An error was inadvertently made in the March issue of The Harvard Humanitarian.  Kindly note, HHI Faculty Dr. Kirsten Johnson is the recipient of the Janusz Korczak Award for Children's Rights.  We apologize for any inconvenience. 
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Issue 14 March 2010
Greetings!

The Harvard Humanitarian is a monthly e-newsletter compiled by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) to publicize news, publications, and events in the Harvard community related to advancing responses to humanitarian crises of war and disaster. Please help us make this a robust resource by contributing your Harvard community news items via email.
 
UPDATE ON HARVARD-WIDE HAITI RESPONSE
 
Fond Parisien Disaster Recovery Center

HHI continues to play an important role overseeing and staffing the Fond Parisien Disaster Recovery Center in Haiti.  The Center currently houses nearly 1,000 individuals, with 250-300 patients, each with a relative who also receives housing and food. The camp has 120 international volunteers and 122 Haitian staff who ensure patients receive the best care possible through the recovery phase of medical treatment.  Technology has played a major role in the management of the camp, including the use of iPhones to store patient records.  The innovative use of technology at HHI's Disaster Recovery Center has been covered by the press.  To read an article about the use of iPhones in disaster response and an HHI doctor using the iChart "digital medical assistant," click here.  To learn more about our Disaster Recovery Center, click here.
 

Volunteer at HHI's Fond Parisien Disaster Recovery Center
 
We are currently seeking clinical and non-clinical volunteers to staff the Fond Parisien Disaster Recovery Center.  The requirements of volunteers differ according to each individual's credentials and disaster experience.  Ideally, volunteers should commit to a minimum of two weeks service.  In particular, Creole speakers are highly desirable.
 
To find out if you're eligible to volunteer with us in Haiti, please visit our Volunteer in Haiti page.
 
 
Learning from Haiti's Open Source Crisis Mapping
 
In the weeks following the earthquake, texting "4636" became a lifeline for those in urgent need of assistance.  Medical and public health needs, fire, and collapsed building alerts were sent via text message to Ushahidi-Haiti's live crisis mapping website.  This information was then used for relief efforts by the American Red Cross, the US Marine Corps, and others.

Now, HHI Crisis Mapping Co-Director Patrick Meier is busily applying the lessons learned from the Haiti crisis mapping disaster response to develop a model for future crises.  He recently traveled to speak to groups in London, Geneva, New York, Washington D.C., Maryland, and Boston to discuss how technology can be used in future disasters and conflicts.

In the wake of the earthquake in Chile, Ushahidi responded quickly by launching Ushahidi-Chile. Within 48 hours, 100 reports of urgent need were received using the platform. You can visit Ushahidi-Chile's website by  clicking here.   

To read more about the unprecedented role of SMS in the disaster response in Haiti, check out Patrick Meier's iRevolution blog by clicking here. To read a Newsweek article about Ushahidi technology in Chile and Haiti, click here.


Keeping an Eye on Child Safety in Haiti

With recent U.N. reports accounting for 230,000 deaths resulting from Haiti's earthquake, the number of unaccompanied and orphaned youth has skyrocketed.  Child plight is by no means new to Haiti, even before the earthquake, abandonment, abuse, and trafficking were rampant, with an estimated 350,000 orphans (many of whom were abandoned for economic reasons). In the wake of the earthquake, many more orphans and families affected by economic insecurity has exacerbated the necessity for international intervention in child protection. 

Fellows of HHI and the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights recently published a report on child protection in Haiti in the New England Journal of Medicine.  To read this report click here. 


Harvard Student-led Fundraiser Raises nearly $37,000

The Harvard for Haiti student benefit concert held on February 12 raised almost $37,000 for the earthquake relief efforts.  Many students and undergraduate performing groups chose to honor Haiti through musical tributes and dance.  HHI Director Dr. Michael VanRooyen spoke on HHI's response efforts and the importance of technology in advancing humanitarian aid.
 
Missed the show?  You can view a recording of the live webcast. To read about the concert in the Harvard Gazette, click here.


Facing Ethical Dilemmas in Haiti's Disaster Response

HHI Fellow Sheri Fink reports for PRI's The World on the life threatening triage decisions made in the aftermath of the earthquake.  Dr. Fink traveled to Port-au-Prince days after the disaster struck to investigate these difficult choices.  Listen or read Dr. Fink's full article here. Also see the Publications & Press section below for more of Sheri's work in Haiti.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
KirstenJohnsonKirsten Johnson, MD, MPH Receives the Inaugural Janusz Korczak Award for Children's Rights 

On February 25, 2010 HHI Faculty Kirsten Johnson received the first ever Janusz Korczak Award  in  recognition of her "contribution to furthering  the rights of children under exceptionally difficult circumstances, and in helping children in conflict regions around the world." Dr. Janusz Korczak (1878-1942) founded the first progressive orphanages in Poland to shelter Jewish and Catholic children. Korczak chose to die with the orphans in his care in Treblinka, after repeatedly turning down offers of sanctuary from the Polish resistance. The U.N. Declaration of the Rights of the Child is based on Korczak's pedagogical writings.

HHI Researcher Returns from the Congo

HHI's GBV Research Coordinator Jocelyn Kelly recently returned from her latest stay in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where she is conducting research on the root causes and consequences of gender-based violence.  In the recent months, she has had speaking engagements at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Stanford, and Harvard, lecturing on her preliminary findings.  She will continue her active data collection with militia members in the DRC at the end of March.  (Photo courtesy of Justin Ide/Harvard University)


April 2010 Humanitarian Studies Course Accepting Applications

Applications are still being accepted for the spring Humanitarian Studies Course taking place on April 18th through April 28th, 2010.  This non-credit course is geared towards medical residents, fellows, nurses, and mid-career professionals (from both private and public sectors).  The Humanitarian Studies Course trains participants in current humanitarian issues as well as methodologies and essential skills that will help prepare participants to carry out effective humanitarian health and relief programs.  The course consists of six days of classroom study and a three day crisis simulation to be held rain or shine in a state forest just north of Boston from April 23rd to April 25th.  For more information and to register please visit http://humanitarianstudiescourse.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS

 Event times, dates, and locations listed here are subject to change without notice. Please contact the event host for more information.

 Perspectives on Development and Rule of Law in Afghanistan

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
12:00 p.m.
Pound Hall 335, Harvard Law School

Join Rebecca Gang, Saeeq Shajjan and panel moderator Jasteena Dhillon as they discuss their experiences working in Afghanistan, ranging from refugee and human rights issues to law and development projects.

This event is sponsored by the Harvard Law and International Development Society and International Legal Studies.




Protecting Civilians:
The Obligations of Peacekeepers

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
12:00-2:00 PM
Carr Center Conference Room, 219 Rubenstein

The Mass Atrocity Response Operations Project welcomes Dr. Wills to the Carr Center. She will speak about her book on the obligations of peacekeeping troops to prevent serious abuses of human rights towards civilians under international humanitarian law and human rights law.

Dr. Wills is a College Lecturer at University College Cork and a visiting scholar at Harvard University Law School's Human Rights Program.





3rd Annual Meeting of the Burden of Surgical Disease Working Group

March 10th-12th, 2010
Nashville, TN

The Burden of Surgical Disease Working Group (BoSD WG) was founded in 2007 to advocate for surgical intervention within global public health, advance knowledge about the large unmet surgical need in low and middle income countries, encourage evaluation of surgery and reporting of outcomes, and expand the literature on this growing global crisis.

The focus of the BoSD WG includes:

  • Surgical Definitions, Outcomes and Evaluation
  • Defining Global Unmet Surgical Need
  • The Global Anesthesia Crisis
  • Emergency and Essential Surgical care, including Trauma and Emergency Obstetrical Care     
  • Effective Surgical Coverage
  • Humanitarian Delivery of Surgical Services
  • Education and Training of Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthesia Providers

This event is hosted by the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health. The event is being planned by HHI Fellow Kelly McQueen, MD, MPH.  For more information, please click here.
 

The Art & Politics of Human Rights: A Conversation with Larry Cox

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
6:30-8:00 pm
Taubman Conference Center
Harvard Kennedy School

Join the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy for this program with the Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, Larry Cox.  Click here for more information. 


Home Is Where You Find It:  How an AIDS Orphan's Story Can Promote Social Change

Monday, March 29, 2010
6:00-8:00pm
Center for Government and International Studies
South Building, Belfer Case Study Room
1730 Cambridge Street

HHI and the Cultural Agents Initiative will host Dr. Neal Baer, Executive Producer of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, for the third seminar in the 2009-2010 series.  Dr. Baer will be screening his recent documentary, "Home is Where You Find It" which chronicles the life of a sixteen year old AIDS orphan in Mozambique. A discussion and Q & A session will follow the film.  This event is open to the public.


PUBLICATIONS & PRESS
About The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
HHI fosters interdisciplinary collaboration at Harvard University in order to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian strategies for relief, protection, and prevention; instill human rights principles and practices in these strategies; and educate and train the next generation of humanitarian leaders. In 2005, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative was established as a University-wide interfaculty academic and research center, supported by the Office of the Provost and the Harvard School of Public Health with the participation of faculty from Harvard schools and affiliated hospitals. For more information, visit www.hhi.harvard.edu.