war has devastating implications for families, communities, cultures, economies, and state infrastructure. similarly, the last decade has seen an increase in the number of attacks against health workers in conflict zones and unstable environments. unfortunately, these attacks have grave consequences for local populations which often rely on foreign aid programs for their health and well-being. ...

For decades, military humanitarian assistance programs have avoided empirical scrutiny, leaving researchers, the humanitarian community and decision makers without proof of outcome. This Editorial highlights the findings of three major studies that disclose deficits in the quality of the performance and reporting of humanitarian missions, and offer guidance for change. The author suggests that,...

During the management of the crisis after the earthquake occurred in Haiti in 12 January 2010, Brazil played an important role on the efforts of humanitarian assistance. Based on bibliography and documents the paper presents the role played by Brazil with the focus on the humanitarian assistance as part of country’ foreign policy as an emerging power to increase the presence into the internatio...

Humanitarian action has always been a highly political activity. The provision of humanitarian assistance and protection has relied upon engaging with political authorities in conflict-affected countries, and thus influenced the political economy of conflict. At the same time the provision of humanitarian assistance has been influenced by domestic political considerations in donor countries, re...

The ability to monitor assistance, define humanitarian needs, and approach equity in the distribution of assistance has lagged behind the world's growing commitment to responding to humanitarian emergencies. This article highlights relevant data sources to elucidate elements of an operational definition of humanitarian need. New and refined measures are proposed to assist in assessing the level...

An increasing number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) provide humanitarian assistance, including healthcare. Some faith-based NGOs combine proselytising work with humanitarian aid. This can result in ethical dilemmas that are rarely discussed in the literature. The article explores several ethical issues, using four generic activities of faith-based NGOs: (1) It is discriminatory to den...

INTRODUCTION While the number of humanitarian health workers has grown considerably along with the emphasis on evidence-based humanitarian practice over the last 15 years, no organization exists to ensure ongoing professionalization of this area of expertise. HYPOTHESIS/PROBLEM To determine whether and to what degree the community of humanitarian health workers self-identify as a professional...