Fragile states: Third publication in MSF's dialogues series

This discussion tackles the issue of NGOs' responsibilities when working in so-called 'fragile states', and is now available for download from the MSF website.

Two speakers (Christian Captier from MSF and Zoe Marriage from SOAS) discuss what they see as the main issues, and each speaker also gets a chance to respond. It's an interesting discussion - if you have any comments, don't forget you can comment here by clicking on the link below.

Forced Migration Review: Special Issue on Iraq

One in six Iraqis is displaced. After a conflict which has now lasted as long as the First World War over two million Iraqis are in exile and a further two million are internally displaced. Most refugees are in Syria and Jordan - which hosts the largest number of refugees per capita of any country on earth. The vast majority survive with little or no assistance from the international community. Eight million Iraqis are in need of humanitarian assistance.

A special issue of FMR – published in English and in Arabic - assesses the scale of the displacement and highlights the inadequacy of current responses. Twenty-six articles – from the UN, the governments of Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Sweden, the Red Cross, the Iraqi Red Crescent, Human Rights Watch and non-governmental agencies – offer suggestions to prevent a further escalation of the humanitarian crisis and to establish an eventual framework for the durable return of displaced Iraqis.

The full issue is available for download from the FM Review website (2MB pdf).

Follow the Money: Tufts Review and Analysis of the State of Humanitarian Funding

A new Tufts briefing paper focusses on the financing of humanitarian action, asking:

• Is the pot of humanitarian finance able to meet present and projected global humanitarian needs?
• Do existing financing mechanisms ensure that money follows need?
• Do the present financing mechanisms promote quality aid, encouraging it to be timely, context-specific, evidence-based and rigorous in its application?
• Are the operational agencies capable of using the funding appropriately?
• More succinctly, is there enough money, is it going to the right people in the right places in the most efficient way?

The paper describes the present state of humanitarian funding—focusing on the global picture, key trends and recognized shortcomings. While it includes discussion of new financing mechanisms, such as the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and Common Humanitarian Funds, these are not the primary focus of the paper. Combined these tools account for perhaps 10 percent of official humanitarian aid. The analysis, by contrast, is concerned with the totality of humanitarian financing, and how the many different instruments and mechanisms used to disburse these funds interact with each other.

The paper is available for download from Reliefweb (169KB pdf).

WHO podcast: focus on HIV/AIDS

The latest episode of the WHO podcast highlights the need for women to be in the "driver's seat" to turn the tide in the epidemic. It also takes a close look at an HIV/AIDS centre in Kenya which has helped to change thousands of lives, and now needs to keep up with the growing demand for its services. Plus it highlights the need to push for universal access to prevention as well as care, support and treatment.

Click here to access the WHO website, where you can listen to the latest podcast episode (mp3 4.8 Mb).

HPG Policy Brief on coordination and leadership reform: Lost in translation

The latest HPG Policy Brief (No. 27, entitled 'Lost in translation - managing coordination and leadership reform in the humanitarian system') is now available for download from the HPG website.

The humanitarian sector has invested a lot in system wide reform over the past two years to improve humanitarian outcomes. The CERF has been expanded, cluster leadership implemented, efforts to strengthen the role of the Humanitarian Coordinator outlined, and experiments with pooled funding at country level have taken place. In the lead up to further deliberations on reform in Geneva next week — at the Economic and Social Council meetings and other events — it is imperative to consider the management of leadership and coordination reform in particular. Getting this right will improve reform efforts across the board.

HPG has produced a Policy Brief drawing on extensive document review and interviews in the field and at headquarters. It outlines key areas of ambiguity in the reform process and how effective reform management is critical to improved humanitarian outcomes.

Further information about the ongoing project, and related reports are also available from the link above.

Tufts lecture: Making our Principles Work in the Real World

The presentation given by Antonio Donino of the Feinstein International Center at the Global Humanitarian Platform Meeting in Geneva, 11 July 2007, is now available for download and raises some interesting questions.

The presentation deals with three related issues likely to affect the future of the humanitarian enterprise:

- How can we make it "of the world" rather than "of the North"?
- Has it become too institutionalized?
- Are we equipped for the black swans of the future?

Download the full document via Reliefweb.

Tufts report on Iraq available for download

The full version of the recent Tufts report on Iraq 'Taking Sides or Saving Lives: Existential Choices for the Humanitarian Enterprise in Iraq' is now available to download from their website (1.8MB pdf).

This work, led by Greg Hansen with researchers from the Feinstein International Center and involving Iraqi colleagues presently living and working in Iraq, is an in-depth, field-based study of how Iraqis caught up in the tragedy facing their country view humanitarian aid, its local relevance, and its place in the greater global politic.

The research, carried out between October and December 2006 as part of their Humanitarian Agenda 2015: Principles, Power and Perceptions project, sampled the views of over 165 Iraqis in Baghdad, regional towns, and the rural hinterland. Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish populations were all sampled. The research also incorporates the perspectives of those involved in the humanitarian response in Iraq and builds on earlier data-gathering conducted in and around Iraq since early 2004 for the Feinstein International Center's Humanitarianism and War Project.

In recent months, this study has been the subject of debriefings in the Middle East, Europe, and North America, where it has been well received. It has contributed to a growing alarm about the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and the need to address it more effectively. Tufts welcome comment on the report and reflections on its implications for Iraqis and for aid agencies working there.

Guidelines for Relations between U.S. Armed Forces and Non-Governmental Humanitarian Organizations in Hostile or Potentially Hostile Environments

Interaction is promoting a new set of Guidelines which hope to servie as "rules of the road" for civil-military operations in peace operations. Although firmly centred on US agencies and the US military, they make interesting reading.

Facilitated by the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Guidelines seek to mitigate frictions between military and NGO personnel over the preservation of humanitarian space in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. Principles in the Guidelines include ensuring that military personnel wear uniforms when conducting relief activities to avoid being mistaken for nongovernmental humanitarian organization representatives. Conversely, it recommends that, to the extent practical, humanitarian relief personnel avoid traveling in U.S. Armed Forces vehicles with the exception of liaison personnel.

The document is available for download from the Reliefweb website (402KB pdf).