Essays on Humanitarian Effectiveness

Essays on Humanitarian Effectiveness analyses the impact of context on understandings of and approaches to effectiveness. The five essays in the collection present stories of how effectiveness has been constructed, discussed, operationalised, or even imposed in different contexts (in Liberia, Niger, the Philippines, South Asia and the Syria region), based on research across 9 countries. The collection depicts how these different geographical, social and cultural contexts have influenced how particular responses have been shaped and assesed.

Essays on Humanitarian Effectiveness includes:

Introduction. Five Stories on Humanitarian Effectiveness

Liberia. The Un-ness of an Emergency: A Reflection on the Ebola Response in Liberia, by Fernando Espada

Niger. Even the River Has Need of its Tributaries: An Exploration of Humanitarian Effectiveness in the Slow-onset Context of Niger, by David Matyas

The Philippines. A Culture Clash? Exploring ‘Appropriateness’ and ‘Relevance’ in the Response to Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, by Jessica Field

South Asia. On Authority and Trust: A Reflection on the Effectiveness of Disaster Management in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, by Fernando Espada

Syria. ‘No Voice Can Be Heard Above the Gunfire’: Protection, Partnerships and Politicking in the Syrian Civil War, by Jessica Field

The entire collection of essays is available to download here.

These essays have been produced as discussion papers and do not reflect Save the Children policy. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in the essays lies entirely with the authors.

Photo credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children