As response teams take stock of unfolding news and events, humanitarian agencies have to plan for emergencies in an extraordinary range of operating environments and geographical locations. Planners who focus on logistical challenges are often in a better position to…
The first stage of the Back to School (BTS) programme sought to enable 1.78 million children in the war-ravaged country to return to school by the end of March 2002. Since then, an additional two campaigns have been undertaken, reaching…
Due to the civil war that has raged there from 1998, at least 3.3 million people have either been killed or have died of hunger and disease - more people killed in any war since the end of World War…
The operation had only limited success. Intent on vengeance, the rebels slipped back into northern Uganda. Atrocities, attacks on civilians and soldiers, abductions and burning of houses ensued. As a result, most of the population of northern Uganda is now…
In the six countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) - Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Swaziland - a jigsaw of accumulative factors were to bring about a heightened crisis: the volatile mix of drought, floods, disruptions to…
As the humanitarian role of the armed forces has evolved, discussion has focused around three separate categories: military support to emergency or disaster relief efforts, the problematic notion of humanitarian intervention and the provision of humanitarian assistance during combat operations.…
During an emergency, logistics departments have the primary mission to procure and track food, non-food items and gifts-in-kind (solicited and unsolicited) from appeal through to delivery while simultaneously monitoring the commodity and financial information along the relief pipeline. Thus, logistics…
In order to better serve those affected by conflict and disasters, there is a real need among aid agencies to better understand their locations, numbers and needs. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are computer mapping software systems. Currently they are being…
Interventions require speed and flexibility. It is in this context that finance and accountability often become early casualties. Emphasis is quite rightly put on immediate assistance to displaced persons and other disadvantaged people. However, financial and accountability procedures are often…
Despite, (or perhaps because of) worldwide attention on Iraq, the Bush Administration still needs a success story for the war on terror. Afghanistan remains their best hope. In search of a viable self-policing state and a plausible exit strategy, they…