Journal of International Humanitarian Action最新文献

{"title":"The ramification of Cameroon's Anglophone crisis: conceptual analysis of a looming \"Complex Disaster Emergency\".","authors":"Henry Ngenyam Bang, Roland Azibo Balgah","doi":"10.1186/s41018-022-00114-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s41018-022-00114-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>One of Africa's newest struggles for liberation: Cameroon's Anglophone crisis, which emerged from legal and education grievances in 2016, rapidly escalated into a secessionist political conflict that is threatening the unity of the country, with potential to degenerate into a complex emergency. In an exploratory, qualitative, analytical, and descriptive case study research tradition involving document/content analysis, we apply the Robert Strauss Centre's complex emergency framework to investigate the potential of the Anglophone crisis, whose ramifications lead us to consider it an acute complex emergency. Our contention is based on the fact that 72.5% of the variables in all the complex emergencies fall within the relevant to extremely relevant ranking criteria. Furthermore, the establishment of a nexus between the Anglophone crisis and a natural hazard-induced disaster suggest an escalation of the crisis to an unbearable level. Using the high probability of a novel eruption at Mt. Cameroon coupled with the eminent threat of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we contend that unless otherwise, the crisis has immense potential to cumulatively evolve into a \"Complex Disaster Emergency\" (CDE) in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. Amidst the existential challenges in providing humanitarian assistance in the conflict region, and by applying the Robert Strauss Centre's complex emergency framework, this article concludes with an early warning for an impending CDE that could heighten humanitarian challenges unless there is foresight and goodwill by relevant actors to immediately commence a process of adequate contingency planning.</p>","PeriodicalId":31899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Action","volume":"7 1","pages":"6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8784587/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9963315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding humanitarian localization in Latin America-as local as possible: but how necessary?","authors":"Simone Lucatello,&nbsp;Oscar A Gómez","doi":"10.1186/s41018-022-00120-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s41018-022-00120-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper questions the pertinence of the humanitarian aid localization agenda in Latin America, at least in the narrow sense embraced by the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit. Localized support has been the standard practice in the region for decades, thanks to at least two correlated factors: the Monroe Doctrine limiting intervention to the USA and regional efforts to resist such intervention. Instead, humanitarian action in the region is an example of a particular way of understating localization, mainly specialized support to specific issues, no distinction between humanitarian or development divisions, and coexistence of different response approaches, synthesizing international and local experiences that intermingle with community practices and traditions, under national government leadership. Governments, together with NGOs, civil protection, and other relevant actors from international cooperation and development, engage in crises based on a long-standing tradition of risk management at national and regional levels. Fears of abuses hidden behind the non-interference principle, human rights activism, and disaster risk management approaches to emergencies created a complex ecosystem for humanitarian localization.</p>","PeriodicalId":31899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Action","volume":"7 1","pages":"12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9156831/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9909854","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Engaging local youths in humanitarian response is not a matter of <i>if</i> but <i>how</i>.","authors":"Abigael Apollo, Marcellus Forh Mbah","doi":"10.1186/s41018-022-00118-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s41018-022-00118-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite being critical responders in humanitarian crises, local youths are continually left out of the humanitarian action agenda. This paper used a qualitative methodology to investigate local youths' role in humanitarian response and their impacts and assessed how humanitarian actors influence the effectiveness of youth engagement. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with local youths who participated in the Ebola response in Sierra Leone. Findings showed that young people are significantly contributing to crises response. However, they lack an enabling environment and support system to convert their skills into valuable humanitarian resources efficiently. Therefore, despite the rhetoric that many reports and policies reflect, this study establishes that the realities of youth engagement in humanitarian activities are often misunderstood and controlled for the self-interest of different actors other than youths themselves. It advocates for a renewed focus and support for young people's skills as  paramount for effective humanitarian response and building back resilient communities after emergencies. Besides, engaging local youths in tackling crises empowers them with transferable skills and stimulates their passion for participating in development issues within their communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":31899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Action","volume":"7 1","pages":"10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8976104/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10266857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"<i>Umma and</i> the nation-state: dilemmas in refuge ethics.","authors":"Hossameldeen Mohammed, Ray Jureidini","doi":"10.1186/s41018-022-00124-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s41018-022-00124-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article addresses the question of the Muslim <i>umma</i> (the universal community of Muslims) which arises within the context of the ongoing debates about the status of refugees and their rights around the world, especially in the Muslim world, where a significant majority of migrants and refugees originate and are hosted. We question the existence of the Muslim <i>umma</i> under contemporary circumstances and discuss the extent to which the modern nation-state has undermined the principles of Muslim unity and solidarity beyond national borders. We also examine how Islamic ethics and law (<i>fiqh</i>) identify the imperatives of providing comfort and protection for refugees (whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim) individuals, groups, and communities when required or requested. We see this in principle, but not always in practice. Are refugee policies applied by Muslim-majority countries today in accordance with the fundamental Islamic teachings and experiences of the original <i>hijra</i>? Or have such principles been made redundant by the political-geographic imperatives of ethnicized nation-states? To what extent can applied policies in Muslim-majority countries be developed and enhanced in the light of <i>umma</i> principles that might alleviate the longstanding refugee crises in this troubled area of the world? The article consists of three main sections. The first provides a theoretical and religious analysis of the idea of the <i>umma</i> as an inclusive entity that encompasses all Muslims, contrasted with the modern nation-state as an exclusive geographically defined political institution. The second looks at three Muslim-majority countries that played a significant hosting role in refugee crises over the past decade, namely Jordan, Bangladesh, and Turkey. We offer some insight in understanding to what extent their policies or behavior were based upon <i>ummatic</i> principles, or secularist notions of national interest and humanitarian aid? The last section summarizes the recent innovation providing for Muslim refugees through a UNHCR arrangement and adaptation with the Islamic charitable obligation of <i>Zakat</i>. It is suggested that the UNHCR Zakat Fund is an <i>ummatic</i> manifestation that has already proved honorable and viable. The conclusion calls for a better understanding of the <i>umma</i> as it is in the Islamic consciousness towards an effective reforming of refugee policies and practices, suggesting a further enhancement of <i>ummatic</i> institutional collaboration between the OIC and UNHCR for refugee integration.</p>","PeriodicalId":31899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Action","volume":"7 1","pages":"17"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9362093/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9963317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From food to cash assistance: rethinking humanitarian aid in Yemen.","authors":"Moosa Elayah, Qais Gaber, Matilda Fenttiman","doi":"10.1186/s41018-022-00119-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s41018-022-00119-w","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Humanitarian aid (HA) is needed in Yemen to cope with the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. However, current practices of distributing aid in the form of food have not had the desired effect; conflict has continued, and war economies are thriving as a result. Thus, this paper proposes the idea of cash assistance as an alternative form of HA. Our empirical analysis of HA in Yemen shows that cash assistance is a more effective and efficient way of distributing aid in comparison to food aid. This is due to food aid being vulnerable to looting by the conflicting factions, enabling funds to be inadvertently captured into the highly problematic war economy dynamic. In comparison, cash assistance targets a wider scope of peoples' necessities, in a more efficient and effective delivery approach that can be easily tracked by the donors. Cash aid can either be unrestricted, restricted, or conditional. The former allows cash transfer, the second enables vulnerable people to purchase items depending on their needs with vouchers, and the latter links the money distributed with performing a certain task. This allows communities to improve and develop, and it enables individuals to build up their skill sets and have a source of income. This is particularly important for NGOs who are unable to provide the conditions needed to bear their success. The Yemeni people have lost trust in the warring factions, as well as local and international NGOs, due to the lack of effectiveness of current methods of HA distributions due to looting and the risks associated with reaching vulnerable people. Therefore, it has become imperative to restore donor direct HA delivery by providing cash aid as a superior means of food aid in Yemen, to ensure the effectiveness of HA and to improve the lives of those who are suffering, in the long term (This article builds on previous scholarship; see Elayah, M., & Fenttiman, M. (2021). Humanitarian Aid and War Economies: The Case of Yemen. &lt;i&gt;The Economics of Peace and Security Journal&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;16&lt;/i&gt;(1). This article provides a nuanced and high-quality examination of the conduct of armed groups in Yemen. The analysis of HA in this article \"supports the view that it is a significant source of funding for armed groups and consequently that it plays a huge part in allowing the war economy in Yemen to thrive\". Warring groups are often looting HA to distribute it based on partisanship and to sell it on the black market to finance the war effort. They have also attempted to block HA to try and gain control over the humanitarian campaign and receive a cut of the billions of dollars given in foreign assistance. In many cases, HA is distributed through local NGOs that were established by the groups to attract international funds. Others were pre-politicized NGOs that channeled funds to specific regions or particular groups for political and military advantage. It is clear from our analysis that the ability of NGOs to use HA effectively and","PeriodicalId":31899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Action","volume":"7 1","pages":"11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9033525/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9909520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mental health and spiritual well-being in humanitarian crises: the role of faith communities providing spiritual and psychosocial support during the COVID-19 pandemic.","authors":"Ellen Goodwin, Kathryn Kraft","doi":"10.1186/s41018-022-00127-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s41018-022-00127-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Across the globe, people's reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying lockdowns highlighted, and continued to stress, the relevance of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in responding to crises, including in low-income and emergency settings. They also demonstrated the importance of faith practices and communities of faith as core needs and important coping mechanisms for many affected people in times of crisis. Drawing on data collected by World Vision International, the world's largest child-focused humanitarian and development organisation, in the course of its response to COVID-19 in 70 different countries, this article explores the ways in which faith groups and faith leaders responded to the perceived needs of their communities. While keen to offer psychosocial support to people suffering anxiety and fear in the context of the crisis, this has often been integrated with spiritual support. Analysing their work from the framework of a rights-based approach to mental health, we conclude that they did contribute to psychosocial support through their MHPSS, in part through their provision of spiritual care. However, spiritual well-being should not be conflated with psychosocial well-being. While faith groups play an important role in MHPSS, their primary role is to offer spiritual care.</p>","PeriodicalId":31899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Action","volume":"7 1","pages":"21"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9579534/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9963316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A review of the impact of shelter design on the health of displaced populations.","authors":"Anna Conzatti, Tristan Kershaw, Alexander Copping, David Coley","doi":"10.1186/s41018-022-00123-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s41018-022-00123-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There are currently millions of displaced people encamped in low-quality shelters that jeopardise the health of these displaced populations. These shelters, which exhibit poor thermal regulation and air quality, are often inhabited by households for several years. Recently, the internal environment of shelters has been recognised as a determinant of the health of the occupants and the indoor air quality (IAQ) and internal temperatures have been identified as critical factors affecting occupants' health. Attempts by researchers and private companies to develop healthier shelter solutions have mainly prioritised factors such as rapid deployment, transportability and sustainability. Via a systematic bibliometric analysis of the existing literature, this review examines the impact of shelters' internal environment on occupant health. Self-reports and building simulation are the most common methodologies reported in the literature, but there is a disconnect between the reported shelter issues and their impact on health. This is likely due to the multifaceted and site-specific factors analysed. Indoor air quality, thermal comfort and overcrowding are the most commonly identified shelter issues, which are strongly related to the presence of infectious and airborne diseases. An analysis of the available literature indicates that there is still a lack of clear guidance linking shelter quality to health. Moreover, evidence of the impact of shelters on health is harder to find, and there is a gap regarding the metrics and the methodology used to evaluate shelter quality. Therefore, further research is necessary to provide evidence of the impact of shelter design on health through transdisciplinary approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":31899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Action","volume":"7 1","pages":"18"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9425791/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10266853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The racialization of expertise and professional non-equivalence in the humanitarian workplace.","authors":"Junru Bian","doi":"10.1186/s41018-021-00112-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s41018-021-00112-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>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 professionals, such dichotomization is still inherently nationality-based, which may be an over-simplified explanation of the group dimensions within aid organizations. This study seeks to uncover that professional categorizations of \"expatriate\" and \"local\" are not race-neutral and, instead, colorblind. Organizations within the contemporary humanitarian aid apparatus have come to appeal to what Michael Omi and Howard Winant would characterize as a new racial discourse-one that does not require explicit references to race in order to be perpetuated, as racial subordination has been reconfigured to rely on implicit references to race woven within the everyday social fabrics of the humanitarian profession. The research suggests that embedded under the contemporary professional structure of the liberal humanitarian space is a covert power hierarchy fueled by perceptions of expertise and competency along racial lines-particularly around one's whiteness.</p>","PeriodicalId":31899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Action","volume":"7 1","pages":"3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8739504/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10266852","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"COVID-19 and the expanding role of international urban search and rescue (USAR) teams: the case of the 2020 Beirut explosions.","authors":"Yosuke Okita, Steve Glassey, Rajib Shaw","doi":"10.1186/s41018-022-00116-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s41018-022-00116-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The paper conducts a case study on the international urban search and rescue (USAR) response to the Beirut explosions in August 2020. The incident is worth analysing because it was the first of the international USAR deployments under global travel restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. It will closely look at the activity of @fire Germany, which is self-recognised as a light USAR team, deployed to Beirut. Due to the arrangements imposed for COVID-19 prevention, it becomes more difficult for international USAR teams to arrive in affected areas quickly, meaning that the possibility for life-saving further decreases. Thus, international USAR teams must be flexible to contribute to early recovery activity after the completion of the search and rescue phase. The @fire Germany's response gives a good example of how light international USAR teams could contribute to early recovery. Also, some countries might not want to receive or send international USAR teams due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the COVID-19 era, strengthening national and local teams, or first responders, who are already in-country becomes critical to saving more lives.</p>","PeriodicalId":31899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Action","volume":"7 1","pages":"8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8861286/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10266851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Explicability of humanitarian AI: a matter of principles","authors":"G. Coppi, R. Moreno Jimenez, Sofia Kyriazi","doi":"10.1186/s41018-021-00096-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41018-021-00096-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":31899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Humanitarian Action","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"65773158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}