Introduction Anyone who has ever participated in training knows the feeling: it’s been an interesting couple of days but, as the session comes to an end, you are already mentally trawling through the list of neglected tasks awaiting you at the office. There is rarely time to pause and reflect on what you’ve learned, let… Read more »
Country: Afghanistan
Saving lives and saved lives: why women matter in humanitarian crises
We know that humanitarian crises are times of turmoil when structures, systems and socio-cultural norms can be transformed for the benefit of all persons: for equity, equality of rights and justice. Feminists working in humanitarian settings continue to be told that gender can only be considered following the immediate response because the first focus must… Read more »
Advancing access to education for girls and women in humanitarian emergencies: critical insights into community engagement in Afghanistan
Over the last 15 years, girls have gone from being forbidden from enrolling in school to representing 39% of learners in Afghanistan’s basic education system.However, significant challenges in girls’ education remain: an estimated 3.7 million children are out of school – 60% of whom are girls. Only 37% of female youth and 19% of adult… Read more »
Voices rising: how two call centres are elevating the accountability conversation in complex crises
The Iraq IDP Information Centre (Iraq IIC) and Awaaz Afghanistan (Awaaz) – implemented by UNOPS on behalf of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and funded by a range of UN and international donors – were established to fill a well-documented gap in community engagement in the humanitarian response in Iraq and Afghanistan. Using toll-free call… Read more »
Responding to trauma during conflict: a case study of gender-based violence and traditional story-telling in Afghanistan
The collapse of the health system during the Taliban regime means that Afghans rely overwhelmingly on health services provided as part of the humanitarian response. The focus is on addressing the physical effects of conflict and violence, rather than the mental health effects of trauma. The World Health Organisation (WHO) Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan 2017… Read more »
Piloting urban responses to long-term displacement in Afghanistan
Conflict has been a key driver of displacement in Afghanistan for more than 35 years. By the end of 2016, there were more than 1.5 million displaced people in the country. In recent years, displacement dynamics have evolved in response to rapid urbanisation, intensifying conflict, resulting in increased rural–urban movement, and regional political changes, which… Read more »
Protection in peril: 2016 in review
During 2015, the global news cycle was overwhelmingly devoted to the influx of migrants and refugees into Europe via the Mediterranean. But 2016 was different. This was the year when the world’s attention turned to the West. Humanitarian crises in the Middle East and Africa were transformed, in both Europe and the United States, into… Read more »
Tug of war: ethical decision-making to enable humanitarian access in high-risk environments
This Network Paper seeks to contribute to solutions to an important and vexing problem: how can humanitarian organisations help people caught up in conflicts, when these conflicts make it dangerous for aid workers to operate safely? Many humanitarian staff and organisations believe that being ethical and principled is the best, most proven way to protect… Read more »
Innovating for access: the role of technology in monitoring aid in highly insecure environments
Operating in insecure environments is one of the more critical tests for the humanitarian community. Access constraints, uncertainty, attacks and aid diversion make these unlikely settings for innovation. Yet several new approaches come from highly insecure environments. In these settings, technologies like mobile phones, radios, Internet platforms and GPS trackers are sometimes the only way… Read more »