course material

1. Jefferson College of Health The Rysaback Smith Responses
The Rysaback-Smith article and the Sphere Guidelines discuss some history of humanitarian
aid and the basic principles that govern humanitarian aid. Do you see the manner in which
humanitarian aid is provided changing? Please describe the change and how it could impact
populations requiring aid as well as the impact on providers of humanitarian aid.this is the
1st post from classmate need for response: I see the manner in which humanitarian aid is
provided changing by limiting the number of organizations allowed in certain countries and
also the time in which these organizations can stay. There has been a significant shift from
short term aid to long term aid because NGO’s want to mitigate the conditions
(Rysaback,2015). This shift may seem to be in good faith or done to alleviate suffering;
however, I think it causes dependency in countries where resilience needs to be established.
There are also historical reasons why I think there will be a shift in humanitarian aid, two
examples being colonization and apartheid. Areas primarily affected by these two events
are seeming more fragile than other areas. Humanitarian assistance has been in these
countries for years going in circles trying to help the nation rise from the ashes of the
adverse events. However, it seems not to be helping in the ways that aid workers wish If the
organizations scaled back their time and long term imprint in certain areas they can help to
increase the independence and resilience of regions. I think soon aid organizations and
affected countries will realize that they can work together to empower the residents to
restructure. While also not being the most beneficial to the residents, in the long run, it is
not for the workers either especially in civil unrest areas or areas of environmental
concerns. Humanitarian aid workers are sometimes exposed to a variety of threats and
risks, the longer that they are subjected, the more likely they are to be negatively
impacted. Within the next few years, I think agencies in partnership with the affected
countries will develop a transitional phase that allows for aid workers to slowly pull out of
the area without altogether abandoning the area (Cornell, 2007) while the community is
able to re-establish itself and return to a better state than prior to the disaster. I think at
first this idea of a shortened deployment period and increase community involvement will
receive massive push back from the community affected and possibly some NGO’s. This is
because they are used to deliver aid in a specific way, and also they could feel that the
nations do not want to help them. However, in the long term, the effects of future disasters
will not be as detrimental in the community if they get more involved in the mission areas
of disaster management.ReferenceCornell, R. (2007). Financing Development: Aid and
Beyond OECD. Development Centre Perspectives12-15.(Suppl 1), 5–7.

2. doi:10.5505/1304.7361.15, Turkish Journal of emergency medicineRysaback-Smith, H.
(2016). History and Principles of Humanitarian Action. this is the 2nd post from my
classmate need for response:Humanitarian aid has been changing throughout history.
Rysaback-Smith (2015) notes that, in the ancient world, humanitarian aid philosophies
were embedded in religious beliefs reflecting ethics during wars. Aid involved the treatment
of wounded soldiers, civilians, and prisoners of war. In the Middle Ages, public health
boards were constructed, humanitarian aid was inclined towards quarantine, handling
isolation, disposing of bodies, and providing disaster medicine. In the modern age,
humanitarian aid is often associated with timely responses to both natural and human-
made disaster. Technological advancements have made it easy for humanitarians to
respond to hurricanes, earthquakes, and famine. Humanitarian aid has evolved from a
segregated kind of assistance delivered to war participants alone to include public health
initiative and later disasters. It has become more inclusive hence bound to benefit and
impact more people positively. On the other hand, the inclusiveness and increased realms of
humanitarian aid impact providers by requiring them to possess advanced skills and
competencies to fit in the new roles. The expertise of the providers will make them more
effective and efficient in their roles.ReferenceRysaback-Smith, H. (2015). History and
Principles of Humanitarian Action.Brown University, Department of Emergency Medicine.
doi:10.5505/1304.7361.2015.52207this is the 3rd post from my classmate need for
response:I do see a shift in how humanitarian aid is provided, largely based upon how the
world itself has changed. Organizations are more equipped to help those suffering from
disasters because they now have better technology to facilitate the mobilization of
resources, more advanced healthcare, tools and cultural competence needed to understand
the needs of the local community, and effective risk reduction strategies due to increased
international cooperation (Coppola, 2015, pp. 10-24). Although the world has gotten better
at responding internationally to disasters, the world is still changing. We are seen an
increase in the number of people affected by disasters and the cost associated with that.
Additionally, the actual amount of disasters, and notably technological disasters, have been
on the rise (Coppola, 2015, pp. 30-32). It’s my fear, that they will continue to rise as
humanity continues to decimate the environment and increase population density in urban
and suburban areas. Since there are statistically more disasters now than in the past, I could
see a widening gap between the economies of rich and poor countries. It’s generally harder
for those in a lower socioeconomic class to recover economically from disasters, and I think
that the principle can be applied generally to countries as well. There’s a great graphic on
page 17 in the required text by Coppola (2015) that illustrates what happens to countries
when faced with a disaster. Essentially, if the frequency of impact increases the situation
becomes like trying to swim in the ocean. Every time you come up for air another wave
knocks you back down so it’s progressively harder to recover. Humanitarian aid can help
shorten the reconstruction period, which is why it is so critical to improve recognition and
delivery methods. People are affected more often, and so the need and cost of providing
relief may rise as it has been. Along with the previously discussed issues, the reliance on
international aid could pose a threat to the mindset of building local resiliency. If someone
else comes in and rebuilds each time disaster strikes then why should I bother to prepare to

3. recover from similar events? How can I educate myself to be able to prepare for next time?
Rysaback-Smith (2016) wrote that “as-needed provision of assistance [is] preferred over
long term and complex developmental strategy” by most governing bodies, which furthers
this quick-fix mentality. Treating a symptom in medicine usually does not eradicate the
underlying chronic disease, and the same principles can be applied to international disaster
management.Obviously, it’s hard to predict how the dynamic between NGOs, governments,
disaster victims, and other stakeholders will shift in the future. I hope that we can recognize
current flaws in the systems and employ a multidirectional approach to help lessen the
impact of disasters through building culturally-appropriate resiliency, streamlining
international legislation, and developing more sophisticated models that incorporate how
to provide aid instead of simply what aid to provide. Coppola, D. (2015). Introduction to
international disaster management(3rd ed.). Oxford: Elsevier, Inc.Rysaback-Smith H.
(2016). History and Principles of Humanitarian Action. Turkish journal of emergency
medicine, 15(Suppl 1), 5–7. doi:10.5505/1304.7361.2015.52207