Discuss three of the nine Sphere Core Humanitarian Standards
Table of Contents
Topic 6 DQ 2
Discuss three of the nine Sphere Core Humanitarian Standards. Identify the one that you think is most often neglected in the case of natural disasters or humanitarian emergencies, such as natural disasters, violence, war, and vulnerable human settlements. Discuss characteristics of humanitarian emergencies in your response. Share a real example of how these standards were (or were not) applied in a recent humanitarian crisis.
Sphere Core Humanitarian Standards in Humanitarian Emergencies
Q: What are three key Sphere Core Humanitarian Standards?
A: The Sphere Handbook outlines nine Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS). Three foundational ones include:
Standard 1 – Humanitarian Response is Appropriate and Relevant: Aid must be tailored to actual needs, context, and the diversity of affected populations (Sphere Association, 2018).
Standard 4 – Humanitarian Response is Based on Communication and Participation: Communities must be informed, consulted, and actively involved in decisions affecting them.
Standard 7 – Humanitarian Actors Continuously Learn and Improve: Organizations must reflect, adapt, and apply lessons from past responses to improve effectiveness.
Q: Which standard is most often neglected and why?
A: Standard 4 (Communication and Participation) is most consistently neglected. Humanitarian emergencies are characterized by extreme urgency, mass displacement, infrastructure collapse, and power imbalances—conditions that make meaningful community engagement difficult but not impossible (OCHA, 2020). In practice, speed-driven top-down delivery models sideline affected populations, especially women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. When communities are excluded from planning, aid becomes mismatched to actual needs, eroding trust and reducing effectiveness (Walker & Maxwell, 2009).
Q: What are key characteristics of humanitarian emergencies relevant to this standard?
A: Humanitarian emergencies—whether natural disasters (earthquakes, floods), conflict (war, violence), or vulnerable settlements (informal urban areas)—share traits that complicate participation: sudden onset, chaotic information environments, language/cultural barriers, trauma, and marginalized groups lacking voice. These conditions do not eliminate the obligation to communicate and consult; rather, they make it more essential (Sphere Association, 2018).
Q: What is a real-world example of this standard being neglected?
A: During the 2010 Haiti Earthquake response, despite massive international mobilization, affected communities reported being excluded from planning and receiving little information about aid distribution. A Disasters Emergency Committee review found that local actors and communities had minimal input, resulting in poorly located camps and inadequate services (Grünewald & Binder, 2010). This breach of Standard 4 contributed to prolonged displacement and cholera outbreaks exacerbated by poor site planning.
References
- Sphere Association. (2018). The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response (4th ed.).
- OCHA. (2020). Global Humanitarian Overview 2020. United Nations.
- Walker, P., & Maxwell, D. (2009). Shaping the Humanitarian World. Routledge.
- Grünewald, F., & Binder, A. (2010). Inter-agency real-time evaluation in Haiti. DARA/GPPi.
Topic 6 DQ 2
As the number of international migrants grows globally, the need for access to public health services continues to rise. This dilemma is causing a complex humanitarian issue to become a reality for many countries. Review the “World Health Organization’s Global Action Plan on Promoting the Health of Refugees and Migrants (2019-2023).” Discuss the roles and responsibilities of international organizations in providing health support for refugees and migrants. Compare these to the roles and responsibilities of governmental agencies. Why would a country benefit from being a member of an international organization when dealing with humanitarian crises? What role should the faith-based community fulfill when supporting the needs of the migrant community?
Health Support for Refugees and Migrants – Roles, Responsibilities & Partnerships
Q: What roles do international organizations play in refugee and migrant health?
A: The WHO’s Global Action Plan (GAP) 2019–2023 positions international organizations as architects of global health equity for migrants and refugees. Their core responsibilities include:
Setting normative frameworks and standards that member states adopt into domestic policy. The WHO coordinates with IOM, UNHCR, and ILO to ensure health systems are inclusive, culturally competent, and non-discriminatory (WHO, 2019).
Capacity building in host countries—training health workers, supplying data systems, and funding emergency health infrastructure, particularly in low-income nations disproportionately hosting displaced populations.
Advocacy and accountability, holding governments to international obligations under the International Health Regulations and Global Compact for Refugees (UN, 2018).
International organizations operate across borders without political constraints, enabling coordinated pandemic preparedness, disease surveillance, and cross-border data sharing that no single government can achieve alone.
Q: How do governmental responsibilities compare?
A: Governments are the primary duty-bearers at the point of service delivery. Their responsibilities include legislating health access rights, funding national health systems, integrating migrants into existing services, and enforcing non-discrimination policies.
However, governments face competing political pressures—public cost concerns, anti-immigration sentiment, and resource limitations—that international organizations do not. This creates a critical gap: international frameworks exist, but implementation depends on political will at the national level (Rechel et al., 2013). Governments are accountable to citizens, while international organizations are accountable to global mandates—a tension that frequently delays equitable health access for migrants.
Q: Why does membership in international organizations benefit countries during humanitarian crises?
A: Membership provides access to shared resources, technical expertise, and emergency funding unavailable to individual states. During the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO membership enabled coordinated vaccine distribution through COVAX, benefiting lower-income host nations managing large refugee populations (WHO, 2021).
Additionally, member states gain diplomatic legitimacy and burden-sharing mechanisms—reducing the disproportionate strain on frontline countries like Lebanon, Jordan, and Bangladesh. Collective frameworks also enable data harmonization, enabling evidence-based health policy that isolated governments cannot develop alone.
Q: What role should the faith-based community play in supporting migrant health needs?
A: Faith-based organizations (FBOs) are uniquely positioned as trusted community intermediaries. Because migrants often distrust governmental systems—fearing deportation or discrimination—faith communities provide a safe, culturally sensitive entry point to health services (Shediac-Rizkallah & Bone, 1998).
FBOs fulfill several critical functions: connecting migrants to health referrals, providing mental health support rooted in spiritual care, addressing social determinants of health (housing, food, language), and mobilizing volunteers for outreach. Organizations like Catholic Relief Services, World Vision, and Islamic Relief already operate health programs embedded in migrant communities globally.
However, FBOs must maintain non-discriminatory, rights-based approaches—serving all migrants regardless of faith, legal status, or background—and must coordinate with formal health systems rather than operate in isolation to avoid fragmented care.
References
- World Health Organization. (2019). Promoting the health of refugees and migrants: Global action plan 2019–2023. WHO Press.
- United Nations. (2018). Global Compact on Refugees. UNHCR.
- Rechel, B., Mladovsky, P., Ingleby, D., Mackenbach, J., & McKee, M. (2013). Migration and health in an increasingly diverse Europe. The Lancet, 381(9873), 1235–1245.
- WHO. (2021). COVAX: Ensuring global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. World Health Organization.
- Shediac-Rizkallah, M., & Bone, L. (1998). Planning for the sustainability of community-based health programs. Health Education Research, 13(1), 87–108.