Does performance measurement improve the performance in humanitarian aid? Approaches from the private sector are analyzed with their application to the humanitarian sector. One central finding is that performance measurement is more than the collection of data – approaches that are able to combine the process-oriented perspective with performance measurement are needed (e.g. the SCOR-model).

Vulnerability is a central concept in humanitarian aid. Discussions of vulnerability in disaster response literature and guidelines for humanitarian aid range from considerations of a universal human vulnerability, to more nuanced examinations of how particular characteristics render individuals more or less at risk. Despite its frequent use, there is a lack of clarity about how vulnerability i...

Children in humanitarian settings are thought to experience increased exposure to violence, which can impair their physical, emotional, and social development. Violence against children has important economic and social consequences for nations as a whole. The purpose of this review is to examine population-based approaches measuring violence against children in humanitarian settings. The autho...

BACKGROUND Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions are amongst the most crucial in humanitarian crises, although the impact of the different WASH interventions on health outcomes remains unclear. AIM To examine the quantity and quality of evidence on WASH interventions on health outcomes in humanitarian crises, as well as evaluate current evidence on their effectiveness against he...

BACKGROUND In order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian efforts, minimum standards for humanitarian assistance and key indicators, showing whether a standard has been attained, have been developed. However, many of these standards and indicators are based on a consensus on best practices and experiences in humanitarian response, because relevant evidence on the impact of...

Recent natural disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti, Hurricane Katrina in the United States, tsunami in the Indian Ocean, the earthquake in Pakistan, and numerous humanitarian challenges arising from such conflicts as that in Sudan have exposed the shortcomings in planning for disasters. In addition to the natural disasters, the homeland security issues related to domestic as well as inter...

OBJECTIVE To document demographic characteristics and prevalence of infectious diseases in refugees and humanitarian entrants attending the Migrant Health Unit (MHU) in Perth for health assessment from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2004. DESIGN Retrospective case series. PARTICIPANTS All refugees and humanitarian entrants arriving in Western Australia on subclass 200 and subclass 202 visas ...

Delivery of effective mental health and psychosocial support programs requires knowledge of existing health systems and socio-cultural context. To respond rapidly to humanitarian emergencies, international organizations often seek to design programs according to international guidelines and mobilize external human resources to manage and deliver programs. Familiarizing international humanitaria...

The Syrian conflict is now a humanitarian and public health catastrophe for the country and the region. UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) AntÓnio Guterres described the current situation as the greatest humanitarian disaster of the past two decades, requiring the largestever humanitarian appeal. The UN has called for US$5·2 billion for a regional response plan that includes support to n...

In Canada, although opinions vary on what specific measures are most appropriate to support our economy during the present economic crisis, most appear to agree that the federal government needs to intervene. In light of the broad support for financial rescue efforts aimed at the domestic economy, it seems fair to ask what portion of the Canadian budget, if any, should be allocated to internati...