In this article, the author warns the humanitarian community to be business-savvy before they decide to use private military services. Peter Warren Singer is National Security Fellow at the Brookings...
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Aid agencies must think about how people are living, not dying
Gerald Martone and Hope Neighbor describe how saving lives can be used as an "emergency alibi" by relief organizations in order to speed up decision-making. Unfortunately, it is also used as an...
Afghanistan + 3 more
What medical bills should disaster victims pay?
When aid donors ask the victims of an emergency to contribute to their own medical costs, many are at once excluded from care. Valery Ridde reports on funding schemes that can bridge this...
Letter from the field: The earthquakes have shattered El Salvador and its health care system
Pharmaciens sans Frontières sent Loic Aubry, a French administrator and logistics specialist with his Canadian colleague Martine Lecuyer, to El Salvador to evaluate the effects of the earthquake in...
Burundi + 3 more
Why aid agencies must challenge Africa's forced relocations of people
Mass relocations by governments have created a vast number of internally displaced persons in the Great Lakes region of Africa dependent on external aid. Jon Bennett reports on the dilemma facing...
Afghanistan + 3 more
The new crisis is that boundaries between NGOs and governments are blurred
Rupert Neudeck, founder of cap Anamur, is an outspoken critic of UN policy on food distribution to North Korea. He tells HAR why NGOs should avoid government funding HAR: Cap Anamur took its name...
Afghanistan + 7 more
Ten guidelines for effective media projects
Re-building confidence in the media is a crucial part of post-conflict reconstruction. Loretta Hieber explains why it is vital for international donors to focus on supporting local capacity With...
Ethiopia + 2 more
Kenya: Letter from the field : Kakuma Camp-"Hell" never looked so good
By Jason Phillips, Kakuma Program Coordinator, International Rescue Committee (IRC) Strolling down the main street in Kenya's "Addis Ababa", the Ethiopian market section of the country largest...
Nielson assesses Afghanistan aid and reconstruction challenges
Poul Nielson, the European Commissioner responsible for humanitarian and development aid policies, tells HAR's Editor Giles Merritt of his conclusions after visiting war-torn Kabul HAR: You have just...
Aid workers can protect themselves
Attacks on humanitarian workers in the world's danger spots represent an alarming trend that is likely to accelerate in the years ahead. This now poses a serious problem for international aid...
Bosnia and Herzegovina + 3 more
Civilian crisis management must match any military presence
Military intervention is seldom enough nowadays. Finland's Former President Martti Ahtisaari explains why EU civilian crisis management force is also essential in "failed state" emergencies BIO ...
Rapport du terrain: "Les tremblements de terre ont ébranlé le Salvador et son infrastructure sanitaire"
Suite au tremblement de terre survenu mi-janvier, Pharmaciens Sans Frontières - Comité International a envoyé une équipe d'évaluation au Salvador, dont Martine Lecuyer, pharmacien canadien, et Loïc...
Angola + 4 more
When emergency aid also means long-term civilian protection
New efforts to enforce human rights laws in conflicts zones have failed to reduce civilian casualties. Yasmine Sherif argues that civilians need protection as well as material aid Yasmine Sherif is a...
Somalia: New rescue plan for "world's worst humanitarian disaster"
Country File by Abdullah Mohammoud FINAL VERSION A peace plan for Somalia is back on the international agenda. Can this one succeed where all others have failed? Abdullah Mohamoud reports on a land...
Serbia + 1 more
Shortcuts to Conflict Prevention
Lionel Rosenblatt looks at ways of removing the four main barriers to more effective conflict prevention BIO Lionel Rosenblatt is the President of Refugees International and a leading advocate of...
Angola + 2 more
A blueprint for peace in the Great Lakes
Interview with Aldo Ajello FINAL VERSION Aldo Ajello, the EU's Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, says the strategy of leaving regional organisations to manage crises is not working. He tells...
Somalia: Outside involvement risks perpetuating the Somali conflict
The UN intervention and successive reconciliation attempts have done little to fill the civil vacuum in Somalia. Ali A. Jama argues that the international community should now let Somalia resolve its...
Serbia + 1 more
How Kosovo is teaching us the New Economics of Shelter
Providing shelter is the new multi-million-dollar cutting edge of emergency response, report Nick Cater, Keith Ashton and Brenda Puech. But the Kosovo crisis has shown how complex the challenges of...
Letter from the field "Why Ethiopia's good news story goes unreported"
The Economist ran mid-year a cover story on Africa entitled "The Hopeless Continent" that reflected the views of many in the West. But is this fair? Renee Storteboom insists it is not and argues that...
Relief and Reconstruction: How NGOs can fuel reform in Iraq
The Iraqi population have suffered tremendously after nine years of economic sanctions. Mortality among children under five has doubled. The Oil for Food Programme has brought limited relief, but...