For over 55 years, the United States has played a leading role in global efforts to alleviate hunger and malnutrition and to enhance world food security through international food aid activities. The development and implementation of a U.S. global food security initiative, and commitments made by global leaders to support agricultural development, have increased Congress's focus on U.S. international food aid programs. The primary objectives for foreign food aid include providing emergency and humanitarian assistance in response to natural or man-made disasters, and promoting agricultural development and food security. The United States provides food aid for emergency food relief and to support development projects. This book examines the programs, donors, and world food program controls in support of international food aid currently being enacted to deal with this global crisis.

Over the years, Congress has authorised and the federal government has administered programs to provide food to the hungry and to other vulnerable populations in the United States. This book provides an overview of hunger and food insecurity along with the related network of programs. Evaluating trends in hunger and in our nation is crucial to understanding if the efforts to prevent hunger are working and in recognizing if there are particular vulnerable populations that need assistance.

The Robert T Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) authorises the President to issue major disaster or emergency declarations in response to catastrophes in the United States that overwhelm state and local governments. This book examines concerns expressed by policymakers and experts that current Stafford Act declarations are inadequate to respond to, and recover from, and presents the arguments for and against amending the act to add a catastrophic declaration amendment.

The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 exposed the severe consequences of breakdowns in emergency communications used by first responders. Failures in emergency communications resulted in numerous lost lives and exacerbated already challenging situations. These past events have increased focus on the need to enhance emergency communications to respond more effectively to future catastrophic disasters. Effective response to catastrophic disasters will require that first responders - law enforcement personnel, fire-fighters, and others first on the scene - have reliable communication systems, including supporting infrastructure, facilities and staff. This book focuses on the issues and vulnerabilities to emergency communications systems, the federal assistance available and other challenges with these efforts.

Today, 426 million children are growing up in war zones. Since 1919 Save the Children has been protecting and promoting the well-being of children in more than 110 countries. For its 100th anniversary, this global, large and independent children's rights organisation is teaming with the Swiss photojournalist Dominik Nahr to present the stories of 10 children and a 'baby of hope', all of whom survived the wars of the past century. This touching illustrated volume tells of their fates, of everyday life in war, of escape and persecution, but also how they found hope and their own paths, despite the adversity they faced. Guest authors: Anne-Sophie Mutter, Ingo Zamperoni, Jon Swain, Anne Watts, Margrethe Vestager, Ban Ki-moon, Professor Wole Soyinka, Mayte Carrasco, Marcel Mettelsiefen, Ulrike C. Tscharre, Amir Hassan Cheheltan, Dr. Gerd Muller

Is China a rogue donor, as some media pundits suggest? Or is China helping the developing world pave a pathway out of poverty, as the Chinese claim? In the last few years, China's aid program has leapt out of the shadows. Media reports about huge aid packages, support for pariah regimes, regiments of Chinese labor, and the ruthless exploitation of workers and natural resources in some of the poorest countries in the world sparked fierce debates. These debates, however, took place with very few hard facts. China's tradition of secrecy about its aid fueled rumors and speculation, making it difficult to gauge the risks and opportunities provided by China's growing embrace.
This well-timed book, by one of the world's leading experts, provides the first comprehensive account of China's aid and economic cooperation overseas. Deborah Brautigam tackles the myths and realities, explaining what the Chinese are doing, how they do it, how much aid they give, and how it all fits into their "going global" strategy. Drawing on three decades of experience in China and Africa, and hundreds of interviews in Africa, China, Europe and the U.S., Brautigam shines new light on a topic of great interest.
China has ended poverty for hundreds of millions of its own citizens. Will Chinese engagement benefit Africa? Using hard data and a series of vivid stories ranging across agriculture, industry, natural resources, and governance, Brautigam's fascinating book provides an answer. It is essential reading for anyone concerned with China's rise, and what it might mean for the challenge of ending poverty in Africa.

This volume of The Official History of Australian Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Post-Cold War Operations recounts the activities of Australia's military forces in response to overseas natural disasters. The military's involvement in overseas emergency management is focused primarily on the period immediately after disaster strikes: transporting relief supplies, providing medical assistance, restoring basic services and communications and other logistical support. Beginning with the 1917-18 influenza epidemic that ravaged the Pacific and culminating with the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, this book covers Australia's response to some of the most catastrophic natural events of the twentieth century. In their Time of Need is richly detailed, as Steven Bullard weaves together official government records and archival images with the personal narratives and photographs of those who served. This volume is an authoritative and compelling history of Australia's efforts to help their neighbours.

"Funding Civil Society addresses an important and under-researched issue: the development of civil society in Russia and the impact that Western assistance has had on this development. This book is especially important in identifying variations in regions based on political environment, and is at the cutting edge of scholarship."--Sarah E. Mendelson, Senior Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies, coeditor of The Power and Limits of NGOs: A Critical Look at Building Democracy in Eastern Europe and Eurasia
"Building on several scholars' previous studies of the foreign aid/civic organizing nexus, Sundstrom contributes theoretical insights about the relationship between foreign assistance and local political opportunity structure. Her extensive research shows how the intersection of these variables affects the strength of civic activism. This is an excellent book, and it will be welcomed by the scholarly and donor communities alike."--Valerie Sperling, Clark University

Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp is one of the world's largest, home to over 100,000 people drawn from across east and central Africa. Though notionally still a 'temporary' camp, it has become a permanent urban space in all but name with businesses, schools, a hospital and its own court system. Such places, Bram J. Jansen argues, should be recognised as 'accidental cities', a unique form of urbanization that has so far been overlooked by scholars. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, Jansen's book explores the dynamics of everyday life in such accidental cities. The result is a holistic socio-economic picture, moving beyond the conventional view of such spaces as transitory and desolate to demonstrate how their inhabitants can develop a permanent society and a distinctive identity. Crucially, the book offers important insights into one of the greatest challenges facing humanitarian and international development workers: how we might develop more effective strategies for managing refugee camps in the global South and beyond. An original take on African urbanism, Kakuma Refugee Camp will appeal to practitioners and academics across the social sciences interested in social and economic issues increasingly at the heart of contemporary development.

Spanning six decades from the formation of the Save the Children Fund in 1919 to humanitarian interventions during the Vietnam War, The Humanitarians maps the national and international humanitarian efforts undertaken by Australians on behalf of child refugees. In this longitudinal study, Joy Damousi explores the shifting forms of humanitarian activity related to war refugee children over the twentieth century, from child sponsorship, the establishment of orphanages, fundraising, to aid and development schemes and campaigns for inter-country adoption. Framed by conceptualisations of the history of emotions, and the limits and possibilities afforded by empathy and compassion, she considers the vital role of women and includes studies of unknown, but significant, women humanitarian workers and their often-traumatic experience of international humanitarian work. Through an examination of the intersection between racial politics and war refugees, Damousi advances our understanding of humanitarianism over the twentieth century as a deeply racialised and multi-layered practice.

At the global level, international actors have repeatedly expressed their desire to end hunger and food insecurity. However, food insecurity has persisted. More analysis is hence needed on the link between continuously high levels of global food insecurity and the ever increasing flow of development aid. Global Food Security and Development Aid investigates the impact that development aid has had on food security in developing countries and includes international case studies on Peru, Ethiopia, India and Vietnam. It examines the effect of development aid in general and the impact of aid divided into different categories based on donor, mechanism and sector to which it is provided. In each examined relationship between aid and food security, particular attention is paid to the potentially intervening role played by the quality of national and/or local governance. The book makes policy recommendations, most importantly that donors should take greater care in considering which types of aid are suitable to which specific countries, localities, and development goals, and account for expected developments in the complex relationship between aid, food security, and governance. This book will be of considerable interest to students, researchers and policy-makers in the areas of development aid and food security.

If a state carries out or sanctions atrocities on a mass scale within its borders, is there an international right, or even duty, to intervene in support of the victims? Or does this notion undermine state sovereignty at the expense of weaker states? These are key questions in the debate on humanitarian intervention, which has become increasingly polarised in the twenty-first century. Many now view this as little more than a rationale for Western neo-imperialism, while others uphold it as a crusade for liberal democracy and individual rights.This book seeks to establish an alternative position. It critiques current international policies by examining their impact on developing and transitional countries, and it also argues that military interventions have had limited success in building sustainable peace. But it endorses the notion of a 'responsibility to protect', suggesting that a more progressive future would be possible if this were interpreted radically and combined with an enlarged conception of 'humanitarianism' that addressed issues of global inequality and poverty.This work will have particular resonance for those who have opposed recent Anglo-American policy, but have simultaneously believed that 'something must be done' to save those threatened with genocide or other atrocities. Drawing on a range of disciplines and offering a distinct approach, it is aimed at all those who wish to understand a complex issue of contemporary importance. It will be particularly useful for students of international relations, contemporary history, peace and conflict studies, international law, politics, and development studies, and those working in NGOs.

At approximately 8:45 a.m. on 6 December 1917, the Belgian Relief vessel IMO struck the munitions-laden freighter Mont-Blanc in Halifax Harbour. The Mont-Blanc exploded in a devastating 2.9 kiloton blast, which killed 2,000 people and injured 9,000. More than 6,000 people were made homeless, and an additional 12,000 were left without shelter. Bearing Witness tells the story of the Explosion, and the catastrophic damage it caused, through the eyes and words of more than two dozen journalists and record keepers who experienced it first hand. Their accounts reveal a unique perspective, offering new detail about the tragedy and providing insight into the individuals who struggled to articulate the magnitude of the shocking event to the rest of the world. In addition to the original work by journalists and record keepers, Michael Dupuis provides over 30 photographs and illustrations, several previously unseen, and a detailed timeline of journalistic activities from the time of the Explosion on December 6 to December 16.

The Syrian war has been an example of the abuse and insufficient delivery of humanitarian assistance. According to international practice, humanitarian aid should be channelled through a state government that bears a particular responsibility for its population. Yet in Syria, the bulk of relief went through Damascus while the regime caused the vast majority of civilian deaths. Should the UN have severed its cooperation with the government and neglected its humanitarian duty to help all people in need? Decision-makers face these tough policy dilemmas, and often the "neutrality trap" snaps shut. This book discusses the political and moral considerations of how to respond to a brutal and complex crisis while adhering to international law and practice. The author, a scholar and senior diplomat involved in the UN peace talks in Geneva, draws from first-hand diplomatic, practitioner and UN sources. He sheds light on the UN's credibility crisis and the wider implications for the development of international humanitarian and human rights law. This includes covering the key questions asked by Western diplomats, NGOs and international organizations, such as: Why did the UN not confront the Syrian government more boldly? Was it not only legally correct but also morally justifiable to deliver humanitarian aid to regime areas where rockets were launched and warplanes started? Why was it so difficult to render cross-border aid possible where it was badly needed? The meticulous account of current international practice is both insightful and disturbing. It tackles the painful lessons learnt and provides recommendations for future challenges where politics fails and humanitarians fill the moral void.

This inspiring book looks at the theory and practice of China's foreign aid in Africa, especially in the area of healthcare in Uganda. It provides insights into how recipient countries and regions are selected, and describes in detail how the men and women working in the frontlines deliver aid. Information from past research, participant observations, interviews and other fieldwork are brought together to form a comprehensive picture of how Chinese development aid for health to Uganda has evolved over three decades, how it is carried out now, and the significance of such milestones as the building of the China-Uganda Friendship Hospital. The author also compares and contrasts China's foreign aid with that from other countries.

""A much needed, eminently readable, concise and practical textbook ... New issues on humanitarian reform, non-communicable diseases, equity, corruption, and the role of military and private security firms are only some of the topics that have not been included in previous text books on this subject. I highly recommend this book for students and practitioners who wish to learn about the subject or simply update themselves on the latest developments in the field of conflict and public health."
Paul Spiegel, Deputy Director of the Division of Programme Support and Management at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Switzerland

"These are the most difficult environments to program in; physically, emotionally, politically and morally. Providing public health support and assistance here demands courage, rigor, a commitment to professionalism and an obsession with evidence. This book provides just such a foundation, equipping the student and practitioner to better understand the nature of conflict, the theory and practice of humanitarian assistance and the possibilities for recovery after conflict. It is destined to become an obligatory text for all humanitarian professionals."
Dr. Peter Walker, Irwin H. Rosenberg Professor of Nutrition and Human Security, Tufts University, USA

"This book is a unique and valuable addition to the study of the health consequences of conflict. In a concise and easy-to-read format, it provides the reader with a clear overview of a broad range of potentially complex issues, including context, policy, health interventions, field management, and post-conflict reconstruction. Few other texts have tackled the theory and practice of humanitarian health as effectively and succinctly."
Richard Brennan, Director of Emergency Risk Management and Humanitarian Response, World Health Organization"

Part of the popular "Understanding Public Health" series, this book provides an introductory overview of current health-related challenges and policy debates on appropriate responses to different humanitarian conflicts. Written by experts, it explores the context of conflict and health, the interventions used in humanitarian crises and post-conflict resolution issues.

The book is packed with international case studies and real life examples, which will assist healthcare professionals and students to: Explain the political, economic and social factors contributing to conflict Interpret the effects of conflict on health Consider context-sensitive interventions for acute and chronic healthcare delivery and security Describe key issues in the transition from relief to rehabilitation, health systems strengthening, and post-conflict recovery Knowledge of humanitarian principles, actors and methods is integral to effective action at policy and field levels in conflict-affected settings. This timely book will provide the ideal starting point.

"Understanding Public Health" is an innovative series published by Open University Press in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Series Editors: Rosalind Plowman and Nicki Thorogood.

"Contributors Fiona Campbell, Steve Commins, Sophia Craig, Nadine Ezard, Michelle Gayer, Peter Giesen, Andre Griekspoor, Rukhsana Haider, Michiel Hofman, Mazeda Hossain, Natasha Howard, Chris Lewis, Adrianna Murphy, James Pallet, Valerie Parcival, Preeti Patel, Paul Sender, Egbert Sondorp, Jean-Francois Trani, Peter Ventevogel and Annemarie ter Veen."

A response to the pressing need to address and clarify the substantial ambiguity within current literature, this edited volume aims to deepen readers' understanding of the impact of foreign aid on development outcomes based on the latest findings in research over the past decade. Foreign aid has long been seen as one of two extremes: either beneficial or damaging, a blessing or a curse. Consequently, many readers perceive aid's effectiveness based on the work of scholars who are assessing the impact of aid from one of two antithetical perspectives. This book takes a different approach, shedding light on recent research that can deepen our understanding of the complex relationship between aid and its aftereffects. Drawing from an extensive set of studies that have explored micro and macro impacts of foreign aid for recipient nations, chapter authors highlight more layered and nuanced findings, with a focus on donor characteristics, political motives, and an evaluation of aid projects and their effectiveness, including the differential impact based on type of aid. This volume is the first of its kind to unpack aid as a complex rather than a unitary concept and explore the wide areas of grey that have long enshrouded foreign aid.

Disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity across the world, causing significant destruction to individuals and communities. Yet many social workers are ill-prepared for the demands of this field of practice. This book discusses the role of social workers in disaster work, including in disaster-preparedness, during the disaster and in post-disaster practice. It addresses the complexities of social work disaster practice, noting the need for social workers to understand the language of trauma and to respond effectively. The authors discuss disaster theory and practice, drawing out elements of practice at macro-, meso- and micro-levels and at various stages of the disaster. They examine the factors that shape vulnerability in disasters and draw out the possibility of post-traumatic growth. The final section discusses strategies for self-care in disaster practice, noting the organisational and personal strategies that can be adopted to facilitate the wellbeing of workers in the field. With real-life case studies from top scholars in the field, this book is essential reading for social work practitioners working in the field of disaster practice, as well as social work students and academics. It will also be useful to other health professionals who wish to understand this field of practice.

This book provides a historical account of the NGO CARE as one of the largest humanitarian NGOs worldwide from 1945 to 1980. Readers interested in international relations and humanitarian hunger prevention are provided with fascinating insights into the economic and business related aspects of Western non-governmental politics, fundraising and philanthropic giving in this field. Not only does the book contributes to ongoing research about the rise of NGOs in the international realm, it also offers very rich empirical material on the political implications of private and governmental international aid in a world marked by the order of the Cold War, decolonialization processes and the struggle of so called "Third World Countries" to catch up with modern Western consumer societies. This book is relevant to both United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 1, No poverty and 2, Zero hunger -- .

A mass fatalities response goes far beyond returning the remains of a loved one to surviving family members. Those charged with this grim but critical responsibility will find themselves immersed in multiple tasks involving diverse individuals, organizations, and priorities. Mass Fatalities: Managing the Community Response examines multiple complex issues while providing practical guidance to communities and responders as they plan for, respond to, and recover from a mass fatalities incident. This book explores the immense array of tasks such as: Managing resources and personnel Protecting a potential crime scene Conducting a comprehensive search and recovery of the remains Identifying and returning the remains and personal effects Ensuring family members of the deceased are treated with compassion, dignity, and respect Making sure responders have the proper tools to complete their responsibilities Providing family members, responders, and the impacted community the necessary support to cope with the physical, spiritual, and emotional stressors of a mass fatalities incident The book explains in detail the functions performed at the mass fatalities operational sites, including the Disaster Site, Victim Identification Center, Family Assistance Center, and Staff Processing Center. It provides organizational charts with job descriptions detailing the roles and responsibilities for an effective leadership team and describes the management of the disaster site, presenting step-by-step procedures for search and recovery. The book also discusses the registration, initial interview, and Notification of Death for family members at the Family Assistance Center and covers best practices for the Victim Identification Center operations. Throughout, chapters emphasize the need for mental health services-exploring the essential elements of providing effective and compassionate support to surviving family members (including children), to responders and their families, and to the community. An increase in catastrophic disasters in recent years has highlighted the need for sound guidance outlining the protocol for handling these events. Mass Fatalities: Managing the Community Response is an indispensable resource for this formidable task. Peter Teahen discusses the book in a video on the CRC Press YouTube channel.

How should the international community react when a government transgresses humanitarian norms and violates the human rights of its own nationals? And where does the responsibility lie to protect people from such acts of violation? In this profound study, Fabian Klose unites a team of leading scholars to investigate some of the most complex and controversial debates regarding the legitimacy of protecting humanitarian norms and universal human rights by non-violent and violent means. Charting the development of humanitarian intervention from its origins in the nineteenth century through to the present day, the book surveys the philosophical and legal rationales of enforcing humanitarian norms by military means, and how attitudes to military intervention on humanitarian grounds have changed over the course of three centuries. Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, the authors lend a fresh perspective to contemporary dilemmas using case studies from Europe, the United States, Africa and Asia.

In 2010, Haiti was ravaged by a brutal earthquake that affected the lives of millions. The call to assist those in need was heard around the globe. Yet two years later humanitarian efforts led by governments and NGOs have largely failed. Resources are not reaching the needy due to bureaucratic red tape, and many assets have been squandered. How can efforts intended to help the suffering fail so badly? In this timely and provocative book, Christopher J. Coyne uses the economic way of thinking to explain why this and other humanitarian efforts that intend to do good end up doing nothing or causing harm.
In addition to Haiti, Coyne considers a wide range of interventions. He explains why the U.S. government was ineffective following Hurricane Katrina, why the international humanitarian push to remove Muammar Gaddafi in Libya may very well end up causing more problems than prosperity, and why decades of efforts to respond to crises and foster development around the world have resulted in repeated failures.
In place of the dominant approach to state-led humanitarian action, this book offers a bold alternative, focused on establishing an environment of economic freedom. If we are willing to experiment with aid--asking questions about how to foster development as a process of societal discovery, or how else we might engage the private sector, for instance--we increase the range of alternatives to help people and empower them to improve their communities. Anyone concerned with and dedicated to alleviating human suffering in the short term or for the long haul, from policymakers and activists to scholars, will find this book to be an insightful and provocative reframing of humanitarian action.

This volume presents an academic proposal, developed by a joint research group of leading scholars in the social and natural sciences from universities affected by global-scale mega disasters occurring in Asia in recent decades. These include Kobe University, which experienced the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake; Tohoku University and Iwate University, both at the center of post-disaster reconstruction following the 2011 East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami; Syiah Kuala University in Aceh, Indonesia, which was hard-hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; and Sichuan University, which took a leading role in post-disaster recovery following the 2004 Sichuan Earthquake. Presenting a comparative analysis focused on lessons learned from the recovery phase following the East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the book addresses in detail the questions of what should be done to enable truly community-based town planning, and what roles should be played by universities in order to achieve those goals.