On the 3rd of March 2013, SARC staff member Mohieddine Mahmoud died while on duty when heavy shelling wracked Jobar neighbourhood in the suburbs of Damascus.
Local aid worker deaths in the spotlight
As humanitarian organisations venture further into the frontlines to deliver medical care, food and shelter, the cost of aid work has risen. These costs are not only financial – but human in nature. On World Humanitarian Day, August 19, we are reminded of the importance of the security and safety of humanitarian aid workers, both local and international.
As of this year, Afghanistan has experienced ten years of stabilization intervention, but what is there to show for it? Marked by massive expenditure with little to no accountability, and often marred by waste, stabilization in Afghanistan started out with arguably honorable aims. However, as troops prepare to leave in 2014, what legacy will be left behind?
Rarely does a research project answer one of its key questions halfway through. This time, however, two years into work on the history of humanitarian action and after an event on the experience of the Middle East and North Africa, we have resolved our enquiry into whether there is ‘a common regional understanding of the meaning, origins and composition of humanitarian action’. The answer is no.
Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulance blocked at a checkpoint in Hebron, OPT.
License: ODI given rights
Credit: ICRC 2011
Source: ICRC
Knocking on the front door doesn't always get you in. That's been the hard lesson over decades for humanitarians seeking to bring assistance to those in need. This event will address the practical challenges organisations face in reaching those in need, and the strategies adopted to overcome them.