Towards More Effective Humanitarian Operations In Urban Areas

On 28th June the GWH and the ICRC invite Prof. Mark Zeitoun, director general of the Geneva Water Hub, to discuss with a panel of leading experts his recent work "Towards more effective humanitarian operations in urban areas of protracted armed conflicts. Lessons learned from applying operational resilience and institutional learning in Gaza".

Background

Many of today's armed conflicts are fought in urban areas and are increasingly becoming protracted. The average time that the ICRC has been present in its ten largest operations is 42 years. These protracted urban crises have caused unprecedented humanitarian needs that pose unique challenges with devastating consequences for public health, displacement and livelihoods.

The report presented in this event argues that all humanitarian actors keen to address the challenges of protracted armed conflicts more effectively must understand the situation in question thoroughly by investing extensively in data collection to improve the evidence base; design operations with operational resilience in mind, as such operations are likely to involve and benefit more people in the longer-term; and learn from the original design and actual execution of operations, so that self-improvement becomes a constant feature.

The author of the report, Prof. Mark Zeitoun, will discuss the opportunities and the challenges of the paradigm shift occurring in ICRC operations in Gaza with academic, practitioners and ICRC colleagues. The event will be hosted in the Humanitarium in the ICRC Geneva office and simultaneously it will be accessible by web.