How do humanitarian aid workers think and act?
This work focuses on how humanitarian organisations operate, including their members, affiliations, messages, practices and cultures. Aid to refugee, displaced, deported, exiled and interned populations plays a central role in humanitarian action both now and in the past. What types of aid are provided to internees and displaced persons? What kinds of obstacles and dilemmas does it face? What sorts of practical, political and ethical questions are raised by the participation of humanitarian organisations in population displacement and internment policies?
![Médecins Sans Frontières et les sorties de guerre Médecins Sans Frontières et les sorties de guerre](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/2017-05/MSB10391_0.jpg?itok=jPYpNJuR)
Médecins Sans Frontières and the aftermath of war
01/10/2010This study started out looking at the shift to a post-conflict situation in Katanga; the intention was to describe how MSF’s sections negotiated the transition from war to post-war.
![L’aide alimentaire et la politique des chiffres en Ethiopie 2002-2004 Réfugiés en Tanzanie](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/2017-05/MSF179582.jpg?itok=AIa8eXj9)
Food aid and the politics of numbers in Ethiopia
05/15/2008This study sheds light on the mechanisms producing the official data used by humanitarian aid decision makers. It views Early Warning Systems (EWS) as tools that facilitate consensus between the decision-makers involved in the allocation of food aid, enabling them to reach institutional agreements.
![Les humanitaires en Afghanistan MSF distribue du matériel en Afghanistan](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/2017-05/MSF41703-MSF%20is%20distributing%20shelter%20material%20.jpg?itok=e0kgpQD3)
MSF and protection: pending or closed?
04/01/2008To embark upon a study of this theme is to enter a field strewn with contradictory representations linked to a highly sensitive issue – the limits of our responsibility – that has generated endless disagreements and debates on our “identity” and the existence or nonexistence of a role for MSF “beyond care”.
![Humanitarian crisis in Diffa, Niger MSF works in the health centre of Kintchandi, Niger , in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/2017-05/MSF194409-humanitarian-crisis-in-niger.jpg?h=72825bb0&itok=wJ4udD8U)
Independence and Innovation, Look beyond the Magic of Words
03/01/2008Though independence and innovation are both highly valued concepts, Xavier Crombé questions in this article - thanks to MSF's experiences in Niger in 2005 - the possible interactions between them.
![L’action humanitaire en situation d’occupation Un camp de réfugiés à Yida](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/2017-05/MSF135425-Yida%20camp.jpg?itok=92VAp0lh)
Humanitarian action in situations of occupation
01/01/2007This Cahier du CRASH by Xavier Crombé combines a study of the experience and positions of MSF vis-à-vis occupation contexts since the 1980s, and the minutes of a talk organised by the 'Fondation MSF' in January 2006 on "Humanitarian action in situations of occupation".
![Indépendance et sécurité Char d'assaut au Burundi](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/2017-05/MSF148982-char-dassaut.jpg?itok=izRuiq2G)
Independance and security
12/05/2006MSF is an independent organisation that carefully protects its autonomy. In this article, Xavier Crombé draws the connection between this founding principle and the issue of security for humanitarian actors.
![Les liaisons dangereuses du témoignage humanitaire et des propagandes politiques une famille au Tchad](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/2017-05/MSF181114%28High%29.jpg?itok=lnSpHWNG)
Dangerous liaisons: bearing witness and political propaganda
10/01/2006All observers agree that in many respects, the Biafran War of 1967-70 was the founding event of the modern humanitarian aid movement. First, it was the scene of the first large-scale action by private aid groups and the Red Cross in a post-colonial world.
![Crise alimentaire en Ethiopie : ce que cache la sécheresse Un enfant éthiopien](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/2017-05/MSF29733-ethiopia-nutritional-crisis.jpg?h=bdc22934&itok=0xbOGwom)
The Food Emergency in Ethiopia: What the Drought Conceals
03/01/2003Fabrice Weissman highlights the political factors at work behind the threat of famine - which, though very real, cannot be fully explained by natural causes - and casts a critical eye on the relief system, as well.
![MSF Activities On The Greek A group of refugees move on as they are told they can cross the border.](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/2017-05/MSF152619-refugees-on-the-move.jpg?h=235a36c0&itok=mARQGHkE)
Codes of conduct: whose interests do they serve?
01/01/2003As the USA announces its decision to suspend food aid to North Korea - one of the largest beneficiaries of global food aid - Fiona Terry reveals the true political issues behind the decision, and reminds us of how "humanitarian" assistance is used to bolster one of the planet's most oppressive regimes.