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.

  

Crime Scene: Evidence of Mass Graves in Kadugli, Sudan

   

Images released by SSP show evidence of mass grave sites in South Kordofan, Sudan (Image by DigitalGlobe)

 

The Women in War Program holds Participatory Action  Research Conference in Goma, DRC 

The Women in War  program in collaboration with the Eastern  Congo Initiative (ECI)  held a training conference to launch a participatory action research project in Goma, DRC on the reintegration of former child soldiers. The project will continue over the next few months as research mentors work with local partner organizations to investigate how communities and individuals -both former combatants and civilians - are affected by the reintegration process.   

     

Listen to Jocelyn Kelly, the Director of the Women in War Program, discuss the unique vulnerabilities women face in conflict, including gender-based violence here.

    

HHI welcomes two new Faculty members

  

We are proud to announce the appointment of two new Faculty members to HHI.  Patrick Vinck, PhD and Phuong Pham, PhD will join HHI as Program Director - Vulnerable Populations and Director of Evaluation and Implementation Science, respectively. To read more about their background and expertise, please click here.

To learn more about their most recent research, please see their PeacebuildingData website here. 

  

Harvard graduate students report on the results of the HHI sponsored Health Assessment Survey of Idjwi, DRC

 

The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, through the Cogan Family Fund for Humanitarian Studies, sponsored a multi-disciplinary group of Harvard graduate students to conduct a comprehensive population-based health needs assessment of Idjwi island in 2010.  Idjwi is located in Lake Kivu and presents a unique research environment due to its close proximity to both Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, countries with complex histories of genocide and prolonged conflict. A report of the Key Findings of the 2010 Idjwi Island Health Assessment was recently released.  To read more analysis of the results by selected students, visit the HHI Student Research in Idjwi web page.  

 

       

The group on Idjwi Island conducting the survey. 

 

HHI Faculty member, Jennifer Chan, conducts an evaluation of Kenyan Organizations Using Ushahidi  

 

Dr. Chan has been working with Ushahidi and their user community to create a participatory evaluation framework for a long-term impact evaluation of select Kenyan NGOs using the Ushahidi platform.  The project is supported by the Knight Foundation and seeks to successfully create practical assessments and self-evaluation tools for the broader Ushahidi user community.  Ushahidi is a non-profit tech company that specializes in developing free and open source software for information collection, visualization and interactive mapping.  This month she will be traveling back to Nairobi, Kenya to launch the self-evaluative toolboxes she has created for Ushahidi and their user community.  For more information on these project activities, visit the project's series of blogs here: Ushahidi-Kenya Evaluation: First Steps,  Wrapping up Phase 1 of the Ushahidi-Kenya Evaluation, and Kenya Ushahidi Evaluation Phase 2.
For more information on HHI's Humanitarian Effectiveness projects click here.

 

HHI continues to work with Kyushu University in Japan on disaster response

 

The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative has a significant history of engagement with Japanese colleagues in the areas of emergency health and disaster systems development. In addition to the relief team to the disaster site, HHI's ongoing Program on Humanitarian Effectiveness works to develop emergency medical education and leadership and hospital-based disaster response. In collaboration with Takashi Nagata from Kyushu University, HHI conducted several key informant interviews and focus group discussions.  The focus group discussions were conducted in Kesenuma City shelters, and discussed evacuees experiences with disaster drills, the earthquake and tsunami itself (including  the evacuation), their experience in the shelters, and their concerns for the future, including livelihoods and permanent shelter.  Interviews were also conducted with city and government officials, disasters specialists, medical professionals providing care, and shelter coordinators. For more information on HHI's disaster relief response in Japan click here.
     

Urbanization and Emergencies Program Update: Human Security and Resilience in Complex Urban Landscapes

 

Rapid urbanization in the global South creates complex urban landscapes that are especially vulnerable to natural and man-made hazards. These vulnerabilities are exacerbated in conflict and transitional contexts, where urban violence, psychosocial health and gender-based violence may be especially acute. In order to further human security and mitigate risks, it is essential to identify and develop policies for strengthening resilience mechanisms utilized by marginalized communities. HHI's program on Urbanization and Emergencies is conducting the first phase of a project that involves an examination of human security and resilience in Distrito de Aguablanca (Cali, Colombia), a complex urban landscape with over 500,000 residents, a history of sociopolitical volatility, and a large population of internally displaced persons. It is being supported by the Feinstein International Center, the Leir Foundation at the Fletcher School, and the Institute for Global Leadership (Tufts University). For more information on Urbanization and Ermergencies projects at HHI,visit the program page.  

    

 

HHI Faculty member, Ronak Patel and HHI Fellow, Fredrick Burkle publish report on urban health

   

This report reviews the health concerns that arise with rapid urbanization and confront humanitarian organizations during acute emergencies.  The authors argue that one way forward is for humanitarian organizations to learn from existing grass-roots efforts. Read the full report here. 

 

 

  

HHI Fellow, Orly Stern co-edits book about the lives of women in South Sudan 

 

Orly Stern, a fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, is a human rights lawyer from South Africa. Stern recently co-edited Pain, Hope and Patience: The Lives of Women in South Sudan which is an edited collection of new research and analysis by a selection of Sudanese and non-Sudanese authors outlining the experiences and contributions of women to South Sudan's path to freedom. It is the first of its kind. By telling the stories of many brave women, the book highlights some of the tremendous challenges related to gender issues in South Sudan today.  It is hoped that this book and the stories it entails will contribute meaningfully to the creation of a policy framework that is in line with the vision of a democratic and peaceful South Sudan.  

  

HHI Faculty member, Hani Mowafi alongside Amnesty International publishes a report on protests in Bahrain.

  

Inspired by the popular protests in Egypt and Tunisia, demonstrations in favour of democratic reform began in Bahrain, on February 14, 2011. Hani Mowafi from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative worked alongside Amnesty International to piece together the events. An account of the protests and their aftermath has now been published by Amnesty International. Read the news report here.

  

HHI Fellow, Eric James, helping launch an emergency response in Somalia

  

Eric James, a HHI Fellow and the Director of Program Development and Emergencies at the American Refugee Committee, has recently returned from a trip to Somalia helping launch an emergency response focusing on health, relief items, water and sanitation and activities specifically for children in Somalia. James has been mentioned in both the New York Times and  BBC regarding his work. Read an excerpt describing his experience here.