Satisfaction with the humanitarian response to the 2010 Pakistan floods: a call for increased accountability to beneficiaries

With the advent of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), known as drones, their deployment in various sectors, especially in humanitarian relief, has witnessed considerable attention. Despite the growing number of studies highlighting the potential of drones, there remains a discernible research gap in consolidating the lessons learned, challenges faced, and regulations governing their usage, particularly in the United States. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive examination of drone deployment in humanitarian relief through a systematic literature review. By outlining the state of the art of studies and practices of the application of drones for humanitarian relief and healthcare support, and analyzing case studies and regulations, this paper presents a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis and offers a clear picture of the current state of drone application in relief efforts. Results indicate that while drones offer unique advantages, such as accessibility to hard-to-reach areas and rapid response, they also face challenges relating to regulatory restrictions, privacy concerns, and logistical limitations. Based on the analysis, this paper concludes with a set of recommendations for the effective employment of drones, including fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships and streamlining the approval process for emergency drone flights. This study emphasizes the need for collaborative regulatory frameworks and best practices to maximize the potential of drone technology in aiding those in distress.

Nexus between the participation of residents in house design and residential satisfaction in Akure, Nigeria

This study aims to elucidate and analyze the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s efforts in safeguarding children’s rights in accordance with international humanitarian law. It focuses on clarifying the humanitarian and relief initiatives undertaken by Saudi Arabia during the 2023 war on Gaza, which commenced on October 7. The researcher examines the Kingdom’s adherence to the principles of children’s human rights and how this commitment translates into the humanitarian aid and relief extended to Palestinian children affected by the war. Additionally, the study assesses the compatibility of Saudi Arabia’s efforts with international laws and principles pertaining to children’s rights and evaluates the efficacy of these endeavors in meeting the needs of Palestinian children and promoting their protection and well-being amidst the humanitarian crises stemming from the war. The researcher delves into the mechanisms through which Saudi Arabia influenced the protection of children’s rights during the conflict, drawing insights from existing literature on children’s rights within the context of international humanitarian law. Furthermore, the study examines the evolving nature of children’s rights and the corresponding humanitarian and relief efforts throughout the war. Several key findings emerge from the analysis. It underscores the imperative for greater enforcement and accessibility of international humanitarian law. Moreover, it highlights the pivotal role played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, particularly through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, in providing crucial humanitarian aid and relief measures aimed at safeguarding children’s rights during the 2023 Israeli war on Gaza.

<p>Evaluation for the capitation payment system to the primary care dentist contracted by the Indonesian National Health Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) needs to be done as a basis for future improvements. This study aimed in describing the utilization of dental services; the average services fee received for each type of service; the level of patient satisfaction on dental service; the dentist level of satisfaction on the capitation payment system; and analyzing the suitability of capitation rates with generally accepted rates in the area of Central Java and Yogyakarta. Quantitative primary data was collected through questionnaires by dentists and their patients. While qualitative primary data was collected by Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Dentists involved in the FGD was selected by purposive sampling by local Indonesian Dental Association (PDGI) chairman. Secondary data of independent primary care dental practice was taken from BPJS Kesehatan. As a result, 26.76 % of primary care dentists have small number of insured patients (2001-5000). Real unit cost average was around IDR350,000 per visit. Most of the subjects (73.77 %) stated that they quite satisfied with the capitation payment system, but not with the nominal value. Most of the patients (98.5 %) were satisfied with the dental services. In conclusion, capitation nominal value needs to be adjusted with a detailed benefit packages. Enrollment-based membership mechanism needs to be evaluated. Routine monitoring and evaluation meetings between BPJS Kesehatan and primary care dentist needs to be done every 3 months, accompanied by PDGI.<br></p>

Crowdsourcing for Coordination: The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Disaster Relief Preparedness and Response

Recent studies reveal that the work and family life conflicts result in high levels of stress and in low levels of job and life satisfaction in employees. Also, they showed that there are correlations between perceived social support and both the intensity of conflicts and the levels of satisfaction. The aims of present study were to investigate the correlations between these variables, and the impacts of work stress, perceived social support and job and life satisfaction on work-family life conflicts. The study was conducted by surveying 316 hotel employees who were employed at the various departments of five-star hotels in Kusadasi and Istanbul. Pearson correlation analyses and simple linear regression analyses were used for statistical testing. A significant positive correlation was found between conflict variables and work stress however; negative correlations were obtained between conflict variables and both social support and satisfaction measures. A series of linear regression analyses revealed that family-work conflict, job and life satisfaction were the significant predictors of work-family conflict and, work-family conflict and work stress were the significant as predictors of family-work conflict. Problematic family conflicts and lowlevel work- life satisfaction have increased the work-family conflicts. The high-level work-family conflict and work stress also cause a family-work conflict.

Summary: Peace Winds (PW) is an international NGO that provides humanitarian aid to people facing crises worldwide. ARROWS (Airborne Rescue and Relief Operations With Search), a part of PW’s project, supports victims of man made and natural disasters. On January 1, 2024, the Noto Peninsula in Japan suffered a magnitude 7.6 earthquake. During that time, the PW staff and rosters (registered members) were dispatched to the affected area to provide disaster relief. This study aims to discuss the importance of a standardized handover process during humanitarian aid and identify the potential improvements to enhance effective disaster relief activities from the rosters’ perspective for future catastrophes. During the initial relief efforts, the PW staff and the rosters started gathering accurate information, evaluating the victims’ needs, and planning the next steps. However, due to the ever-changing nature of the situation, they needed to adapt to different tasks, which changed day by day. The rosters working on the next phase recognized the need to establish a standardized handover procedure to delegate responsibilities to later-joining rosters effectively. This structured handover process provided a clear overview of the relief efforts to the rosters involved at different times and for different durations. While the handover procedure was successfully created during this response, it could have been further optimized if it had been introduced from the onset of the activities. Thus, the handover process should be discussed in advance between the PW staff and the rosters during preparatory training. This approach may also apply to other organizations with similar personnel structures. An efficient handover process is crucial for disaster management. By discussing responsibility delegation and simulating the handover procedure during preparatory training, cooperation in the actual humanitarian activities could be optimized.

Disaster management in Pakistan has been merely focusing on managing medical, food, and rehabilitation resources, but not so much on the humanitarian ethics during the relief efforts. The National Disaster Management Framework in Pakistan focuses on documenting the ethical approaches but fails to practically incorporate them when administering relief and recovery services in Pakistan. There is not so much knowledge, awareness, and practical implications about standards of conduct, which could guide the disaster management team and social service providers about actions and behaviors conforming to morals and professional values throughout the disaster recovery phase. This study is one of the first to explore the ethical issues faced by disaster survivors after relief providers respond to their needs in the posthumanitarian fields of Pakistan. It aims to identify the gaps that exist in ethical practices required in disaster management, particularly in the relief and recovery stages of humanitarian crises in Pakistan. This study gathered data from flood victims in the Pakistani cities of Sambhrial, Hafizabad, and Rajanpur. The data collection activities were funded by the Humanitarian Innovation Initiative, Brown University, and conducted in collaboration with the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS). Our results indicate that relief workers are trained technically but not on the humanitarian ethics in terms of handling humanitarian populations on equitable and rights-based disaster management grounds.

Chapter 4 focuses on the 1992–1995 Bosnian War and the failure of the international response to protect the civilian population. When war broke out, the international community mounted a huge and high-profile humanitarian relief effort, led by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and supported by a UN peacekeeping force, the United Nations Protection Force in Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR). The relief effort represented an impressive accomplishment, but neither the humanitarian agencies nor the peacekeeping forces succeeded in protecting the civilian population from attack. The UN Security Council designated a number of predominantly Bosnian Muslim towns as safe areas but failed to protect them from Serb forces, who attacked as part of a policy of ethnic cleansing. Despite the obvious limitations of the humanitarian response, it served as a ‘humanitarian alibi’ which major powers could point to in order to show they were doing something even as they avoided serious foreign policy engagement. Not only did the humanitarian response thus conceal a lack of more concerted political or military action, but it was also sometimes in tension with it. With thousands of aid workers and lightly armed peacekeepers spread thinly across Bosnian territory, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) could not engage in substantial airstrikes, such that the Serb forces could violate international humanitarian law without fear of serious reprisals. Only after numerous attacks on the so-called safe areas and the ethnic cleansing of around 8,000 men and boys from Srebrenica in July 1995 was NATO shamed into serious intervention, ending the war.

Disease and injuries are expected consequences of disasters, either as direct result of the initial disaster or due to a collapse of the pre-existing public health infrastructure. While relief efforts are primarily directed at treating existing and preventing further disease and injury among victims of the disasters, it is also important to remain aware of the health impact on individuals and organizations providing assistance. The potential immune naïveness of relief workers may predispose them to contracting diseases which are normally not a concern for the local population. If significant numbers of relief workers are affected this can severely impact an organizations ability to provide assistance and may lead to a worsening of the situation. Even a simple surveillance program can provide early warning of potential problems in order to timely implement control measures which will prevent further illness and minimize mission impact.

: Hurricane Andrew was the worst natural disaster in American history. Its sustained winds in excess of 145 miles per hour razed entire neighborhoods. Debris was scattered dangerously throughout the area, restricting access and hindering assistance efforts. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the organization tasked with coordinating relief efforts in the wake of such disasters, tried for the first time to implement the Federal Response Plan (FRP), a document that had only been apprnved four months before Andrew made landfall. As the lead agency, FEMA coordinated the efforts of 26 governmental agencies and the American Red Cross. The Department of Defense (DOD) also has a role in disaster relief operations. Today, publications such as the Army's Field Manual 100-19, Domestic Support Operations, provides doctrinal principles for domestic support. But in 1992, DOD had little, if any, doctrine written on disaster relief. When FEMA's initial relief efforts fell well short of residents' and the administration's expectations, DOD assumed a much greater role. Some authors proposed placing DOD in charge of the national disaster assistance proC,tram. DOD's executive agent is the Secretary of the Army. This paper studies the interagency cooperation between DOD and FENIA, focusing specifically on the evolution of doctrine and procedures for responding to natural disasters. While both FEMA and DOD have improved in their ability to respond to disasters, some obstacles remain. Funding pre-disaster activities and the inability to use Reserve forces are the two most significant remaining shortcomings. Additionally, FEMA's failure to quickly integrate the lessons learned from previous disasters impacted negatively on response and relief operations after Hurricane Andrew.

The conflict in Syria is the largest driver of displacement worldwide with 4.1 million Syrian refugees, more than 6.5 million internally displaced people (IDPs), and 13.5 million people in need (PiN) of protection and humanitarian assistance inside Syria. Over the past decade, cash-based interventions (CBIs), including both conditional and unconditional cash transfers and voucher programs, have become increasingly common. While the cash-based response within Syria to date has been small compared to in-kind assistance, there is widespread interest in expanding the use of CBIs. This study explores the feasibility of cash-based modalities with the aim of informing future humanitarian assistance delivery strategies in northern Syria. The feasibility of CBIs is examined in terms of acceptability, infrastructure, humanitarian agency implementation capacity, value for money, risks, and responsiveness to changes in beneficiary needs. A mixed methods approach was used consisting of a literature review in addition to a household survey and key informant interviews (KIIs) conducted in early 2016 in four governorates of Syria (Aleppo, Hama, Idlib, and Al-Hasakeh). Overall, 64.5% of surveyed households received assistance during the 4-month period from October 2015 through January 2016. In-kind assistance was most common, with 59.2% of households receiving in-kind food aid. More than half of households received only one or two distributions of assistance in any form. Unmet needs were ubiquitous, and food was the priority in 74.1% of households. Despite relatively limited coverage of cash and voucher assistance programs to date, stakeholders voiced a widespread preference for cash transfers as did household survey participants. When analyzed by sector, cash assistance was preferred by survey respondents for all sectors except WASH. The most significant challenge in implementing CBIs in Syria is the lack of a regulated cash transfer system for movement of funds into the country. The bulk of humanitarian money is currently transferred through informal value transfer networks (hawala), which appears to have the capacity to handle larger-scale cash transfer programming. Technical guidance and standardized procedures are needed to ensure due diligence is conducted to mitigate fiduciary risks and ensure accountability to both beneficiaries, donors, and other stakeholders. The possibility of more sustained, continuous assistance provided through cash transfer or voucher mechanisms negates many of the barriers faced in providing in-kind assistance. Consideration of the feasibility of cash as an alternative modality relies on local-level assessment of capacity, resources, political environment, beneficiary needs and preferences, and lessons learned from previous programs in those areas.

The paper provides an analysis of the foreign volunteers’ intervention in France during the First World War. It discusses the activities of the US humanitarian relief, that from the Franco-Prussian War evolved into permanent structures such as the American Relief Clering House (ARCH) and the American Ambulance Field Service (AAFS) and also analyzes the phenomenon of American volunteers in the French army and in the organization of the Lafayette Escadrille. Particular note is given to the phenomenon of American ambulance volunteers in the Harjes Formation and Norton's Motor Ambulance Corps. It is also described the evolution of the humanitarian activities of the volunteers and the contribution of Anglo-American diplomats organization of relief efforts both in France and in Belgium. In particular, the paper describes the birth and development of the two major associations of US humanitarian relief, the American Field Service (AFS) in France and the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) and the contribution to the latter organization by Herbert Hoover.

To prospectively evaluate the health economic burden of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in Germany over a 6-month observation period and to identify the predictors of these costs. Direct and indirect costs were evaluated in 145 patients with PD (mean age 67.3 +/- 9.6 years). PD patients were recruited from an outpatient department for movement disorders, a specialised PD clinic, two office-based neurologists and general practitioners, all located in Germany, and were enrolled between January and June 2000. Relevant economic data were documented in a patient diary over the 6-month period. Clinical evaluations (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale [UPDRS]) were performed at baseline and at 3 and 6 months. Costs were derived from various German medical economic resources. Costs were calculated from the perspective of healthcare and transfer payment providers and the individual patient. Indirect costs for lost productivity were also calculated. Costs are presented as means +/- standard deviation (SD). Multivariate regression analyses were performed to identify independent cost predictors. Costs are in year 2000-02 values. We estimated average per patient direct, indirect and total costs for the 6-month observation period. The costs from the perspective of statutory health insurance (Gesetzliche Krankenkversicherung [GKV]) consisted of direct medical costs 1370 euro +/- 3240 euro, including rehabilitation (420 euro +/- 1630 euro), hospitalisation (710 euro +/-2520 euro), outpatient treatment (40 euro +/- 30 euro), ancillary treatment (190 euro +/- 280 euro) and ambulatory diagnostic procedures (10 euro +/-30 euro). In addition, parkinsonian drug costs were 1520 euro +/-euro1250. Non-medical direct costs calculated from the GKV perspective were estimated to be euro480 +/-euro1710, which included transportation (10 euro+/- 20 euro), special equipment (420 euro +/- 1640 euro), social/home-help services (10 euro +/-110 euro) and sickness benefit (40 euro +/- 540 euro). The total medical (including drug costs) and non-medical direct costs for the GKV were 3380 euro +/- 4230 euro. Univariate predictors for GKV direct costs included occurrence of motor complications and falls, disease severity, nightmares and dementia. However, multivariate analyses only suggested disease severity and health-related quality of life as significant predictors. For nursing insurance, payments of 1330 euro +/- 2890 euro were calculated. For retirement insurance, payments were 650 euro +/- 1510 euro and there were patient (or caregiver) costs of 1490 euro +/- 2730 euro. Total indirect costs amounted to 3180 euro +/-6480 euro. According to our study, PD puts a high financial burden on society and underscores the need for further economic and medical research to optimise treatment for PD.

Constructive Convergence: Imagery and Humanitarian Assistance