Paper details
| Paper authors | Olivier Vandecasteele, Rafael Van den Bergh |
| In panel on | Humanitarian Aid Workers: Ethics, Altruism, and Best Practices |
| Paper presenter(s) will be presenting |
In-Person / |
Abstract
In an era marked by budgetary cuts, geopolitical instability, and escalating disregard for international humanitarian law, humanitarian actors are undergoing profound transformations. With traditional donors in the retreat and humanitarian organisations struggling to redefine their scope, the rhetorical commitment to "risk sharing" between international and local organisations increasingly functions as de facto risk transfer from international to local partners. The sectoral focus on localisation in fragile contexts and lip-service to “resilience” threatens to mask the abandonment of risk-bearing responsibilities by well-resourced actors, placing frontline humanitarian workers at elevated risk and exposing them to potentially severe mental and psychosocial consequences. Furthermore, national and local humanitarian aid workers may have particular challenges in accessing support options (such as psychosocial, mental, legal, or financial support).
Here, we present the pilot findings of an assessment by Protect Humanitarians aimed at strengthening support options among frontline humanitarian workers. This assessment maps the main constraints in offering support options at an organisational level, as well as the main barriers to accessing existing support options at the individual level. These findings will help shape the ongoing work of Protect Humanitarians on developing a Community of Practice dedicated to staff care and MHPSS, which aims to convene experts with international and national scope to share knowledge and good practices on Duty of Care and to serve as a hub for the sharing of tools and resources for the support of humanitarian workers in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
