 |
|
Improving Standards in International Humanitarian Response: The Sphere Project and Beyond
|
|
| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
|
|
|
To the Editor: The very high mortality resulting from epidemics of cholera and dysentery among Rwandan refugees in Goma, Zaire, in 1994 was a turning point for humanitarian aid organizations. Wide-scale clinical mismanagement of cholera by inexperienced relief workers was reported in both the scientific literature1 and in the news media. Prior to this time, many humanitarian organizations had recognized the need to improve professional standards within their own organizations to improve the effectiveness of their humanitarian response. Events in Goma, however, increased the impetus to improve accountability within the humanitarian system as a whole.2
Unlike most professional activities, humanitarian relief is not subject to monitoring by professional bodies. The Sphere Project,3 launched in 1996, represents one of the first systematic efforts to improve accountability. Its first objective was to assist the international humanitarian community in developing a common framework for humanitarian action. Known as the "Humanitarian Charter," this framework . . . [Full Text of this Article]
RELATED ARTICLES
Malnutrition, Measles, Mortality, and the Humanitarian Response During a Famine in Ethiopia
Peter Salama, Fitsum Assefa, Leisel Talley, Paul Spiegel, Albertien van der Veen, and Carol A. Gotway
JAMA. 2001;286(5):563-571.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Public Health in Times of War and Famine: What Can Be Done? What Should Be Done?
Ronald J. Waldman
JAMA. 2001;286(5):588-590.
EXTRACT
| FULL TEXT
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
|
Public Health in Times of War and Famine: What Can Be Done? What Should Be Done?
Waldman
JAMA 2001;286:588-590.
FULL TEXT
|
