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This paper addresses the complexity of studying the coloniality of humanitarianism and present-day relationships of power and authority in refugee settings. Building on 13 months of fieldwork, it presents an ethnographic account of the 2018 refugee corruption scandal in Uganda and the Nakivale Refugee Settlement. The core of this paper's argument is based on a grounded analysis of how 'the saga' not only exposed corruptive practices in the country's refugee programme, but also the meanings of being 'human' and what this implies for making claims to humanitarian authority. The paper asserts that the way in which the scandal unravelled in the (inter)national media, and how it affected sociopolitical tensions in the camp, revealed a deeply fraught conception of both human and humanitarian duality, embedded in a coloniality of power. Ultimately, power imbalances, frictions, and conflicts between national, international, and refugee actors highlighted a deep-rooted and historical struggle for humanity and legitimate humanitarian authority.
ABSTRACT
With the emergence of an early psychiatry around 1800, a number of questions arose on dealing with a group of persons whose "alien", irritating and disruptive behavior was considered to be a phenomenon of being sick. In the context of the growing importance of human rights, the term humanitarianism attained a high relevance as the reference for early psychiatrists. Based on historical sources it is shown that despite a multitude of psychiatric beliefs on humanitarianism the established psychiatric practice was dominated by patriarchal order regimes up to the first decade of the twentieth century, later superimposed by the challenges of somatophysiological and experimental research as well as perceptions of biological racism. The associated new ethical questions were partially addressed within psychiatry but did not prevent an increase in the assessment of the mentally ill as "inferior".
Subject(s)
Ethics, Medical , Psychiatry , Psychiatry/history , Psychiatry/ethics , History, 19th Century , Germany , Ethics, Medical/history , Humans , History, 20th Century , Mental Disorders/history , Mental Disorders/therapy , AltruismABSTRACT
The humanitarian motivation of medical support from the three Scandinavian countries during the Korean War cannot be doubted, but the countries also had to be politically sensitive during this period. The fact that these countries only dispatched medical support, and that the team was not only for military purpose but also intended to help the civilians is a different point from the U.S. military medical support, which distinguished military medical support that is the U.S. Eighth Army, from the civilian treatment and relief, which is the UNCACK. In addition, medical support activities from the Scandinavian countries were bound to be flexible depending on the rapidly changing trend of war, active regions, and their support methods. At a time when the battle was fierce and the number of wounded soldiers increased, they had no choice but to concentrate on treating wounded soldiers, whether in Busan or Incheon. However, even while treating these wounded soldiers, they tried to treat and rescue civilians around the base area whenever they had chance. It is easily imaginable that in the urgent situation of war, the nature of medical support cannot be clearly divided into military or civilian if there is only one team that is operating. It is clear, however, that the common humanitarian purpose of rescuing and treating civilians affected the establishment of the National Medical Center in Seoul after the war. The Scandinavians had indeed remained even after the end of the war in to provide full support of establishing modern medical system in Korea. This suggests that modern Korean medical or public health system did not start to be developed in the 1960s like some researchers argue, but started a few years earlier during the time of the war with the support from the countries world-wide.
Subject(s)
Korean War , Military Medicine , Humans , Warfare , Hospitals , Korea , United NationsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Humanitarian organisations commonly identify neglect as a specific form of harm from which children should be protected. However, lack of debate about the aetiology of child neglect has left intact a tendency to assume that it is due to a failure of caregivers. Obscured by this assumption are the role of the humanitarian system in supporting or, indeed, undermining the efforts of primary caregivers. OBJECTIVE: To bring together insights from the literature on child neglect in humanitarian settings with findings from empirical research in the Middle East. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Fieldwork involved 38 'peer researchers' from five refugee communities: Sudanese, Somali, Iraqi, Syrian (in Jordan) and Palestinian (in Gaza). These researchers undertook enquiry with a total of around 300 people across their respective communities. METHODS: RESULTS: Fieldwork revealed neglect in three distinct areas: educational participation, access to healthcare, and physical safety. This neglect can be related to the humanitarian system, (including humanitarian agencies, host government, donors, etc.), that is both directly neglectful and undermining of caregivers' efforts. CONCLUSION: Caregivers in our study illustrated the impossibility of exercising constant vigilance over children within conditions of extreme social and economic marginalisation. Thoroughgoing debate about child neglect is needed to address this situation and ensure that caregivers receive adequate support to meet their children's needs. Such support should be offered in a manner that upholds the dignity of displaced people - adults and children alike.
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Child Abuse , Refugees , Adult , Child , Humans , Jordan , Arabs , Middle East , Child Abuse/prevention & control , Delivery of Health CareABSTRACT
This paper introduces the notion of 'humanitarian ignorance' to address growing concern regarding non-knowledge, as datafication becomes a central instrument and ambition of the humanitarian sector. With the turn to digital humanitarianism, contemporary humanitarian action increasingly relies on technology-driven quantification to expand the ability to collect, analyse, and present information. Utilising datafication processes, humanitarian organisations seek to assess 'risk' and mitigate 'uncertainty' more efficiently. Although central to their knowledge management and decision-making in low information circumstances, the conceptual notions of 'risk' and 'uncertainty' are inadequate to capture the full spectrum of non-knowledge in a time of digital humanitarianism. We introduce 'humanitarian ignorance' here to challenge the assumption that datafication allows humanitarian organisations to make fully informed, delimited, and thus 'better' decisions. Ultimately, we accentuate the paradox that while datafication is thought to reduce risk and uncertainty in humanitarian affairs by suggesting higher levels of control, insight, and certainty, these efforts in fact open new expanses of ignorance and unknowns.
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Altruism , Humans , UncertaintyABSTRACT
There has been growing awareness in recent years of the wide-ranging negative impacts that counter-terrorism measures and sanctions impose on humanitarian action. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with the staff of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), this paper examines these impacts on INGOs based in the United Kingdom. This is a context where a particularly complex array of laws, policies, and regulatory regimes have emerged alongside an increasingly hostile political and media setting for INGOs, creating an environment characterised by uncertainty. The paper shows that counter-terrorism measures and sanctions are leading INGOs to adopt more conservative approaches to partnership in areas controlled by proscribed groups, undermining broader commitments to the localisation agenda. The analysis reveals that perceptions of risk within INGOs vary considerably, but that despite this, INGOs have developed strategies to reduce the impacts of counter-terrorism measures, which over time, have led to improved coordination, and in some instances, a willingness to push back against regulations.
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Organizations , Terrorism , Humans , United Kingdom , PolicyABSTRACT
This paper evaluates global health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic through the 'two regimes of global health' framework. This framework juxtaposes global health security, which contains the threat of emerging diseases to wealthy states, with humanitarian biomedicine, which emphasises neglected diseases and equitable access to treatments. To what extent did the security/access divide characterise the response to COVID-19? Did global health frames evolve during the pandemic?Analysis focused on public statements from the World Health Organization (WHO), the humanitarian nonprofit Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Following a content analysis of 486 documents released in the first two years of the pandemic, the research yielded three findings. First, the CDC and MSF affirmed the framework; they exemplified the security/access divide, with the CDC containing threats to Americans and MSF addressing the plight of vulnerable populations. Second, surprisingly, despite its reputation as a central actor in global health security, the WHO articulated both regime priorities and, third, after the initial outbreak, it began to favour humanitarianism. For the WHO, security remained, but was reconfigured: instead of traditional security, global human health security was emphasised - collective wellbeing was rooted in access and equity.
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COVID-19 , Global Health , Humans , Pandemics , COVID-19/epidemiology , World Health Organization , Disease Outbreaks/prevention & controlABSTRACT
Over the last one hundred years, humanitarian agencies have considered children primarily through the lens of vulnerability. Advocacy for attention to children's agency and for their participation has burgeoned since the 1980s without shifting the powerful hold that assumptions of vulnerability have had over the policy and practices of humanitarians. This article seeks to denaturalise the conceptualisation of children in contexts of emergency as primarily vulnerable (would-be) victims, placing it in historical and geopolitical contexts. It offers a critical analysis of both conventional humanitarian thinking about vulnerability per se and the reasons for its continued invocation in settings of displacement and political violence. Drawing upon examples from the Mau Mau rebellion against British colonial rule in 1950s Kenya, and current humanitarian response to the situation of Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation, this article relates the continued dominance of the vulnerability paradigm to the pursuit of self-interest by elites and the survival strategies of humanitarian agencies. It pays particular attention to the uses to which mental health thinking and programming is put in what may be called the 'politics of pathologisation'.
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Altruism , Vulnerable Populations , Child , Humans , Politics , ViolenceABSTRACT
Faith actors have become increasingly significant in the field of global mental health, through their inclusion in the delivery of psychosocial support in humanitarian settings. This inclusion remains empirically underexplored. We explore historical and contemporary activities of local faith actors in responding to mental disquiet in northern Uganda. Given pre-existing roles, we question what it means when humanitarians draw on faith actors to deliver mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in conflict-affected settings. We argue for a recognition of faith actors as agents operating within a therapeutic marketplace, which on occasion links suffering to social inequality and exclusion. We show, moreover, that the formal inclusion of Christian actors within MHPSS may not equate to the enforcement of rights-based values at the core of international ideas of protection.
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Christianity , Mental Health , Humans , UgandaABSTRACT
Contributions on localisation often focus on interactions between local organisations and the international community, with limited attention paid to dynamics within the locally-led part of the response. The humanitarian operation in non-government-held areas of Syria is considered a key example of localisation, in which the health sector has assumed a leading role. Drawing on fieldwork among Syrian medical-humanitarian organisations conducted in southern Turkey in 2017, this paper offers a view from below on the localisation debate. It provides a nuanced perspective on 'the local', showcasing how localisation is interpreted and expressed among Syrian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) themselves, and in their interaction with each other. The paper shows how most organisations have moved to a hybrid model that emphasises their local and international character, resisting simplistic classifications. However, despite the sometimes strategic nature of its invocation, localisation does not lose its relevance as a lived experience, especially for local field staff.
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Government , Humans , Syria , TurkeyABSTRACT
Red doctor’s culture is a precious spiritual wealth formed in the medical and health practice of the Central Soviet Area during a specific historical period. With the development of society and the changes of the times, the red doctor’s culture has been endowed with new connotation. Western Fujian was the earliest place to provide medical support for the revolutionary army, the birthplace of the Republic’s health service, and made great contributions to the victory of the Chinese revolution. The cultural resources of red doctor’s in western Fujian are abundant, and it is one of the important lineages of the red culture in western Fujian, with its unique historical value. At present, there are many problems in promoting the red doctor’s culture. Actively exploring and researching specific paths and methods to promote the red doctor’s culture is of great significance and value for giving full play to the connotation of the red doctor’s culture in the new era, promoting its value leading role at various levels of society, and passing down the spirit and culture of red doctor’s.
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Introduction: On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Republic of Haiti. The human cost was enormous-an estimated 316,000 people were killed, and a further 300,000 were injured. The scope of the disaster was matched by the scope of the response, which remains the largest multinational humanitarian response to date. An extensive scoping review of the relevant literature was undertaken, to identify studies that discussed the civilian and military disaster relief efforts. The aim was to highlight the key-lessons learned, that can be applied to future disaster response practise. Methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidance was followed. Seven scientific databases were searched, using consistent search terms-followed by an analysis of the existent Haitian literature. This process was supplemented by reviewing available grey literature. A total of 2,671 articles were reviewed, 106 of which were included in the study. In-depth analysis was structured, by aligning data to 12 key-domains, whilst also considering cross-sector interaction (Civilian-Civilian, Military-Military, and Civilian-Military). Dominant themes and lessons learned were identified and recorded in an online spreadsheet by an international research team. This study focuses on explicitly analysing the medical aspects of the humanitarian response. Results: An unpreceded collaborative effort between non-governmental organisations, international militaries, and local stakeholders, led to a substantial number of disaster victims receiving life and limb-saving care. However, the response was not faultless. Relief efforts were complicated by large influxes of inexperienced actors, inadequate preliminary needs assessments, a lack of pre-existing policy regarding conduct and inter-agency collaboration, and limited consideration of post-disaster redevelopment during initial planning. Furthermore, one critical theme that bridged all aspects of the disaster response, was the failure of the international community to ensure Haitian involvement. Conclusions: No modern disaster has yet been as devastating as the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Given the ongoing climate crisis, as well as the risks posed by armed conflict-this will not remain the case indefinitely. This systematic analysis of the combined civilian and military disaster response, offers vital evidence for informing future medical relief efforts-and provides considerable opportunity to advance knowledge pertaining to disaster response.
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Disasters , Earthquakes , Relief Work , Humans , Haiti , Needs AssessmentABSTRACT
Abstract The aim of this article is to describe the bases and general aspects of the design and implementation process of the Comprehensive model for the humanization of health care of the Faculty of Medicine at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, which began to be developed in 2016 and is also being implemented at the Hospital Universitario Nacional (HUN). Through this model, the Humanizing Health Care Research Group of the Faculty of Medicine seeks to produce a cultural change, from a biopsychosocial approach, in the perception of the humanization of health care in the country, the training of health care professionals, the provision of health care, and the working conditions of health care personnel. The model is based on three axes: humanization of health care, focused on the patient, their family and caregivers; humanization of health sciences education processes, with an emphasis on students; and humanization of the quality of life and working conditions of health professionals. Likewise, the model considers humanistic education, music and sports as means to achieve such cultural change in the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Resumen El objetivo de este artículo fue describir las bases y generalidades del proceso de diseño e implemen-tación del Modelo de humanización integral en salud de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, el cual empezó a desarrollarse en 2016 y en la actualidad también se ha implementado en el Hospital Universitario Nacional (HUN). Con este modelo, el Grupo de Investigación en Humanización en Salud de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia busca generar un cambio cultural en la percepción de la humanización de la salud en el país, de la formación de los profesionales de la salud, de la prestación de atención en salud y de las condiciones laborales del personal de salud, a partir de una aproximación biopsicosocial. El modelo se fundamenta en tres ejes: la humanización en la atención en salud, enfocada en el paciente, la familia y los cuidadores; la humanización en los procesos de educación en ciencias de la salud, con énfasis en los estudiantes, y la humanización en la calidad de vida y las condiciones laborales de los profesionales de la salud. Asimismo, el modelo considera la formación humanística, la música y el deporte como medios para lograr dicho cambio cultural en la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
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This article traces the development of popular forms of anti-trafficking activism in the United States through a social network and discourse analysis that focuses on NGO websites, celebrity advocacy, merchandising, social media campaigns, and policy interventions. This "branded activism," as we describe it, plays an important role in legitimizing an emerging anti-trafficking consensus that increasingly shapes both US foreign policy and domestic policing, and is frequently driven by an anti-sex work politics. Popular anti-trafficking discourses, we find, build on melodramatic narratives of victims and (white) saviors, depoliticize the complex labor and migration issues at stake, reinforce capitalist logics, and enable policy interventions that produce harm for migrants, sex workers, and others ostensibly being "rescued." Celebrity and marketing-driven branded activism relies especially strongly on parallels drawn between histories of chattel slavery and what anti-trafficking campaigns call "modern-day slavery." We challenge these parallels, particularly as they encourage participants to see themselves as abolitionist saviors in ways that reinforce neo-liberal notions of empowerment rooted in communicative capitalist networks.
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Este filme se enfoca en parte de la historia de un médico según se expresa inicialmente en un escrito sobrepuesto Tal profesional es fundador de una clínica donde se aborda a los pacientes humanizada e integralmente. Aunque carece del carácter épico de otras producciones cinematográficas sobre médicos y Medicina, lo humanitario sobrevuela de manera constante a lo largo de la trama.Además, siendo una comedia romántica dramática no evita tratar algunos temas polémicos para el entonces vigente macartismo anticomunista.La susodicha humanización médica y este plus subyacente en una ficción apriorísticamente ligera estimuló y guio la redacción de este trabajo. (AU)
This film focuses on part of the story of a doctor as initially expressed in a superimposed writing. Such a professional is the founder of a clinic where patients are humanely and comprehensively approached. While lacking the epic character of other cinematographic productions on doctors and Medicine, the humanism constantly hovers throughout the plot.In addition, being a romantic and dramatic comedy, it does not avoid dealing some controversial issues for the then current anti-communist McCarthyism.The aforementioned medical humanization and this underlying plus in an a priori light fiction stimulated and guided the drafting of this paper. (AU)
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Humans , History, 20th Century , Physicians/history , Medicine in the Arts , AltruismABSTRACT
RESUMEN El objetivo del artículo es describir y analizar la trayectoria de vida y las contribuciones humanitarias del Dr. Zambrano, médico egresado de la Escuela de Medicina de San Fernando, quién fue presidente del Centro de Estudiantes de Medicina en una época políticamente álgida en la educación universitaria pública. Emigró a los Estados Unidos en 1970, bajo el contexto de crisis sociopolítica económica en el Perú y en el mundo, donde se convirtió en un renombrado médico internista y cardiólogo del St. Luke's Hospital. A pesar de su lejanía, mantuvo un lazo estrecho con el Perú organizando múltiples misiones médicas para el beneficio de poblaciones vulnerables, capacitación al personal médico e implementación tecnológica del Hospital Regional de Cajamarca. En 2011 se inauguró el Centro Médico Educativo en Chincha, siendo Zambrano uno de los líderes para su construcción. A pesar de padecer una enfermedad invalidante dedicó hasta los últimos días de su vida a brindar ayuda a los más necesitados. Su trayectoria de vida nos muestra un ejemplo de compromiso con el Perú y de un ejercicio de la medicina comprometida con la solidaridad y el desarrollo de la medicina en su país de origen.
ABSTRACT The objective of the article is to describe and analyze the life trajectory and the humanitarian contributions of Dr. Zambrano, a physician who graduated from San Fernando Medical school, and was president of the Center for Medical Students at a politically critical time in public university education. He emigrated to the United States in 1970, in the context of sociopolitical crisis in Peru and the world, where he became a renowned internist and cardiologist at St. Luke's Hospital. Despite the distance, he maintained a close relationship with Peru, organizing multiple medical missions for underserved populations, training medical personnel, and providing technological implementation to Cajamarca Regional Hospital. In 2011, the Educational Medical Center was inaugurated in Chincha, with Zambrano being one of the leaders for its construction. Despite suffering from a disabling illness, he dedicated until the last days of his life, providing help for those most in need. His life trajectory shows us an example of commitment to Peru and practice of Medicine committed to solidarity and the development of Medicine in his country of origin.
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In this article, we trace the interconnections between humanitarianism and militarism. We highlight the significance of a geographical perspective in emphasizing the spatial and multiscalar dimensions of this changing relationship, particularly in Western states. In doing so, we reveal the violent geographies produced through militarized humanitarianism and demonstrate the ways political violence can be obscured through invocations of humanitarianism. We look at five overlapping lines of enquiry: the way humanitarianism is used to modulate war; the rationalization of military intervention as humanitarian; military deployment in response to humanitarian crises; the military take-up of humanitarian-style practices; and weapons development and humanitarianism.
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Humanitarian events are increasing globally, both in number and intensity. In response, the international community spends approximately US$30 billion annually to alleviate both the immediate consequences of these climatic, geographic, and human-induced events but also to support mitigation and recovery. Over the past two decades, the humanitarian sector has increasingly professionalised. One under-studied aspect of this professionalisation is an increase in postgraduate studies in humanitarian action over the last 20 years. Despite this increase, there is no agreement on core curriculum or pedagogy across humanitarian studies courses. How do current Masters of Humanitarian Assistance (MHA) offerings converge and differ, and how can such courses further their contribution to the humanitarian endeavour? This paper surveys 26 anglophone courses offered in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and Nigeria, exploring key characteristics of course entry requirements, flexibility, research, practical components, and academic foci. It does not recommend what a core curriculum for humanitarian courses should be, but does argue that core curriculum for humanitarian courses should be identified by relevant and diverse stakeholders such as affected communities, humanitarian agencies, disaster management bodies, and governments, to ensure that courses in this field provide appropriate learning outcomes. The paper suggests how such a 'charter' may be developed.
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Different UN and international agencies are busy trying to leverage big data to unlock its value for evidence-based decision-making in development and humanitarian action. But many vulnerable people are invisible to the data infrastructure, while just integrating their data without understanding the consequences can make them even more vulnerable. This article unpacks the challenges presented by data science for development and humanitarianism.