Document Library
The document library features summaries and links to editorially-selected publications on the key themes of health, education, nutrition, social protection and WASH. The documents are sourced from academic research, policy papers and global development organisations.
In past decades, much progress has been made in responding to health-care needs of conflict-affected populations. The evidence base for interventions addressing excess morbidity and mortality has expanded. Motivated by a disastrous response to the Rwanda genocide in 1994, the Sphere standards for service provision were developed, fostering quality and accountability on the basis of principles… Read more
The effects of armed conflict and natural disasters on global public health are widespread. Much progress has been made in the technical quality, normative coherence, and efficiency of the health care response. But action after the fact remains insufficient. In the years ahead, the international community must address the root causes of these crises. Natural… Read more
Country-based Pooled Funds (CBPFs) are multi-donor humanitarian financing instruments established by the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) and managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) at the country level under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC). While OCHA has managed humanitarian pooled funds at the country level since 1995, CBPFs… Read more
The Multi-Cluster/Sector Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA) is designed to identify strategic humanitarian priorities during the first weeks following an emergency. The main benefit of the MIRA is the elaboration, from the onset of the crisis, of a concerted operational picture based on the best information available from primary and secondary sources. This picture is expressed… Read more
This Guide suggests how the Health Cluster lead agency, coordinator and partners can work together during a humanitarian crisis to achieve the aims of reducing avoidable mortality, morbidity and disability, and restoring the delivery of and equitable access to preventive and curative health care as quickly as possible. It highlights key principles of humanitarian health… Read more
The Sphere Handbook is one of the most widely known and internationally recognised sets of common principles and universal minimum standards for the delivery of quality humanitarian response. Because it is not owned by any one organisation, the Sphere Handbook enjoys broad acceptance by the humanitarian sector as a whole. The Sphere Handbook puts the… Read more
This paper is concerned with the principles of humanitarian action. It examines the efforts by international organisations to operationalise codes of conduct. Based on case studies in Sudan and Liberia, it assesses whether the legal content of these terms can determine the legitimacy of human-rights ‘conditionality’; and asks whether international law requires that humanitarian assistance… Read more
International legal frameworks for humanitarian action not only provide guidance on how to address such situations, but can also serve as powerful tools in advocating for, and achieving, the protection of affected civilian populations. For instance, negotiations and arguments for access can be strengthened by reference to specific legal obligations of the parties to the… Read more
This paper is primarily concerned with raising a higher level question about the nature of knowledge and evidence used in planning, implementing and evaluating skills reforms. The paper notes the very high level of official optimism about the benefits of the governance reform process but the real lack of hard evidence across the region for… Read more
This paper notes the very limited evidence that exists for national qualification frameworks (NQFs) having had successful impact, yet also acknowledges the continued faith in them as an answer to failing skills systems. The author notes that there has been relative success but that it has to do with good initial starting conditions. Thus, Scotland,… Read more
This document includes three papers. The first ‘Sector Skills Councils: Can they enhance employer engagement in skills development systems?’ reviews the case of sector skills councils (SSCs). The authors review the argument that a productive approach to linking skills supply and demand requires a focus on generating and sustaining a high skills equilibrium, a situation… Read more