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Radio: A Key Humanitarian Response Tool

Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (ELRHA) (2021), 2 pp.

"This study, undertaken during the COVID-19 outbreak in Burkina Faso, found that radio enabled sharing of rapid, relevant, and reliable information, even during COVID-19 and a deteriorating security situation. Radio can be considered and deployed in emergency context as an urgent response tool. Huma ... more

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The Dominica Information Ecosystem Assessment (IEA): How the Flow of Information Impacts Disaster Preparedness and Response

Internews (2021), 75 pp.

"Generally, Dominicans have access to the information that they need to make informed decisions, especially as it relates to disaster preparation and response. Despite having timely access to disaster-related information, however, some persons continue to act complacent and either fail or refuse to ... more

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Utilizing telecommunications / information and communication technologies for disaster risk reduction and management. Study period 2018-2021

Geneva: ITU (2021), xii, 162 pp.

[...] Early-warning systems play a crucial role in informing people about impending disasters and should therefore be deployed in disaster-prone areas. Effective information transmission and dissemination are important before, during and after a disaster. A workshop on early-warning systems held dur ... more

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From Digital Promise to Frontline Practice: New and Emerging Technologies in Humanitarian Action

Leonie Arendt-Cassetta

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) (2021), 65 pp.

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Assessment of Communication, Community Engagement, and Accountability in Colombia and Recommendations for Response-Wide Synergy

David Alejandro Schoeller-Diaz, Sayuri Raigoza Rivera

CDAC Network (2021), 32 pp.

"The report documents the status of response-wide Communication, Community Engagement and Accountability towards Affected Populations (CCEA) in Colombia and provides recommendations for a strengthened and more inclusive response. The report explores the operating environment, what works well and wha ... more

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Multihazard Multisectoral Risk Communication Framework for Pakistan

Washington, DC: World Bank; Government of Pakistan, Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination (2021), 26 pp.

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Humanitarian Connectivity Needs and Usage Assessment: A Toolkit to Support in Assessing the Current and Potential Use of Mobile Technology and Connectivity in Humanitarian Crises

London: GSMA (2021), 14 pp.

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Information Sharing Protocol: Somalia

Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG); Somalia Information Management and Assessment Working Group (IMAWG) (2021), 12 pp.

"This Information Sharing Protocol (ISP) is designed to support data responsibility in Somalia. Data responsibility in humanitarian action is the safe, ethical and effective management of personal and non-personal data for operational response, in accordance with established frameworks for personal ... more

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COVID-19 Discourse on Twitter in Four Asian Countries: Case Study of Risk Communication

Sungkyu Park, Sungwon Han, Kim, Jeongwook, Majid Molaie et al.

Journal of Medical Internet Research, volume 23, issue 3: e23272 (2021), 17 pp.

"COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has led to a global pandemic. The World Health Organization has also declared an infodemic (ie, a plethora of information regarding COVID-19 containing both false and accurate information circulated on the internet). Hence, it has become critical to test the veracity ... more

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Plans nationaux pour les télécommunications d’urgence: Catalyseurs et garanties. Guide succinct d'évaluation à l’intention des spécialistes des politiques publiques

Ken Okong'o

London: GSMA (2021), 16 pp.

"Ce guide a pour but d'aider à identifier les lacunes, les opportunités et les faiblesses du système afin de guider la définition d’une stratégie nationale plus cohérente et de positionner la téléphonie mobile comme appui aux activités de préparation, de réponse et de relèvement en cas ... more

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Data Responsibility Toolkit: A Guide for Cash and Voucher Practitioners

Linda Raftree, Anna Kondakhchyan

Cash Learning Partnership (CaLP) (2021), 45 pp.

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The 10 Most Under-Reported Humanitarian Crises of 2020

Care International (2021), 25 pp.

"The analysis is based on online media coverage in five languages throughout the year. CARE sees a concerning trend of crises being neglected year after year. Six out of the ten crises are located on the African continent. The Central African Republic has appeared in the ranking for five consecutive ... more

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Explicability of Humanitarian AI: A Matter of Principles

Giulio Coppi, Moreno Jimenez Rebeca, Sofia Kyriazi

Journal of International Humanitarian Action, volume 6, issue 19 (2021), 22 pp.

"In the debate on how to improve efficiencies in the humanitarian sector and better meet people’s needs, the argument for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making (ADMs) systems has gained significant traction and ignited controversy for its ethical and human rights-re ... lated implications. Setting aside the implications of introducing unmanned and automated systems in warfare, we focus instead on the impact of the adoption of AI-based ADMs in humanitarian response. In order to maintain the status and protection conferred by the humanitarian mandate, aid organizations are called to abide by a broad set of rules condensed in the humanitarian principles and notably the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. But how do these principles operate when decision-making is automated? This article opens with an overview of AI and ADMs in the humanitarian sector, with special attention to the concept of algorithmic opacity. It then explores the transformative potential of these systems on the complex power dynamics between humanitarians, principled assistance, and affected communities during acute crises. Our research confirms that the existing flaws in accountability and epistemic processes can be also found in the mathematical and statistical formulas and in the algorithms used for automation, artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and other efficiency-gaining-related processes. In doing so, our analysis highlights the potential harm to people resulting from algorithmic opacity, either through removal or obfuscation of the causal connection between triggering events and humanitarian services through the so-called black box effect (algorithms are often described as black boxes, as their complexity and technical opacity hide and obfuscate their inner workings (Diakopoulos, Tow Center for Digital Journ, 2017). Recognizing the need for a humanitarian ethics dimension in the analysis of automation, AI, and ADMs used in humanitarian action, we endorse the concept of “explicability” as developed within the ethical framework of machine learning and humancomputer interaction, together with a set of proxy metrics. Finally, we stress the need for developing auditable standards, as well as transparent guidelines and frameworks to rein in the risks of what has been defined as humanitarian experimentation (Sandvik, Jacobsen, and McDonald, Int. Rev. Red Cross 99(904), 319–344, 2017). This article concludes that accountability mechanisms for AI-based systems and ADMs used to respond to the needs of populations in situation of vulnerability should be an essential feature by default, in order to preserve the respect of the do no harm principle even in the digital dimension of aid. In conclusion, while we confirm existing concerns related to the adoption of AI-based systems and ADMs in humanitarian action, we also advocate for a roadmap towards humanitarian AI for the sector and introduce a tentative ethics framework as basis for future research." (Abstract) more

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Training Module on Social & Behaviour Change Communication in Context of Disaster Risk Reduction

Manoj Kumar Bindal, Shalini Prasad et al.

New Delhi: National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) (2021), ix, 157 pp.

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Improving the Response to COVID-19: Lessons from the Humanitarian Sector Around Communication, Community Engagement and Participation

Philip Tamminga

CDAC Network (2020), 22 pp.

"Lesson one: Put people and principles at the centre of COVID-19 decision-making, not politics. Lesson two: Reframe discussions about responsibility in a pandemic so that those who are considered vulnerable are a priority rather than an afterthought. Lesson three: Prepare ways to share sophisticated ... more

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A Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Framework for Humanitarian Innovation Programmes

London: GSMA (2020), 18 pp.

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Women, ICT and Emergency Telecommunications: Opportunities and Constraints

Geneva: ITU (2020), x, 80 pp.

"In the 1991 cyclones that hit Bangladesh, 90 per cent of the 140 000 victims were women. In the deadly heat waves that hit France in 2003, most fatalities were elderly women. During the 2005 Hurricane Katrina emergency in New Orleans, most of the victims were Afro-American women and their children. ... more

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Évaluation des capacités de communication des risques et d’engagement communautaire en Guinée

S. O. Sagnane, Jean Traoré

Washinghton: Breakthrough Action; USAID (2020), 51 pp.

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The World’s Most Neglected Displacement Crises

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) (2020), 14 pp.

"Each year, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) publishes the list of the ten most neglected displacement crises in the world, to shine a spotlight on these forgotten emergencies. This is the list for 2019. Although humanitarian assistance should be based on needs alone, some crises receive more att ... more

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Trauma Reporting: A Journalist's Guide to Covering Sensitive Stories
Key Guides

Jo Healey

London; New York: Routledge (2020), xii, 205 pp.

Trauma Reporting provides vital information on developing a healthy, professional and respectful relationship with those who choose to tell their stories during times of trauma, distress or grief. Amid a growing demand and need for guidance, this fascinating book is refreshingly simple, engaging and ... more

Trauma Reporting: A Journalist's Guide to Covering Sensitive Stories Key Guides

Trauma Reporting: A Journalist's Guide to Covering Sensitive Stories
Key Guides