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Map Republic of Sierra Leone District

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit http://unocha.org/.

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Africa Population Change, 1990 - 1995

-Both negative and positive change are extruded vertically proportional to percent change.
-Map was generated from the Gridded Population of the World dataset, see related link for further details.
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Ethiopian: Rainfall Situation in East and West Hararghe Zones

All boundaries are approximate and unofficial.
Graphic: WFP Vulnerability and analysis Unit, July 2000.
Source: VAM Unit, WFP Addis Ababa, 2002
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Shifting Sands: The Search for 'Coherence' between Political and Humanitarian Responses to Complex Emergencies

Examining the origin and evolution of the concept of 'coherence' between political and humanitarian action and its implications in practice, this paper argues that the present emphasis on integration of these two policy domains is counterproductive and risks violating humanitarian principles.

The report provides studies of two donor governments - the British and the Dutch - as well as analyses how the UN provided a means to operationalise and legitimise the coherence agenda. Finally, in order to understand the implications of coherence in practice,
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Framework for Food Crisis Contingency Planning and Response

These Guidelines summarize the essential steps of the food crisis contingency planning and response process. They cover the measures that can be deployed as worsening food insecurity threatens to cause a food crisis, as the food crisis intensifies, and as it peaks and then wanes.

Part I describes the steps involved in food crisis contingency planning as the first signs are emerging of a specific food crisis.

Part II talks about a) assessing the impact of a food crisis and the resulting needs as the food crisis is underway
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World Disasters Report 2000: Focus on Public Health

Report
IFRC
The World Disaster Report provides comprehensive analysis of key trends and crises facing the humanitarian system. Its two main sections examines the following issues:

Section One Focus on public health
- Public health - has it fallen off the map?
- Assessing and targeting public health priorities
- AIDS in Africa: no longer business as usual
- North Korea's public health pays the price of isolation
- Chernobyl: a chronic disaster
- Kosovo - the humanitarian Klondike
 
Section Two Tracking the system
- Surprise upturn in global aid
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Politics and Humanitarian Action

Report
Watson Institute
This study examines the interface between politics and humanitarian action in the local, regional and interstate context. Links between the two are identified and a historical perspective is offered by reviewing several major humanitarian initiatives that predate the Cold War.

Rather than political interest necessarily presenting an impediment to effective humanitarian response, the author argues that maintaining access for humanitarian action and ensuring support from the international community depend on deliberately engaging political
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Small Arms and Light Weapons: Proliferation Processes and Policy Options

This report provides an overview of the different stages of the complex process of small arms and light weapons proliferation.

Offering a general conceptual framework for policy-making and analysis, it also tries to highlight gaps and weaknesses in current intervention strategies as well as areas in which future work should be done.

The report concentrates on, but is not restricted to, the role of formal international actors (regional and global organizations, security and non-security oriented) and national governments in stemming
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Adolescents: Assessment of Nutritional Status in Emergency-Affected Populations

This report looks at the appropriate methods of measuring nutrition in adolescents. Arguing that methods based on the anthropometric index, including Body Mass Index, weight-for-height, and Rohrer Index, will lead to unrealistically high levels of adolescent undernutrition, the report suggests possible solutions involving:

- Better methods of assessing age of attainment of key pubertal landmarks
- Cormic Index to adjust for ethnic differences in body proportions
- International reference of adolescents and new method of determining cut-off points
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Handbook for Defining and Setting up a Food Security Information and Early Warning System (FSIEWS)

This handbook describes the Food Security and Early Warning Information System (FSIEWS) method, seeking to enhance the ability of governmental and non-governmental actors to know who, where and why people are affected or threatened by food insecurity. For this purpose, it deals with issues such as:

- Principles and concepts of food security information systems
- Stages in defining and setting up a FSIEWS
- Sustainability in the long-term

The handbook is addressed to national technical managers, central and decentralized, as well as to their technical assistance
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Adults: Assessment of Nutritional Status in Emergency-Affected Populations

This article describes simple techniques suitable for the assessment of the nutritional status of adults aged 20-60 years in emergency-affected populations.

The BMI (Body Mass Index), MUAC (Mid-upper Arm Circumference), and clinical models are assessed for their usefulness in determining the prevalence of chronic undernutrition in adults at the population level, and also for screening severely undernourished adults for entrance to feeding clinics.

Making only preliminary recommendations, the report argues for more research to reach a consensus on a definitive
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Forced Migration and the Evolving Humanitarian Regime

With complex emergencies involving the forced movements of millions of persons, this report explores the nature of forced migration and the existing international regime. In addition, the following three approaches used to improve humanitarian responses to complex emergencies involving a range of forced migrants are assessed:

- Responsible lead agency for specific categories of forced migrants
- Regional mechanisms responsible for all forced migrants within designated areas
- System-wide office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs
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The Dynamics of Coordination

Report
Watson Institute
Through an examination of the humanitarian efforts in Sierra Leone and Rwanda, this report provides a comparative analysis of the humanitarian challenges. In addition to the provision of maps and chronologies of major events, the study aims to identify significant lessons with respect to the organisational, functional and programmatic aspects of coordination.

Aiming to achieve a more dynamic response to future emergencies, the report gives recommendations to donor governments, national actors, United Nations agencies and NGOs.
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Beyond Security Planning: Towards a Model of Security Management - Coping with the Security Challenges of the Humanitarian Work

This report stresses the need for an approach combining security management and security planning to allow agencies and practitioners to better undertake strategies for coping with the security challenges of humanitarian work.

Set in the context of the challenges faced by humanitarian agencies working in violent scenarios, an overall framework for a security management process and an incremental approach to security management is proposed to fill the need for comprehensive and dynamic systems to cope with the security requirements.
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Terms of Engagement: Conditions and Conditionality in Humanitarian Action

This report aims to give an overview of various debates and indicate areas of consensus and of disagreement with respect to the issue of terms of engagement between humanitarian and political actors. For this purpose, it looks at the following issues:

- Terms of engagement: Conditions and conditionality in humanitarian action
- New times, old chestnuts - Background paper
- The 'Code of Conduct' in practice: A personal view
- ICRC and conditionality
- Role of humanitarian aid in conflict management
- Humanitarian aid and conditionality: ECHO's
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Adolescence: Assessment of Nutritional Status in Emergency-Affected Populations

This discussion discusses describes techniques suitable for the assessment of the nutritional status of adolescents aged 10-19 years in emergency-affected populations.

Emphasizing practical issues of anthropometric assessment of nutritional status rather than general knowledge of adolescent growth and development, the paper also points out some of the deficiencies of the current recommendations regarding the nutritional assessment of adolescents, including those published by WHO.

Making only preliminary recommendations,
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Guidelines: Cooperation Between the United Nations and the Business Community

Report
United Nations
Intended to serve as a common framework for all UN organisations, these Guidelines aim to facilitate the formulation and implementation of co-operation between the United Nations and the business community. For this purpose, they consider the following issues:

- Purpose and rationale
- Choosing a partner
- General principles
- Use of the UN name and emblem
- Modalities
- Institutional capacities

The Guidelines are part of an effort by the Secretary-General to renew and reform the UN, which includes closer co-operation