Humanitarian Response: Navigating Global Crises
Learn principles and challenges of humanitarian response in modern emergencies with Harvard's comprehensive course.
Learn principles and challenges of humanitarian response in modern emergencies with Harvard's comprehensive course.
Dive into the complex world of humanitarian aid with Harvard's "Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster" course. This program offers a deep exploration of the ethical and professional principles guiding humanitarian efforts in today's most challenging crises. You'll examine the legal and historical frameworks that shape modern humanitarian work, and learn to analyze emerging challenges in the field. Through engaging case studies covering responses to crises in various global hotspots, you'll gain insights from Harvard faculty and current practitioners. The course addresses critical issues such as rapid population displacement, violence against aid workers, and civil-military engagement. Whether you're an aspiring humanitarian worker, policy-maker, or concerned global citizen, this course will equip you with the knowledge to understand and critically evaluate humanitarian responses to modern emergencies.
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What you'll learn
Understand the legal and historical frameworks shaping modern humanitarian response
Analyze the ethical principles guiding humanitarian work and their practical applications
Examine major trends affecting humanitarian operations, including population displacement and aid worker security
Evaluate the challenges and dilemmas faced in real-world humanitarian crises through case studies
Explore the complexities of civil-military engagement in humanitarian contexts
Develop critical thinking skills for assessing humanitarian responses to conflicts and disasters
Skills you'll gain
This course includes:
PreRecorded video
Graded assignments, exams
Access on Mobile, Tablet, Desktop
Limited Access access
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Module Description
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to humanitarian response in modern conflict and disaster scenarios. Students will explore the ethical and professional principles guiding humanitarian efforts, examining their historical development and current applications. The curriculum covers key topics such as international legal frameworks, emerging challenges in humanitarian work, and the complexities of responding to various types of crises. Through case studies of major humanitarian responses, including those in Goma, Somalia, the Balkans, and Afghanistan, participants will gain practical insights into the field. The course also addresses contemporary issues affecting humanitarian work, such as population displacement, security concerns for aid workers, and the evolving role of military involvement in humanitarian operations. By the end of the course, learners will have a solid understanding of the humanitarian landscape and the critical thinking skills needed to analyze and respond to complex emergencies.
Fee Structure
Instructors
1 Course
Leading Humanitarian Crisis Expert Pioneering Global Emergency Response
Michael VanRooyen, MD, MPH, has transformed humanitarian crisis response through his roles as founding Director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Chair of Emergency Medicine at Mass General Brigham. After completing his medical training and MPH, he has built an extraordinary career spanning more than three decades of humanitarian work in over thirty conflict and disaster zones. As the J. Stephen Bohan Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Lavine Family Professor of Humanitarian Studies at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, he has led complex humanitarian operations in regions including Somalia, Rwanda, Iraq, and Ukraine. His domestic crisis response includes coordinating medical teams during the Boston Marathon bombing, 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2012, he established the Humanitarian Academy at Harvard to advance professional development for humanitarian leaders globally. His expertise has influenced policy through congressional testimony, UN briefings, and service on the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Health Cluster. Author of "The World's Emergency Room" and "Emergent Field Medicine," he continues to shape humanitarian assistance while leading ten emergency departments serving over 500,000 patients annually through the Mass General Brigham health system.
1 Course
Distinguished Humanitarian Scholar Advancing Global Health and Human Rights
Jennifer Leaning, MD, SMH, has transformed understanding of humanitarian crises and human rights through her pioneering work spanning four decades. After earning her BA magna cum laude from Radcliffe College, MSc from Harvard School of Public Health, and MD with honors from the University of Chicago, she has built an extraordinary career combining medical expertise with humanitarian advocacy. As former Director of the Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights (2010-2018) and co-founder of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, she has shaped global responses to humanitarian crises through research and field work in conflict zones including Afghanistan, Somalia, Kosovo, and the African Great Lakes region. Her expertise spans emergency medicine, public health, human rights law, and forced migration, with particular focus on climate change impacts. Her influential work includes co-editing seminal texts on humanitarian crises and nuclear war, while serving on boards of major organizations including Physicians for Human Rights and the American Red Cross. Currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard FXB Center and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School, she continues to influence global policy through her research on public health in war zones, mass atrocity prevention, and climate-induced displacement.
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4.7 course rating
116 ratings
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