Welcome to the second week of this introduction

on public health engineering in humanitarian contexts.

Last week,

we have learned the principle of public health engineering

and see how water, sanitation, hygiene promotion

and vector control activities

can have a significant impact to reduce the morbidity

and mortality during a humanitarian crisis.

This week, we shift our focus on the humanitarian context itself.

We would like you to get familiar with a humanitarian environment

and its new challenges,

especially the one related to humanitarian response

in urban settings during protracted conflicts.

In this video on the introduction to humanitarian contexts,

you will learn to describe different phases of humanitarian crisis

in order to understand the scope of intervention needed accordingly.

We will also talk briefly about the main stakeholders in the humanitarian system.

And finally we will discuss the humanitarian principles and norms.

There are different types of disasters.

Some of them can be natural with a sudden impact

such as the earthquake, tsunami;

or with a slow onset, such as drought or famine.

Some disaster can also be man-made

such as with armed conflict,

and that will be the main focus of this course.

Disasters interrupt the normal function of a community or society

and cause loss of life and damage to property and infrastructure

that exceed the community's ability

to cope using its own resources.

When essential needs to sustain life

such as water, food, health care, shelter are likely not to be met,

action is required to save life,

prevent further losses and minimize risks.

This is what is done by humanitarian action during a crisis.

Every humanitarian crises

has its own dynamic and evolution.

But traditionally,

humanitarian crises are schematized into four main phases.

A pre-crisis where essential needs are met,

but a risk exists that the situation will deteriorate.

Therefore, preparedness measures are sometimes taken.

Once a disaster occurs,

we enter into the acute crisis phase

where essential needs are not met any more.

During this phase,

there is a peak of search and rescue activities

in the immediate aftermath of a disaster,

followed by emergency relief activities

aiming at stabilizing the survivors physical and emotional condition.

The primary focus is on life saving activities

and the overall affected community health status.

This phase can take typically between one to six months.

After we enter into a longer phase

which is the recovery phase.

The focus is on the rehabilitation and reconstruction

to restore the level existing before the crisis.

And finally, we enter into the post-crisis

where development activities take place.

However,

nowadays, we see a complexification of this traditional model

with a growing number of chronic crisis.

Instead of having an acute crisis followed by a recovery phase,

there is a succession of ups and downs over several years;

even decades.

Essential needs are not completely met

and there is a high risk that the situation will return to acute crisis.

This is often due to protracted conflicts that last for many years

and that are currently a major driver of humanitarian needs.

As a result of the increase of protacted conflicts,

there is also higher probability of multiple disasters,

natural and manmade,

occuring at the same time.

In such complex contexts,

the border between humanitarian action and development activities

is getting very blurred.

In addition to the traditional emergency relief,

humanitarian organizations have to respond to the long term effect of conflicts.

It leads many organizations

to have to play beyond their traditional roles and capacities

in order to meet the needs of people affected by current humanitarian crisis.

In the humanitarian system,

they are also entities

which the primary mandate is to provide humanitarian assistance

such as the United Nations humanitarian agencies,

International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement

or national and local agencies with responsibilities for crisis response.

There may be also other actors

that play a critical role in humanitarian response

such as the private sector entities or diaspora.

In an ideal world,

all these actors should work in good coordination.

But it is not always the case.

Now let's focus on this humanitarian actor :

the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement.

It is a global humanitarian network of eighty million people

that helps those facing disaster, conflict, health and social problems.

It consists of three main components:

The International Committee of the Red Cross,

the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

and the 190 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Each component of the movement has its own legal identity and role,

but they are all united by seven fundamental principles

of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement

that guide their humanitarian action.

The seven fundamental principles sum up the movement ethics

and are at the core of its approach

to helping people in need during armed conflicts,

natural disasters and other emergencies.

The first four principles:

humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence,

have been enshrined in United Nations resolutions

in state commitments and in pledges from numerous aid agencies,

making them a relying force in the humanitarian community and beyond.

Another set of principles

that most humanitarian action agreed to develop in the nineties,

is the Sphere project.

We have already seen it last week.

Remember; it contains the minimum standards of core humanitarian assistance

such as food security and nutrition,

health, shelter and water supplies sanitation and hygiene promotion.

Its aim is to help to improve the quality of assistance

to people affected by disasters or conflicts

as well as the accountability of humanitarian actors.

Finally, an important set of laws that influences humanitarian action

is the international humanitarian law (IHL).

Or also known as the laws of war and the law of armed conflict.

We could talk hours about IHL but rather, let's have a look to this short animation.

Since the beginning,

humans have resorted to violence as a way to settle disagreements.

Yet through the ages,

people from around the world have tried to limit the brutality of war.

It was this humanitarian spirit that led to the first Geneva Convention of 1864

and to the birth of modern international humanitarian law.

Setting the basic limits on how wars can be fought,

these universal laws of war protect those not fighting.

As well as those no longer able to.

To do this,

a distinction must always be made between who or what may be attacked

and who or what must be spared and protected.

Most importantly, civilians can never be targeted.

To do so is a war crime.

When they drove into our village,

they shouted that they were going to kill everyone.

I was so scared.

I ran to hide in the bush.

I heard my mom was screaming,

I thought I would never see her again.

Every possible care must be taken to avoid harming civilians

or destroying things essential for their survival.

They have a right to receive the help they need.

The conditions prisoners live in

never use to bother me.

People like him were the reason my brother was dead.

He was the enemy and was nothing to me,

but then I realized that behind bars

he was out of action and no longer a threat to me and my family.

The laws of war prohibit torture and other ill treatment of detainees

whatever their past.

They must be given food and water;

and allowed to communicate with loved ones.

This preserves their dignity and keeps them alive.

Medical workers save lives sometimes in the most dangerous conditions.

Fighters from both sides were wounded in a deadly battle.

We were taking them to the nearest hospital.

At the checkpoint, a soldier threatened us to treat his men only.

We were running out of time

and I was afraid that now all of them were going to die.

Medical workers must always be allowed to do their job.

And the Red Cross or Red Crescent must not be attacked.

The sick or wounded have a right to be cared for

regardless of whose side they're on.

Advances in weapons technology have meant that the rules of war

have also had to adapt.

Because some weapons and methods of warfare

don't distinguish between fighters and civilians,

limits on the use have been agreed.

In the future, wars may be fought with fully autonomous robots.

But will such robots ever have the ability

to distinguish between a military target and someone who must never be attacked ?

No matter how sophisticated weapons become,

it is essential that they are in line with the rules of war.

International humanitarian law is all about making choices

that preserve a minimal of human dignity in times of war

and make sure that living together again is possible

once the last bullet has been shot.

During this week, we have seen that

the traditional model of relief, rehabilitation and development

is changing due to a growing number of protacted conflicts and chronic crisis.

There are various actors not always coordinated,

that are struggling to meet these unprecedented humanitarian needs;

the concept as well as practices of principle humanitarian action

are increasingly being challenged,

especially current conflicts.

However in such a complex and changing environment

these principles must remain a reference tool

to guide humanitarian action.

Introduction to humanitarian contexts

Introduction to Public Health Engineering in Humanitarian Contexts

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