Sector
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
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Despite the significant growth of the humanitarian sector in recent years - now employing over 250,000 professionals - practitioners often express concerns over the lack of clarity, predictability or support in establishing...
"Serious" Games: Innovative Learning in the Humanitarian Sector
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
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Games, simulations, and role-playing exercises have become an important component of capacity building endeavors across the humanitarian sector. Additionally—as reflected in the International Committee of the Red Cross’s (ICRC’s) work with video game developers to ensure that certain violent video games accurately reflect norms of international humanitarian law (IHL)—games can be an important avenue toward disseminating knowledge and awareness of IHL and humanitarianism.
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Famine and Conflict: The Unfolding Food Security Crisis
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
“Without collective and coordinated global efforts, people will simply starve to death.”
Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, May 2017
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Protection of Humanitarian Action Series: Duty of Care and Sexual Violence
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
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How much responsibility do humanitarian organizations have to protect the staff they send into the field? Due to the often austere, volatile, or insecure nature of humanitarian response settings, aid workers have long recognized the inherent personal and organizational risks of humanitarian action. Yet increasing threats and attacks against humanitarian actors in various emergency settings have spurred renewed debate over organizational responsibilities to protect not only civilian populations...
Protection of Humanitarian Action Series: On Speaking Out
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
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Deliberate violence against humanitarian practitioners and operations poses an increasingly critical challenge to the humanitarian sector as humanitarian needs continue to grow in many regions of the world. While maintaining access to populations in need, engaging with communities, and delivering life-saving humanitarian assistance, organizations must also take care to protect the safety and security of their staff, and to prevent and mitigate instances of targeted violence. When attacks do occur, however, humanitarian...
Practitioner Profile | Sinead Walsh
Monday, March 13, 2017
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Dr. Sinead Walsh is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) and a Visiting Scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She holds a PhD in Social Policy, from the London School of Economics, focusing on the accountability of NGOs in Uganda. Sinead is the former Ambassador of Ireland to Sierra Leone and Liberia, and Head of Mission for Irish Aid in Sierra Leone and Liberia. She is currently researching and writing a book about the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone from her vantage point as...
Practitioner Profile | Sarah Martin
Friday, March 10, 2017
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Sarah Martin is a gender-based violence specialist with nearly 20 years of experience in research, advocacy, training and project management with international organizations around the world. She specializes in strengthening gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response in humanitarian settings. Sarah has worked for a variety of positions and organizations including Initiatives Director for Women and Children’s Protection in the European Refugee Crisis for the International Rescue Committee, the Global...
Practitioner Profile | Lina Abirafeh
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
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Dr. Lina Abirafeh is the Director of the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW). She has nearly 20 years of experience addressing gender issues in both development and humanitarian settings, with a focus on gender-based violence in emergencies, including in conflict, post-conflict, and natural disasters. She has worked with many UN agencies and international NGOs, including in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Lebanon, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Haiti, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Dr. Abirafeh has...
Practitioner Profile | Birthe Anders
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
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Dr. Birthe Anders is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) and a Visiting Scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She holds a PhD in War Studies from King’s College London. Her research focusses on Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs), NGO security and civil-military relations. Before coming to Harvard she taught in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, where she co-founded the Private Military and Security Research Group....
