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Disasters & Humanitarian Crises

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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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Supplementing Emergency Warning Messsages to Encourage Readiness to Act: The Effect of Colour and Icons

Dominique A. Greer, Paula Dootson, Sophie A. Miller, Vivienne Tippett

Melbourne: Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC; Queensland University of Technology (2021), 52 pp.

"An online survey was conducted in which participants were exposed to one of 16 mock emergency warnings about either a bushfire or a riverine flood and were then asked a series of questions relating to their demographic characteristics, message comprehension and effectiveness, threat appraisal, copi ... more

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Humanitarian Connectivity Needs and Usage Assessment: Guidance for Implementing the Toolkit

London: GSMA (2021), 39 pp.

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Humanitarian Communication in a Post-Truth World

Mel Bunce

Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, volume 1, issue 1 (2021), pp. 49-55

"When people look online for information about humanitarian crises, they increasingly encounter media content that blurs the line between reality and fiction. This includes everything from rumour and exaggeration to partisan journalism and completely invented stories designed to look like real news ... 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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When ‘Seeing Was Believing’: Visual Advocacy in the Early Decades of Humanitarian Cinema

Valérie Gorin

Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, volume 3, issue 2 (2021), pp. 18-27

"Focusing on the pivotal period of 1919–23 and the large-scale humanitarian responses in Central and Eastern Europe, this paper discusses the development of advocacy in the movies made by organizations like the ICRC, Save the Children Fund or American Relief Administration. While aid agencies obse ... more

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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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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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National Emergency Telecommunications Plans: Enablers and Safeguards. A Brief Evaluation Guide for Policy Practitioners

Ken Okong'o

London: GSMA (2021), 16 pp.

"Section 1 focuses on creating an enabling environment. Mobile network operators (MNOs) operate in a regulated environment.5 However, if this environment is not sufficiently enabling to support disaster preparedness, response and recovery, MNOs will encounter challenges when disaster strikes. This s ... more

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Public Health Agencies Outreach Through Instagram During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication Perspective

Aqdas Malik, M. Laeeq Khan, Anabel Quan-Haase

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, issue 61: e102346 (2021), 9 pp.

"Drawing on the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication framework, we sought to examine how leading health organizations use Instagram for communicating and engaging during the COVID-19 pandemic. We manually retrieved Instagram posts together with relevant metadata of four health organizations (WHO, ... more

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Fiji Media, Language and Telecommunications Landscape Guide

Caroline Austin

Australian Aid (AusAID); CDAC Network (2021), 26 pp.

"This guide is a living document that is meant to be used as a starting point when planning and undertaking a campaign prior to (if possible) and during a disaster. It is intended to support the work of the Fiji government and the Fiji Communication and Community Engagement Working Group (CCEWG) in ... more

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Building and Strengthening Digital Ecosystems in Humanitarian Contexts

Belinda Baah, Zoe Hamilton

London: GSMA (2021), 24 pp.

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Role of Frequency Modulation Radio in Disaster Communication: A Case Study of Pakistan Earthquake

Syed I. Rahman, Nauman Sial, Sanya Moazzam

Jàmbá - Journal of Disaster Risk Studies, volume 13, issue 1: a1047 (2021), 9 pp.

"Pakistan suffered from a massive earthquake in October 2005 that caused the deaths of more than 87 000 people. As a result of this calamity, around 3.5 million affected people had no access to information. In these scenarios, community media became an important catalyst. In developing countries, ra ... 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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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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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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Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Fund: Portfolio (2017-2022)

London: GSMA (2021), 28 pp.

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Évaluation des besoins et de l’usage de la connectivité dans les contextes humanitaires: Une Boîte à Outils pour faciliter l’évaluation de l’usage actuel et potentiel de la connectivité et de la téléphonie mobile en situation de crises humanitaires

London: GSMA (2021), 14 pp.

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Évaluation des besoins et de l’usage de la connectivité dans les contextes humanitaires: Guide d’utilisation de la Boîte à Outils

London: GSMA (2021), 39 pp.

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Ethical Traditions in Humanitarian Photography and the Challenges of the Digital Age: Four Conversations with Canadian Communications Officers

Dominique Marshall

Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, volume 3, issue 2 (2021), pp. 57-64

"As the production, content, and display of humanitarian images faced the requirements of digital media, humanitarian organizations struggled to keep equitable visual practices. Media specialists reflect on past and current uses of images in four Canadian agencies: the Canadian Red Cross, the Multic ... more