BACKGROUND The humanitarian response to the crisis in Darfur is the largest humanitarian operation in the world. To investigate the evolution of the conditions of the affected population, we analysed trends in malnutrition and mortality, the most widely accepted indicators for assessing the degree of severity of a crisis. METHODS We did a meta-analysis of 164 publicly available surveys taking...

This article looks at the tension between principles and politics in the response to the Afghan crisis, and more specifically at the extent to which humanitarian agencies have been able to protect themselves and their activities from overt instrumentalization by those pursuing partisan political agendas. After a short historical introduction, it focuses on the tensions around the issue of ‘cohe...

This is the second in a series of articles on conducting research during complex humanitarian emergencies. The first is at PLoS Med 5(4): e89. doi:10.1371/journal. pmed.0050089 T he effects of crises (man-made or natural disasters) on physical health are ultimately quantifiable as a rise in mortality. Precise and unbiased estimates of mortality rates (deaths per person-time) or excess death tol...

The human resources crisis in humanitarian health care parallels that seen in the broader area of health care. This crisis is exacerbated by the lack of resources in areas in which humanitarian action is needed--difficult environments that often are remote and insecure--and the requirement of specific skill sets is not routinely gained during traditional medical training. While there is ample d...

Background: Situations of humanitarian crisis are often caused by armed conflicts. Given the prevalence of non-international armed conflicts today, ways of ameliorating these situations are at the forefront of concerns. The international humanitarian law rules governing non-international armed conflict remain much less developed than those for international armed conflicts. This makes governing...

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent the primary cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Specific attention needs to be given in fragile and crisis-affected contexts, where health systems have even more difficulties in addressing and managing these diseases. Humanitarian actors intervening in crisis situations increasingly include NCD management in the services they support and provid...

The notion of humanitarian government has been increasingly employed to describe the simultaneous and conflicting deployment of humanitarianism and security in the government of ‘precarious lives’ such as refugees. This article argues that humanitarian government should also be understood as the biopolitical government of host populations through the humanitarian government of refugees. In part...

A t first glance, the notion that human rights violations, violence, and suffering would lead to a humanitarian response and to promotion of human rights and dignity would seem obvious. Yet history shows that the ultimate benefit of humanitarian action seldom accrues to the "victims." As a result of this conundrum, the humanitarian movement, exemplified by the French Doctors, has entered an unp...