This 25-page guide is designed to provide FCDO staff and other interested parties with information about free online courses and materials they can use to develop or refresh their humanitarian technical competencies. This publication is a revised edition of this resource guide. The 2016 edition was developed for GSDRC as part of the DFID-funded PEAKS…» more
Disability in South Sudan
Decades of conflict in South Sudan, pre and post-independence in 2011, poverty and poor access to services have increased the rate of disability and rendered people with disabilities more marginalised and excluded as a result of the numerous attitudinal, environmental, and institutional barriers they face, and the lack of concerted efforts to include them. This rapid review ...» more
Assistive technologies in developing countries
Assistive technologies enable people to live healthy, productive, independent and dignified lives, yet most people who need them are currently unable to access them. This rapid review looks at examples of existing literature on the availability of assistive technologies and efforts to make these technologies more affordable and accessible in developing countries. ...» more
Disability in Somalia
People with disabilities have been identified as a particularly marginalised and at risk group within Somali society as a result of the numerous attitudinal, environmental, and institutional barriers they face, and the lack of concerted efforts to include them. This rapid review identifies available evidence on the experiences of people with disabilities living in Somalia. ...» more
Supporting and rebuilding agriculture in protracted crises
The agriculture sector holds great potential before, during and after crises such as conflict and disasters caused by natural hazards, to save lives and contribute to livelihoods, support rural households, and provide decent employment (Eynon, 2017, p. 2; Mayen, 2016, p. 2). This rapid review looks at recent available evidence on the impact of conflict, protracted crises, and ...» more
Waste management in situations of rapid, mass displacement
Solid waste and faecal sludge management in situations of rapid mass displacement are important to public health and providing for a better environment. Despite this, both have been neglected in WASH programmes, which tend to have a focus on water. However increasing efforts are being made to find solutions to challenges in solid waste and faecal sludge management in difficult ...» more
Flexibility in funding mechanisms to respond to shocks
In order to better and more rapidly respond to shocks such as sudden onset disasters, there have been increasing efforts to build flexibility into humanitarian or development funding arrangements, as current emergency responses are often slow to arrive and/or unresponsive to forecasts of disasters (Start Network, 2017; Rüth et al, 2017, p. 2). This rapid reviews looks at ...» more
Conflict and gender dynamics in Yemen
The current conflict in Yemen, which began in 2015, has resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe. As of March 2017, 18.8 million people are in need of humanitarian support, and 10.3 million are in acute need (Sikurajapathy and Al-Fotih, 2017). Women, men, boys and girls have been affected in different ways by the conflict. This rapid reviews looks at the impact of the conflict ...» more
Gender and conflict in Ukraine
The conflicts in eastern and southern Ukraine constitute a significant humanitarian crisis for the country and the region, with at least 1.7 million internally displaced persons, two-thirds of whom are women (UNOCHA 2016, p. 7; UNHCR 2015, p. 5) and approximately 1.5 million people seeking asylum or other forms of legal stay in neighbouring countries (UNHCR 2016, p. 7). Women ...» more
Civil society organisations supporting accountability in cash transfer programmes
This five day rapid review looks at the experiences globally of civil society organisations providing or supporting accountability mechanisms in cash transfer programmes. Bhargava and Raha’s (2015: 12) review of civil society engagement with cash transfer programme accountability found only few studies, suggesting to them that there is a significant knowledge gap. A mixture of ...» more
CSOs supporting accountability in cash transfer programmes
Cash transfer programmes, like most social protection programmes, are vulnerable to fraud, errors, corruption and misuse of funds, which undermine their achievements. Civil society organisations (CSOs) have supported, or provided, accountability mechanisms in countries around the world: working to improve transparency to help citizens hold authorities accountable; checking ...» more
Civil society organisations and accountability in cash transfer programmes
Cash transfer programmes, like most social protection programmes, are vulnerable to fraud, errors, corruption and misuse of funds, which undermine their achievements1 (Perron, 2012: 1; Bhargava and Raha, 2015: vi). Effective mechanisms for transparency, accountability and participation help minimise those in need being wrongfully excluded from programme rolls; discourages ...» more
Sustainable livelihoods in Ugandan refugee settings
Uganda has hosted refugees from neighbouring conflict-affect countries for several decades. Some research suggests that self-employed refugees are somewhat more successful than employed refugees, but there is little concrete evidence from Uganda that current refugee livelihood strategies are successfully fostering self-reliance and sustainable solutions. Most of the available ...» more
Piracy in the Horn of Africa, West Africa and the Strait of Malacca
What factors are discouraging or encouraging piracy in the Horn of Africa, West Africa and the Strait of Malacca? This report finds that a combination of factors in each of the regions have affected levels of piracy, at different times and depending on the type of piracy. For example, these factors may differ for subsistence pirates (largely gangs made up of part-timers who are ...» more
Humanitarian learning resource guide
This 12-page guide is designed to provide DFID staff and other interested parties with information about free online courses and materials they can use to develop or refresh their humanitarian technical competencies. It is not an exhaustive list, but provides a starting point for those working to support DFID’s humanitarian objectives. Further resources may be…» more
Humanitarian contingency plans for military operations
The majority of the literature seems to focus on humanitarian contingency planning for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and other older cases such as Kosovo. It is difficult to identify what pre-planning may or may not have been undertaken, as political sensitivities and the tendency for military secrecy around large-scale military operations means that few specific details are ...» more
Transitional shelter in post-disaster contexts
Literature on approaches to transitional shelter in post-natural disaster contexts reflects the variety of different approaches and definitions, which complicate understandings of transitional shelter and lessons learned. There are three main approaches to transitional shelter, all of which incorporate disaster risk reduction measures to reduce household ...» more
Poverty and inequality
This topic guide introduces key readings and debates on poverty and inequality. It covers measurement and analysis, trends and projections, and understanding and addressing extreme poverty and inequality. ...» more
Humanitarian response in middle-income countries
The literature uncovered by this rapid review indicates that there is very little evidence available about the way in which humanitarian response is carried out in middle income countries in comparison to low income contexts (or an amalgamation of the two). Where there have been evaluations of humanitarian response in middle income countries, they have not really focused on ...» more
Women and girls in forced and protracted displacement
There is general consensus in this grey and academic literature on the vulnerabilities faced by women and girls in forced and protracted displacement, although less is known about the opportunities they may have and the long-term impacts. Much of the recent evidence available focuses on displaced populations in Europe and countries neighbouring Syria. There is more of a focus ...» more
