Massachusetts, USA — A survey by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) has found that before the onset of the Coronavirus disease or Covid-19, disaster risk reduction (DRR) actors in the Philippines had very limited connections and collaborations on pandemics.

The survey was part of HHI’s recently published study that analyzed the network of DRR and climate change adaptation (CCA) actors in the Philippines from 2017–2019.

Although the survey did not specifically focus on pandemics, it asked DRR actors which types of disasters they address, with pandemics being one of the options. …

Massachusetts, USA — For the Philippine disaster risk reduction (DRR) system to further strengthen and be sustainable, local humanitarian actors need to conduct more cohesive and reciprocal collaborations with each other, researchers from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) have recommended based on their recent study.

“Local organizations are best placed to prepare for and respond disasters. Our research suggests that international aid agencies continue to play a large role in the network of Philippines disaster agencies, pointing to the need to build greater ties between local disaster actors. …

Massachusetts, USA — A study by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) has found a reliance on international actors within the disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) system in the Philippines. A continued reliance on international aid agencies means the Philippines is not realizing its full potential for utilizing local organizations to bolster the country’s DRR and CCA system, HHI researchers warned.

“Local community-based organizations (CBOs) and national non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as national and local government units are best positioned to respond to disasters. …

By Mark Toldo, Communications Specialist at HHI’s Program on Resilient Communities

Since the establishment of the United Nations (UN) International Strategy for Disaster Reduction in 1999, awareness of and response to disasters has grown globally. Governments, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, civil society groups, and even the private sector now often converge to conduct collaborative projects aimed at mitigating the impacts of disasters and climate change to vulnerable communities.

Undeniably, these multi-sector collaborations play a key role in supporting the resilience of at-risk communities. Nevertheless, for someone like me who has lived in disaster-prone communities for most of my life, some…

The Education in Crisis Project (part of the Risk and Resilience Program) conducted interviews with Syrian faculty, students and administrators to understand how medical and nursing education are maintained during an active conflict in which there is a lack of health care workers. The main themes will be explored in the forthcoming HHI report entitled, “Window of Hope”: Maintaining Education of Health Care Workers in Syria”, which is scheduled to be released in September 2020. The potential policy implications for humanitarians are discussed in a July 2020 article from the Oxford Middle East Review. The report authors discussed their work at a panel hosted by the Harvard Medical School chapter of Physicians for Human Rights last December.

The Human Right to Health:

Historical Perspectives on Health Education in Conflict:

Experience of Syrian Students:

On May 21, 2020 HHI hosted a (virtual) closed academic roundtable on Opportunities for Increasing Diversity and Inclusion in the Humanitarian Sector. This roundtable was remotely attended by 28 participants from a cross-section of local humanitarian agencies, UN agencies, NGOs, INGOs, academic institutions, advocacy groups, and research centers. The main topics for consideration were selected from a preliminary analysis of key informant interviews from a forthcoming HHI report entitled, “The Elephant in the Room: Discussing Diversity and Inclusion in the Humanitarian Sector.” …

Report Authors: Abdulrazzaq Al-Saiedi, Kevin Coughlin, Muslih Irwani, Waad Ibrahim Khalil, Phuong N. Pham, Patrick Vinck. Harvard Humanitarian Initiative | Peace and Human Rights Data Program

“Never Forget: Views on Peace and Justice Within Conflict-affected Communities in Northern Iraq”, a report by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative’s Peace and Human Rights Data Program, details how northern Iraq communities targeted by the Islamic State (IS) are denied justice. Corruption, impunity and mistrust threaten the fragile peace following the defeat of IS.

Main Findings

Read the full report in English and in Arabic here.

● To date, justice has been denied to those in northern…

Disasters, Livelihood Changes and Vital Knowledge for Humanitarians

By Mark Toldo, Program on Resilient Communities at HHI

Even before the institutionalization of disaster risk reduction and management in the Philippines began in 2010, vulnerable communities have been experiencing the adverse impacts of disasters and climate change. With limited resources, people in these communities have learned to adapt over the years — proof of the self-reliance of most Filipinos dealing with disasters. This observed self-reliance is consistent with the results of a 2017 nationwide survey conducted by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative Program on Resilient Communities (HHI PRC).

Community adaptive measures can…