The Coronavirus is spreading globally. How can individuals, communities and humanitarian actors best respond to the COVID-19 outbreak? How can the Sphere Handbook guide our response?
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The COVID-19 pandemic’s immediate costs, measured in lives lost and damaged, have been appalling and continue to rise. In addition, its effects on individuals’ livelihoods and economies around the world have been deep and are likely to be long lasting. While saving lives was the near-exclusive f...ocus during the first phase of the crisis, governments are now trying to strike a delicate balance between preventing further economic damage by reopening parts of their economies, while managing the obvious health risks of doing so.
In the international mobility and migration arenas—policy areas enormously affected by the health and economic effects of the pandemic—this reflection considers both how these fields have fared thus far and the challenges that lay ahead
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The Call to Action on Protection from GBV in Emergencies, formally launched in 2013 by the United Kingdom and Sweden, aims to fundamentally transform the way GBV is addressed in humanitarian operations via the collective action of numerous partners, each bringing our various strengths and capacities... to the table. Our goal is to drive change and foster accountability within the humanitarian sphere. The commitment to act and to hold ourselves accountable for action is what binds us together under the Call to Action.
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The document is part of the briefing package for Ethiopia's Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster, which consists of resources that provide greater clarity and guidance to the cluster partners and other humanitarian actors.
The document is divided into four sections. Each section represen...ts the cluster’s coordination system (i) WASH Cluster coordination management, (ii) HPC process, (iii) Response monitoring, (iv) WASH response, and (v) Cluster meeting coordination.
Cluster Overview
The WASH Cluster in Ethiopia is part of and supports the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE). MoWE leads the WASH cluster emergency task force (ETF), which is co-led by the WASH Cluster secretariat hosted by UNICEF. In Ethiopia, the WASH Cluster was established with the activation of the cluster approach in 2006, and UNICEF, as the global Cluster Lead Agency, was assigned to appoint the WASH Cluster Coordinator.
The WASH Cluster aims to provide guidance and support to its partners to ensure well-coordinated, quality assistance reaches those in need in accordance with humanitarian standards and principles. Conflict, severe drought conditions, seasonal flooding, and Cholera remain the key drivers of WASH needs in Ethiopia.
In 2024, the WASH Cluster aims to work with 79 partners to preserve life, well-being, and dignity and reduce the risk of WASH-related disease through timely interventions to vulnerable populations and preparedness to respond to shocks. Significant humanitarian WASH needs in 2024 are projected with a rigorous HPC process in Ethiopia.
The Humanitarian Program Cycle
The humanitarian program cycle (HPC) is a coordinated series of actions to help prepare for, manage, and deliver humanitarian response. It consists of five coordinated elements, each step logically building on the previous and leading to the next. Successful implementation of the HPC depends on effective emergency preparedness, effective coordination with national/local authorities and humanitarian actors, and information management. Affected people are central to the response; preparedness, coordination, and information management processes continually occur.
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Au cours des dix dernières années, de nombreuses catastrophes et crises majeures se sont succédé et ont impacté les vies de millions de gens partout dans le monde. Pour faire face à ces situations critiques, des équipes médicales d’urgence (EMU) nationales et internationales sont réguliè...rement détachées pour venir en aide aux populations sinistrées. Les
EMU sont des équipes de professionnels de soins de santé le plus souvent constituées de
médecins, infirmières, psychologues et autres pour apporter des soins cliniques, directement aux personnes touchées par ces catastrophes et ces conflits, et pour apporter leur soutien aux
systèmes de santé locaux. En accord avec le programme de Personnel de santé d’urgence pour la santé mondiale de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS), tout professionnel de santé venant d’un pays étranger pour prodiguer des soins sur le lieu d’une catastrophe doit faire partie d’une équipe qualifiée, entraînée, pourvue de moyens matériels et financiers et qui fait preuve d’un minimum requis de niveau de pratique
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This document, endorsed by the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, provides guiding principles to support countries in their decision-making regarding provision or resumption of immunization services during severe disruptive events such as COVID-19, natural disasters or humanita...rian emergencies. It incorporates the Immunization Agenda 2030 principles of being people-centred, country-owned, partnership-based and data-guided.
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Research Paper.
As the fighting in Syria winds down, international humanitarian organisations (IHOs) operating from Damascus are hopeful that the Syrian government’s interference in their work will decrease. However, the government is attempting to formalise its influence over humanitarian operat...ions.
Throughout the Syrian conflict, the government has imposed multiple administrative processes on humanitarian organisations to limit their ability to operate independently. This includes restricting the operational environment; undermining organisational independence; imposing local partners; influencing procurement procedures; and preventing direct monitoring and evaluation.
While some level of coordination with the government might be a pragmatic necessity to ensure the safety of operations in regime-controlled areas, this cooperation should not enable the government to use aid for military or political purposes. Consequently, international humanitarian organisations have an ethical dilemma in how they provide aid in these areas without undermining their principles of humanity, independence, impartiality and neutrality.
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This document lays out economic arguments for investing in the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator). Framed within an overall context that recognizes the broader human health and societal impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, ACT-Accelerator's Economic Investment Case argues that investm...ent in ACT-Accelerator is the world’s best bet and most viable solution for restarting the global economy. It is intended for governments, multilaterals, civil society, businesses and foundations and all those interested in the work required to change the course of the pandemic. The global deployment of ACT-Accelerator’s comprehensive package of tools will reduce the severity of COVID-19 disease, enabling countries to transition out of the crisis thereby restarting domestic and international economic engines driving our global economy.
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In October 2022, President Biden signed the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act (GMPTA) into law, which directs USAID to prevent and treat malnutrition globally. The GMPTA further codifies USAID’s leadership on nutrition, with a focus on evidence-based interventions across health syst...ems and food systems, in both development and humanitarian settings.
Realizing the potential of good nutrition to save lives and ensure a brighter future for generations to come is central to U.S. Government priorities. For over 60 years, USAID has been a leader in the fight to end global malnutrition. Nutrition affects every aspect of human development: from the ability to fight disease, to children’s performance in school, to a nation’s health and economic advancement. There is overwhelming evidence of the power of good nutrition but, due to challenges in accessing safe, nutritious foods and health and sanitation services, many people in low- and middle-income countries remain undernourished.
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Au cours des dix dernières années, de nombreuses catastrophes et crises majeures se sont succédé et ont impacté les vies de millions de gens partout dans le monde. Pour faire face à ces situations critiques, des équipes médicales d’urgence (EMU) nationales et internationales sont réguliè...rement détachées pour venir en aide aux populations sinistrées. Les
EMU sont des équipes de professionnels de soins de santé le plus souvent constituées de
médecins, infirmières, psychologues et autres pour apporter des soins cliniques, directement aux personnes touchées par ces catastrophes et ces conflits, et pour apporter leur soutien aux
systèmes de santé locaux. En accord avec le programme de Personnel de santé d’urgence pour la santé mondiale de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS), tout professionnel de santé venant d’un pays étranger pour prodiguer des soins sur le lieu d’une catastrophe doit faire partie d’une équipe qualifiée, entraînée, pourvue de moyens matériels et financiers et qui fait preuve d’un minimum requis de niveau de pratique
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Esta guía trata de la primera ayuda psicológica, un modo práctico y humano para ayudar y apoyar a nuestros semejantes en graves situaciones de crisis. Se ha pensado para personas que se tienen la posibilidad de ayudar a
otras que han experimentado un hecho extremadamente angustiante. Proporciona... un marco de
trabajo para apoyar a las personas respetando su dignidad, cultura y capacidades. A pesar de su
nombre, la primera ayuda psicológica se ocupa tanto del apoyo social como del psicológico.
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The context of the Ebola epidemic presented extreme challenges for Oxfam, as it did for many organisations. At the onset of the epidemic, there was a general lack of understanding of the disease and how to respond to it effectively and safely. A pervasive and persistent climate of fear, coupled with... changing predictions about the likely evolution of the epidemic, influenced analysis and response at all levels. There was strong pressure to treat the epidemic as a medical emergency requiring a medical response – organised through topdown processes – rather than standard humanitarian coordination
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COVID-19 pandemic has taken the entire world by surprise, creating the greatest global catastrophe since WWII, impacting all spheres of our societies, including health, economy, social protection, as well as security, and human rights. The virus affects people and communities indiscriminately in all... parts of the world, with particularly strong impact on poorer communities, especially those already suffering from the humanitarian consequences caused by conflicts, social-economic problems or disasters.
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Over nine years of protracted and violent conflict in Syria has decimated its health system,killed an estimated 586,000 people and forcibly displaced more than half the 22 million pre-war population from their homes. As of June 2020, a total of 6.2 million Syrians (of whom 40% are children) are inte...rnally displaced (IDPs) and 5.5 million are refugees. Over half of Syria’s population (11.7 million) are in-need of humanitarian aid across the whole of Syria
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A discussion paper on the scope of the problem, its drivers, and strategies for moving forward for policy, practice, and research
In many protracted emergencies, the prevalence rates of global acute malnutrition (GAM) regularly exceed the emergency threshold of > 15% of children with acute malnutri...tion (< -2 weight-for-height z-scores (WHZ) or with nutritional edema), despite ongoing humanitarian interventions. The widespread scale and long-lasting nature of “persistent GAM” means that it is a policy and programming priority.
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This research is one case in a study commissioned by the World Food Programme to investigate the participation of recipient community in the targeting and management of humanitarian food assistance in complex emergencies. The study involved a substantial desk review of existing documentation, and th...ree weeks of field work in February and March 2008. The purpose of the study was to understand the ways in which participatory or community-based approaches to targeting have been attempted, within the definition of community-based targeting suggested by WFP. The study was not an evaluation of targeting methods, although some critical examination of targeting was necessary in order to understand the constraints on community participation.
Related resources
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Throughout the Americas, populations are aging and the Region is undergoing a rapid demographic transition. The aging index, which reflects the size of the older age groups per 100 compared to children under age 15, clearly demonstrates the increase in people aged 60 and older. Compared to global tr...ends, the Region of the Americas will have a larger number of people aged 60 and older than children under 15 by 2030, which is approximately 25 years before the global average. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unparalleled health crisis around the world. The impact on older persons and those with underlying health conditions has highlighted the challenges of addressing the needs of older populations during a public health emergency. Given this demographic transition it is essential to think about preparedness of systems and services to address this population’s needs, including an increase in emergency planning and protection of older populations.
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The purpose of the handbook is to provide those involved in nutrition coordination with relevant tools, guidance, information and resources to support their roles in facilitating predictable, coordinated and effective preparation for, and responses to, nutrition needs in humanitarian emergencies. Ra...ther than being prescriptive, the handbook aims to raises key issues encountered to date.
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En la Región de las Américas, las poblaciones están envejeciendo y se está experimentando una rápida transición demográfica. El índice de envejecimiento, que refleja el tamaño de los grupos de mayor edad por 100 en comparación con los menores de 15 años, demuestra claramente el aumento de... las personas de 60 años o más. En comparación con las tendencias mundiales, la Región tendrá un mayor número de personas de 60 años o más que de menores de 15 años para el 2030, aproximadamente 25 años antes que el promedio mundial. La pandemia de COVID-19 ha dado pie a una crisis de salud sin precedentes en todo el mundo. Sus efectos en las personas mayores y aquellas con enfermedades subyacentes han puesto de manifiesto los desafíos de abordar sus necesidades durante una emergencia de salud pública. Dada esta transición demográfica, es fundamental reflexionar acerca de la preparación de los sistemas y servicios con vistas a atender las necesidades de este grupo de población, incluidas la mejora de la planificación para casos de emergencia y la protección de las personas mayores.
Esta publicación forma parte de una serie titulada La Década del Envejecimiento Saludable en las Américas: situación y desafíos
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Ukraine: Russian invasion has forced older people with disabilities to endure isolation and neglect – new report
Many temporary shelters inaccessible to people with physical disabilities
Overburdened care system often provides few alternatives to institutions for older people
Authorities ...and humanitarian actors must ensure an inclusive response
Displaced older people with disabilities in Ukraine are physically and financially unable to access adequate housing and care amid Russia’s ongoing invasion, sometimes leaving few alternatives to being placed in residential institutions, Amnesty International said in a new report.
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