How to take care of humankind at +2°C?
On 15 and 16 April 2019, on the 100th anniversary of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the French Red Cross held a conference entitled “Health and...
Operational research and malnutrition: state of knowledge and food for thought
Many NGOs have already responded to the requirement of linking action and research. For instance, since 2016, Action Against Hunger has been holding a conference to take stock of these...
Environmental health at Médecins du Monde: from the emergence to the structuring of a struggle
Linking environment and health is not obvious for many humanitarian NGOs. Médecins du Monde has managed to make this theme one of its priorities. A look at a fight that,...
An analysis of ethical dilemmas in medical internships in countries with limited resources
What are the cross-effects (advantages and disadvantages) of humanitarian missions in fragile contexts? New light is shone on this long-standing issue through the lens of medical internships in countries with...
Ethics and research in humanitarian settings
Looking back on the seventh Scientific Day organised by Doctors of the World – France, the two authors discuss the ethical issues involved in research carried out in humanitarian contexts....
Acceptance under stress: old recipes for new problems?
In some ultra-violent and politically complex contexts in which humanitarians operate, the approach of gaining the acceptance of both the population and the various forces involved has its limits. For...
Corruption: a challenge that doesn’t escape the humanitarian sector
Corruption. A taboo word thought to be associated with public contracts, political dealings, unscrupulous businesses, and mafia clans. Yet humanitarian agencies often find themselves having to grapple with corruption in...
The aid regime to Syria: a failed localisation
Shaped by their bureaucratic habits and destabilised by the unexpected complexity of the conflict, international organisations and NGOs alike neglected the local level. They thus deprived themselves of vital forces,...
Challenges and dilemmas in the implementation of ethical standards in humanitarian programmes
In this new article devoted to ethics, Gweanëlle Luc-Menichelli ploughs the furrow of an approach to humanitarianism that is respectful as possible of the populations. Establishing the link with the...
Lessons from Ebola
After more than 11,000 deaths, according to the WHO, and about 30,000 infected people in West Africa, the spread of the Ebola virus has finally decreased since the summer of...
Ebola research: an encounter between science and humanitarian action
The authors of this text have been involved in caring for patients and conducting clinical research in Ebola Treatment Centres (ETCs) in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone at different periods...
Haiti, or humanitarian ethics under question
The recent earthquake, or rather the succession of earthquakes in Nepal, confirms the fact: humanitarian action is increasingly subject to criticism. The charge of “humanitarian circus”, willingly uttered in the media...