Improving the health response to humanitarian crises

Abstract

Earthquake in Haiti. Tsunami in Japan. Floods in Pakistan. When humanitarian crises happen, the natural response is to get help to those affected as quickly as possible. But when governments, agencies, and charities respond to a crisis, are they responding in the best way possible? In 2011, the UK's Humanitarian Emergency Response Review, chaired by Paddy Ashdown, found that the evidence base for action in these settings was weak.In response to this situation, on June 4, the UK Department for International Development and the Wellcome Trust, in partnership with Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance, are launching a new 3 year initiative—the Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises programme. The collaboration aims to fund research to improve the evidence base for public health interventions in disaster situations and to reduce the mortality and morbidity caused by such catastrophes. Up to £6·5 million in research grants will be available. A key criterion for funding will be proposals that involve partnerships between researchers and humanitarian practitioners. The initiative also hopes to fund rapid response teams that can be quickly deployed to do research in the early stages of a crisis, where evidence is most needed and is hardest to get.The programme already has an evidence review underway to help assess knowledge gaps and guide funding. Preliminary results show that work is needed in all health specialties, but different specialties have different needs. For example, presently there is a limited evidence base to guide mental health responses in humanitarian crises. The initiative will also commission a review of the current state of ethical practice with the aim of developing an ethical review framework and guidelines for research.More people are likely to be affected by emergencies in the coming years because of factors such as climate change and increasing urbanisation. Responses to these humanitarian crises should be grounded in high-quality evidence as well as in compassion. The new research programme will be vital to achieving this goal. Earthquake in Haiti. Tsunami in Japan. Floods in Pakistan. When humanitarian crises happen, the natural response is to get help to those affected as quickly as possible. But when governments, agencies, and charities respond to a crisis, are they responding in the best way possible? In 2011, the UK's Humanitarian Emergency Response Review, chaired by Paddy Ashdown, found that the evidence base for action in these settings was weak. In response to this situation, on June 4, the UK Department for International Development and the Wellcome Trust, in partnership with Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance, are launching a new 3 year initiative—the Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises programme. The collaboration aims to fund research to improve the evidence base for public health interventions in disaster situations and to reduce the mortality and morbidity caused by such catastrophes. Up to £6·5 million in research grants will be available. A key criterion for funding will be proposals that involve partnerships between researchers and humanitarian practitioners. The initiative also hopes to fund rapid response teams that can be quickly deployed to do research in the early stages of a crisis, where evidence is most needed and is hardest to get. The programme already has an evidence review underway to help assess knowledge gaps and guide funding. Preliminary results show that work is needed in all health specialties, but different specialties have different needs. For example, presently there is a limited evidence base to guide mental health responses in humanitarian crises. The initiative will also commission a review of the current state of ethical practice with the aim of developing an ethical review framework and guidelines for research. More people are likely to be affected by emergencies in the coming years because of factors such as climate change and increasing urbanisation. Responses to these humanitarian crises should be grounded in high-quality evidence as well as in compassion. The new research programme will be vital to achieving this goal.