For months in early 1980, scientists, journalists and ordinary people listened anxiously to rumblings in the long quiescent volcano Mount St. Helens. Still, when a massive explosion took the top off the mountain, no one was prepared. Fifty-seven people died and the lives of many others were changed forever. Steve Olson interweaves history, science and vivid personal stories to portray the disaster as a multi-faceted turning point. Powerful economic, political and historical forces influenced who died when the volcano erupted. The eruption of Mount St. Helens transformed volcanic science, the study of environmental resilience and our perceptions of how to survive on an increasingly dangerous planet.

For the last twenty years, Dr Hawa Abdi and her daughters have run a refugee camp on their family farm not far from Mogadishu which has grown to shelter 90,000 displaced Somalis: men, women, and children in urgent need of medical attention. As Islamist militia groups have been battling for control of the country creating one of the most dire human rights crises in the world, Dr. Abdi's camp is a beacon of hope for the Somalis, most of whom have no proper access to health care. She was recently held hostage by a militant groups who threatened her life and told her that because she's a woman she has no right to run the camp. She refused to leave. This is not just the story of a woman doctor in a war torn Islamic country risking her life daily to minister to thousands of desperate people, it's also an inspiring story of a divorced woman and her two daughters, bound together on a mission to rehabilitate a country.

Social protection is fast becoming a key theme in development policy. This book, now in paperback, examines the political processes shaping social protection policies; compares key conceptual frameworks available for analysis; and provides a comparative discussion on social protection policies focused on the poor and poorest.

The Australian aid program faces a fundamental dilemma: how, in the absence of deep popular support, should it generate the political legitimacy required to safeguard its budget and administering institution? Australia's Foreign Aid Dilemma tells the story of the actors who have grappled with this question over 40 years. It draws on extensive interviews and archival material to uncover how 'court politics' shapes both aid policy and administration. The lesson for scholars and practitioners is that any holistic understanding of the development enterprise must account for the complex relationship between the aid program of individual governments and the domestic political and bureaucratic contexts in which it is embedded. If the way funding is administered shapes development outcomes, then understanding the 'court politics' of aid matters. This comprehensive text will be of considerable interest to scholars and students of politics and foreign policy as well as development professionals in Australia and across the world.

At the end of the twentieth century, academics and policymakers welcomed a trend toward fiscal and political decentralization as part of a potential solution for slow economic growth and poor performance by insulated, unaccountable governments. For the last two decades, researchers have been trying to answer a series of vexing questions about the political economy of multi-layered governance. Much of the best recent research on decentralization has come from close collaborations between university researchers and international aid institutions. As the volume and quality of this collaborative research have increased in recent decades, the time has come to review the lessons from this literature and apply them to debates about future programming. In this volume, the contributors place this research in the broader history of engagement between aid institutions and academics, particularly in the area of decentralized governance, and outline the challenges and opportunities to link evidence and policy action.

Since 2006, specialists, doctors, psychologists, and therapists of Parzival-Zentrum Karlsruhe have taken part in emergency education crisis interventions, carried out by the organization Friends of Friends of Waldorf Education. They work with psychologically traumatized children and young people in war zones and disaster areas, including Lebanon, China, the Gaza Strip, Indonesia, Haiti, Kyrgyzstan, and most recently in Japan following the tsunami there and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Bernd Ruf, who heads these operations, describes in his book in various ways the basics of anthroposophically extended "emergency education," including the anthroposophic understanding of trauma itself. In addition, he describes processes and experiences, focusing on recent experiences in Japan at the center of his descriptions. Educating Traumatized Children offers much-needed insight into this little-known area of education and healing for traumatized children and young people. This book will be valuable not only for those working in areas of disaster and armed conflict, but also for any teacher or parent who is teaching or caring for a traumatized child.

A host of natural and man-made disasters have plagued the world in the twenty-first century, many with significant global impact. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the Indian Ocean tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina all affected broad regions with devastating results. The need for better emergency management policies, procedures, and cooperation among nations is evident. Bringing together contributions from a cadre of international experts, Comparative Emergency Management: Examining Global and Regional Responses to Disasters demonstrates ways to recognize and reduce regional infrastructure vulnerability by building secure networks of collaboration within different geographical areas of the world. Explores issues on all continents With discrete sections on the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim, the book presents the work of researchers and practitioners who examine ways different societies have responded to environmental threats using innovative methods to cope with their vulnerabilities to disaster. Topics discussed include: A game approach that has been used as an effective tool in the communication of disaster risk information in the Caribbean Efforts to rebuild tourism in New Orleans despite the challenges presented by media coverage of Hurricane Katrina Faith-based organization (FBO) humanitarian assistance in the Muslim world Nongovernmental and community-based responses to the Asian tsunami and the Sumatran earthquake The book presents a multifaceted study that aims to foster dialogue among policymakers to reduce social vulnerability and build local and regional capacities to withstand environmental assaults. Encouraging creative thinking, it offers ideas and solutions that have been successful in a range of environments worldwide. The authoritative scholarship presented combines interdisciplinary studies that will be valuable to a broad range of fields and professionals.

Terror by Rail is the compelling true story of a major catastrophic event: the Amtrak 188 accident on May 12, 2015. After the accident, Lynn's journey and passion for answers caused her to ask questions about train safety and the bigger global issues that are challenges of the rail. A must read for anyone who travels, lives, or works near a rail system, Lynn's Terror by Rail is a wakeup call. As the phrase goes: See Something Say Something, and Lynn is doing just that! A born connector as a recruiter, puts the puzzle pieces together, and readers are blown away by what could have been the headline for that day had the story gone just 50 feet differently. This story of a single mom's heartbreaking journey through hell and back will give everyone facing challenges in their life a bit of hope that nothing is permanent, and it is possible to come through the pain to the other side.

This new volume, Disaster Recovery: Community-Based Psychosocial Support in the Aftermath, provides a wealth of realistic and applicable information for addressing mental health related issues resulting from disasters. It will provide readers with both a theoretical and practical look at community-based psychosocial support and community consultation from an interdisciplinary perspective. The last thirty years have brought to the fore the importance of psychosocial support as an integrator and cross-cutting theme in disaster response. The need for a timely volume on this topic at this time is based on recent world efforts to include the topic within the disaster risk reduction framework. In this volume, the authors share their practical knowledge about development of community-based psychosocial support based on the hundred of thousands of people in fourteen countries and three continents who provided an immense amount of knowledge about psychosocial support through their participation in programs. These programs helped to lead the way in sharing the strategies and tools presented in here. This book uses case study methodology and practical examples to share how communities can come together, care for themselves, and use their social capital and problem-solving skills to survive and thrive. The information in the book will aid in the development of program offerings for mental health and psychosocial support in disasters and humanitarian emergencies. The final section will provide the components of a proposal for external work and a chapter on monitoring and evaluation. The book will include case studies to help illustrate the content. Edited by Dr. Joseph O. Prewitt Diaz, a 2008 recipient of the American Psychological Association's International Humanitarian Award, the book is based on his extensive experience and existing research in the field. The information provided here will be helpful to those working in or teaching on disaster management and support, including professors and instructors, students in social work and psychology, government and non-government agencies personnel in the field in places where emerging conflicts are occurring, and many others.

The tragic death in Baghdad in 2003 of Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, brought into bitter relief the challenges faced by peacekeepers and humanitarian aid workers. The contributors to this book, all leading scholars and practitioners, offer invaluable perspectives on many of the most important political, legal, social, and military challenges confronting humanitarian aid in a world of terror and conflict. These original essays explore such topics as human rights and the rights of the displaced, working with local communities to rebuild viable governance, justice, and the rule of law, and maintaining safe spaces for humanitarian relief programs in zones of conflict.The contributors are: Kevin M. Cahill, Joseph McShane, S.J., Sadako Ogata, Irene Khan, Francis Deng, Mark Malloch Brown, Ghassan Salame, Roland Eng, Jan Egeland, Peter Hansen, David Rieff, Jacques Forster, Dennis McNamara, David Owen, Richard Goldstone, Sasha Tharoor, and Jan Eliasson.

From international NGOs to UN agencies, from donors to observers of humanitarianism, opinion is unanimous: in a context of the alleged "clash of civilizations," our "humanitarian space" is shrinking. Put another way, the freedom of action and of speech of humanitarians is being eroded due to the radicalisation of conflicts and the reaffirmation of state sovereignty over aid actors and policies.
The purpose of this book is to challenge this assumption through an analysis of the events that have marked MSF's history since 2003 (when MSF published its first general work on humanitarian action and its relationships with governments). It addresses the evolution of humanitarian goals, the resistance to these goals and the political arrangements that overcame this resistance (or that failed to do so). The contributors seek to analyse the political transactions and balances of power and interests that allow aid activities to move forward, but that are usually masked by the lofty rhetoric of "humanitarian principles." They focus on one key question: what is an acceptable compromise for MSF?
This book seeks to puncture a number of the myths that have grown up over the forty years since MSF was founded and describes in detail how the ideals of humanitarian principles and "humanitarian space" operating in conflict zones are in reality illusory. How, in fact, it is the grubby negotiations with varying parties, each of whom have their own vested interests, that may allow organisations such as MSF to operate in a given crisis situation - or not.

Early Warning Systems: From Surveillance to Risk Assessment to Action Ted R. Gurr and Barbara Harff Initial Response to Complex Emergencies and Natural Disasters Ed Tsui Evidence-Based Health Assessment Process in Complex Emergencies Frederick M. Burkle, Jr., M.D. Concern Worldwide's Approach to Water and Sanitation and Shelter Needs in Emergencies Tom Arnold Internal Displacement: A Challenge of Peace, Security, and Nationbuilding Francis M. Deng Protection Strategies in Humanitarian Interventions Gerald R. Martone Issues of Power and Gender in Complex Emergencies Judy A. Benjamin Clinical Aspects of Malnutrition Kevin M. Cahill, M.D. Military-NGO Interaction Timothy Cross An Introduction to NGO Field Security Randolph Martin Resolutions, Mandates, Aims, Missions, and Exit Strategies Larry Hollingworth The Transition from Conflict to Peace Richard Ryscavage, S.J.

Many communities in the United States have been abandoned by the state. What happens when natural disasters add to their misery? This book looks at the broken relationship between the federal government and civil society in times of crises. Mutual aid has gained renewed importance in providing relief when hurricanes, floods and pandemics hit, as cuts to state spending put significant strain on communities struggling to survive. Harking back to the self-organised welfare programmes of the Black Panther Party, radical social movements from Occupy to Black Lives Matter are building autonomous aid networks within and against the state. However, as the federal responsibility for relief is lifted, mutual aid faces a profound dilemma: do ordinary people become complicit in their own exploitation? Reframing disaster relief through the lens of social reproduction, Peer Illner tracks the shifts in American emergency aid, from the economic crises of the 1970s to the Covid-19 pandemic, raising difficult questions about mutual aid's double-edged role in cuts to social spending. As sea levels rise, climate change worsens and new pandemics sweep the globe, Illner's analysis of the interrelations between the state, the market and grassroots initiatives will prove indispensable.

The achievements and challenges of the world's largest multilateral donor population programs In the thirty years since the United Nations Population Fund was founded, overall population growth rates have slowed, infant and maternal mortality have been reduced, and women have achieved improved access to reproductive health services. Yet, a multitude of problems remain, including the aging of Western European populations and the growth of others in the Third World, the impact of AIDS, and increases in migration and refugees. An Agenda for People examines the past achievements as well as the current and future challenges of the world's largest multilateral donor population programs. Through essays by experts in the field of development, this book tackles a series of probing questions. How has the Fund evolved and built global support? How have the major international conferences on population and environments shaped the global population agenda? What is the relationship between reproductive rights and human rights? What are the links between population and resource use and abuse? And how does the Fund help to integrate impoverished populations into national development strategies? This book provides an invaluable assessment of the state of world population programs and a fascinating look into the future of community development. Contributors include Tevia Abrams, John Caldwell, Sylvie Cohen, Rebecca Cook, Mahmoud Fathalla, Noeleen heyzer, Don Hinrichsen, Stafford Mousky, Mohammad Nizamuddin, Fred Sai, Sara Sems, Steven W. Sinding, Jyoti Shankar Singh, and Bradman Weerakoon.

This new updated and extended edition of First World, Third World examines the failures of aid to eliminate poverty. The world development effort can claim only limited success, and in some parts of the world, especially Africa, failure must be recognised. William Ryrie, while starting from a position of sympathy with the aims of the aid effort, insists that the record must be analysed with ruthless honesty. Well-intentioned aid has often had perverse and harmful effects. One of these has been to undermine the working of the market economy, which offers the best hope for development and growth. His book proposes a new approach to the development task which would reconcile it with market philosophies.

"Bureaucratizing the Good Samaritan" is about the organization of refugee relief programs. It describes the practical, political, and moral assumptions of the "international refugee relief regime." Tony Waters emphasizes that the agencies delivering humanitarian relief are embedded in rationalized bureaucracies whose values are determined by their institutional frameworks. The demand for "victims" is observed in the close relation between the interests of the popular press and the decisions made by bureaucracies.This presents a paradox in all humanitarian relief organizations, but perhaps no more so than in the Rwanda Relief Operations (1994-96) which ended in the largest mass forced repatriation since the end of World War II. This crisis is analyzed with an assumption that there is a basic contradiction between the demands of the bureaucratized organization and the need of relief agencies to generate the emotional publicity to sustain the interest of northern donors. The book concludes by noting that if refugee relief programs are to become more effective, the connection between the press's emotional demands for "victims" and the bureaucratic organizations's decision processes need to be identified and reassessed.

For over 150 years, the Red Cross has brought succour to the world's needy, from sick and wounded soldiers on the battlefield, to political detainees, to those suffering the effects of natural disasters. The world's oldest and most preeminent humanitarian movement, the relevance and status of the Red Cross Movement today is as high as it has ever been. Reimagining and re-evaluating the Red Cross as a global institutional network, this volume charts the rise of the Red Cross and analyses the emergence of humanitarianism through a series of turning points, practices and myths. The contributors explore the three unique elements that make up the Red Cross Movement: the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent formerly known as the League of Red Cross Societies (both based in Geneva) and the 192 national societies. With chapters by leading scholars and researchers from Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and America, the book offers a timely account of this unique, complex and contested organisation. -- .

There are two distinct contemporary challenges to the relief of war-induced human suffering--one within the institutions that make up the international humanitarian system, the other on the ground in war zones. Varied interests, resources, and organizational structures within institutions hamper the effectiveness of efforts on behalf of war victims. And at the same time, on the ground, there are ethical, legal, and operational challenges and dilemmas that require actors continually to choose a course of action with associated necessary evils. Humanitarian challenges and intervention concerns within the international humanitarian system--combined with the domestic context of armed conflicts--often yield policies that do not serve the immediate requirements of victims for relief, protection of rights, stabilization, and reconstruction. Based on compelling, up-to-date case studies of the post-Cold War experience in Central America, northern Iraq, Somalia, the former Yugoslavia, and the African Great Lakes, the authors Thomas G. Weiss and Cindy Collins make recommendations for a more effective international humanitarian system.

In the last decade the use of non-governmental agencies (NGOs) to promote development and reduce poverty and hunger has become a major feature of development policy. Donors have poured funds into NGOs, governments have allocated them major responsibilities and their number and size has grown. Has this popularity helped them to solve the problems of poverty or has it changed them so that they are now part of the 'development industry' that they used to criticize?;This book provides the most detailed study available of the ways in which NGO-State-Donor relationships have changed the role that NGOs play in development. Its papers are introduced by two international experts on the topic and the contributors are leading academics and senior practitioners. The picture that emerges from the general reviews and detailed case studies of African, Asian and Latin American NGOs, is a complex one. However, the authors conclude that there is much evidence that NGOs are 'losing their roots' - getting closer to donors and governments and more distant to the poor and disempowered who they seek to assist.

When the United Nations sanctions a humanitarian relief operation, how can the numerous and diverse UN, Non-Governmental Organizations and military elements be coordinated? What are the practical, political and institutional considerations and impediments? What can be learned from previous experience? This is a volume of practitioner perspectives: the views of distinguished individuals from all of the concerned professions, including former Special Representatives of the Secretary-General and Force Commanders, as well as senior UN officials and representatives of the NGO community.

Everybody is aware of the tragedies and accidents which have taken place within schools and colleges that have hit the headlines in the last few years. This training manual will help schools and colleges develop procedures that will prevent disasters from occurring and promote a safer environment both for the teaching staff and for the student. By giving background information on how schools which have suffered disaster have coped, this books helps senior management teams to provide training in disaster management. It also provides plans and policies that can be used and adapted by colleagues.

The U.S.-led intervention in Somalia that began in December 1992 is the most significant instance to date of "peacemaking" by the international community. The heady promise of Operation Restore Hope and the subsequent disappointments have had a resounding impact on the policies of Western governments and the UN as they have tried to cope with humanitarian emergencies in Rwanda, Bosnia, and elsewhere. However, it is questionable how correct the lessons so quickly derived from the Somalia experience actually were. At the same time, many important organizational and operational innovations during the Somalia exercise have not received sufficient attention. Learning from Somalia is therefore critical if the international community is to respond better to tragedies that threaten millions of human lives.Contributors to this book, many of whom are policymakers who were either in Mogadishu or Washington during the relief missions, examine the intervention in Somalia and draw lessons for future peacekeeping operations. They analyze many aspects of peacemaking that are not well understood, including efforts to rebuild the police force, the dynamics of the economy, the relationship between the military and nongovernmental organizations, and the performance of European armies. The book also discusses international politics surrounding the crisis, especially the relationship between the United States and the UN and the legal justifications for intervention. The concluding chapters discuss the prospects for intervention efforts in light of the Somalia experience.

Dambisa Moyo's Dead Aid reveals why millions are actually poorer because of aid, unable to escape corruption and reduced, in the West's eyes, to a childlike state of beggary. We all want to help. Over the past fifty years $1 trillion of development aid has flowed from Western governments to Africa, with rock stars and actors campaigning for more. But this has not helped Africa. It has ruined it. Dead Aid shows us another way. Using hard evidence to illustrate her case, Moyo shows how, with access to capital and with the right policies, even the poorest nations can turn themselves around. First we must destroy the myth that aid works - and make charity history. 'Articulate, self-confident and angry ... this book marks a turning point' Spectator 'A damning assessment of the failures of sixty years of western development' Financial Times 'Kicks over the traditional piety that Western aid benefits the third world' Sunday Herald Books of the Year 'Dambisa Moyo makes a compelling case for a new approach' Kofi Annan 'This reader was left wanting a lot more Moyo, a lot less Bono' Niall Ferguson Dambisa Moyo worked at Goldman Sachs for eight years, having previously worked for the World Bank as a consultant. Moyo completed a PhD in Economics at Oxford University, and holds a Masters from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. Her other books include Winner Take All and How the West was Lost. She was born and raised in Lusaka, Zambia.

Adventures in the Aid Trade takes us on a fascinating journey through 40 years of work at the coalface of international development. Drawing on his experiences from long periods in the field, the author reflects on what has worked, what has not and why, and considers how these experiences relate to students and practitioners today. Looking beyond high-level policy matters and international relations, this book focuses instead on the author's actual experiences in the field and the inspired local people he encountered. The narrative traces how these people, working through their own organisations, make a difference to the lives of their contemporaries, and learn how to generate the income to do it. Chapters draw on the author's experiences of working with local practitioners from 40 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, South, South East and Central Asia, and the South Pacific. Peppered with lively stories and anecdotes, Adventures in the Aid Trade provides valuable lessons from the shifting aid landscape and reflects on where the industry is likely to go next. Whether you are a current development practitioner or a student just starting out in your understanding of the development and humanitarian sectors, this book provides an invaluable snapshot of the world of civil society organisations, governance and the voluntary sector, and the lived lives of ordinary people in extraordinary times.

Examines the economic impact of aid, but not in the sense that it questions the relevance of this objective, or tries to measure whether aid works or not. The focus of this book is on the evaluation process itself. Can aid evaluation be improved in order to increase the effectiveness of aid?