Developing Humanitarian Medicine project
Bertrand Taithe
Professor Bertrand Taithe studied at the Sorbonne with Professor François Crouzet and began his career as a historian of urban sociology. He later moved into the history of medicine and sexuality and is particularly interested in the history of humanitarian aid. Professor Taithe is a prolific author, Editor of the European Review of History, and Executive Director of HCRI of the Manchester University. His publications are available here.
Developing Humanitarian Medicine (DHM) is a five-year research project conducted by a group of interdisciplinary researchers based at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at The University of Manchester. Under the direction of Bertrand Taithe (a member of CRASH's Scientific Advisory Board), the project considers the history of humanitarian medicine since 1978 and the Alma Ata Declaration, as a set of emergency interventions with norms and standards. It seeks to develop a historical understanding of the scientific and organizational specificity of humanitarian medicine. What is the role of humanitarians in the development of clinical norms and standards, in the debate on rights-based approaches to health access, and in leading campaigns for access to medicines? The project's case studies span from patient-centered clinical norms and concerns on care, to experimental initiatives in humanitarian setting and state-led norm-setting diplomacy through emergency medical teams (EMTs). While Médecins Sans Frontières plays an important role in this history, this work aims to highlight the international networks and collaborations at the heart of humanitarian medicine.
This project has a transformative dimension. Research will inform humanitarian practice and contribute to ongoing debates on how humanitarian medical care providers engage with the pharmaceutical and biotech industries to disseminate, re-use and source medicines and diagnostic tools. In addition, building on recent work on operational archivingBertrand Taithe, Mickael le Paih, ‘Making Hepatitis C history: Medecins sans frontières, hepatitis C and humanitarian Medicine in Cambodia’, Social History of Medicine, à paraitre 2025 ; Bertrand Taithe, Fabrice Weissman et Mickael le Paih, ‘Historicising Humanitarian Action: Synchronicity in historical research and the archiving of humanitarian missions’. Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, vol 4, no 2, 2022, DOI: https://doi.org/10.7227/JHA.090 , this research project considers the production, use and preservation of historical documents to be at the heart of humanitarian practice. Developing humanitarian medicine therefore includes an archiving project (with the Humanitarian Archive at the University of Manchester), the aim of which is to develop a toolkit to support NGOs wishing to preserve their history and that of the communities in which they operate.
DHM builds on longstanding collaborations between UNHCR and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) partners, including Médecins Sans Frontières and MSF's Centre de réflexion sur l'action et les savoirs humanitaires (CRASH), and UK-Med. Funded by the Wellcome Trust (226515/Z/22/Z), it began in September 2023 and will conclude in September 2028.
