Humanitarian Assistance Case Study 2022

Running head: HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 1
Humanitarian Assistance
Name
Institutional Affiliation

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 2
How the General Humanitarian Principles Are Being Applied In the Case Studies
The general humanitarian principles include humanity, neutrality and impartiality.
Humanity entails alleviating and preventing human suffering, respecting and protecting life,
dignity and health of each individual. For instance, the United Nations-supported vaccination
campaign was initiated to prevent the spread of diseases that are likely to cause high death
rates among refugees arriving in Bangladesh, such as polio, rubella and measles. The aim was
to protect the children from possible outbreaks of measles and other diseases that are
common in refugee populations. In the UN humanitarian assistance to improve access to
areas that are difficult to reach, the aim is to partner with government and other partners to
enhance access to the refugee sites that are established in the hilly terrain, and areas where it
is difficult for service providers to reach. Improving access to the displacement sites ensures
that the refugees have access to basic needs such as food, healthcare and other forms of
support. There more than 700000 refugees living in makeshift displacement sites and shelters
located in the hilly terrain, and access to these areas is challenging (UN News 2017a). The
principle of humanity is also demonstrated in the speech by Dr Joanne Liu, the president of
Medicines Sans Frontier. From the speech, it is evident that Bangladesh has continues to
accept refugees from Myanmar, as a way to alleviate them from the harsh environment in the
region such as rape, hunger, and the war. However, the increased number of refugees in
Bangladesh has resulted in reduced resources and congestion in Bangladesh displacement
sites (MSF 2017).
Neutrality entails avoidance to take sides in a conflict, and providing aid to non-
combatants only. In the vaccination campaign, the aid was directed towards supporting the
Bangladeshi Ministry of Health to vaccinate 150000 children from Rohingya, who were
below 15 years of age and lived within 68 refugee settlement near Bangladeshi’s boarder with
Myanmar. Children are victims of wars and are likely to suffer more in humanitarian crises,

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 3
especially in case of a disease outbreak. Similarly the UN humanitarian assistance to improve
access to areas that are difficult to reach focuses in providing access to over 817000 refugees
living in inaccessible areas on Bangladesh (UN News 2017a). The Dr Joanne discusses the
needs of the refugees are victims of the instability in Myanmar and are not active participants
in the war (MSF 2017).
Impartiality is the principle of maintaining equality and avoiding discrimination on
the basis of nationality, ethnicity, political views, gender, religion or race. Individuals are
provided with relief based solely on their needs. The vaccination campaign targets all the
refugees moving from Myanmar to Bangladeshi, with children accounting for the highest
proportion of the refugees. The UN program to improve access focuses on supporting
refugees without discrimination. The project aims to benefit all refugees living in the hilly
areas (UN News 2017a). The speech by Dr Joanne also outlines the needs of all refugees
moving into Bangladesh regardless of their origin (MSF 2017).
Specific Humanitarian Health Programs Management Principles Are Implemented In
the Case Studies
The WHO programs are managed and planned within the foundation of an emergency
health strategy that is adapted to the local conditions. World Health Organization aims to
ensure accountability and transparency (WHO n.d.). The humanitarian health programs
management principles include:
Long-Term Perspective
The long-term perspective in addressing immediate problems and short-term needs.
The long-term perspectives includes all actions by the health sector and the local and national
health authorities that are directed towards all health sectors when they are feasible and
supported in their role (WHO n.d.). In view of the long-term perspective, the UN-supported
campaign was aimed to protect children from outbreaks of deadly diseases. On the long-term