Humanitarian Assistance and Health

This document discusses the principles of humanitarian assistance and health, focusing on the case of Rohingya refugees. It explores the role of key stakeholders such as the UN World Health Organisation and the Bangladeshi Ministry of Health in providing support to the refugees. It also examines the legal implications of humanitarian assistance efforts.

Running head: HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND HEALTH
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Humanitarian principles
The Humanitarian Assistance Principles are built and addressed by the International
Humanitarian Law under the assistance of UN World Health Organisation (WHO, 2019).
These principles are used in order to guide the humanitarian functions and goals (von
Schreeb, 2018). The humanitarian assistance principles are broadly stated as: humanity,
neutrality, impartiality and independence.
Humanity states that help should be provided to the one in need.
Neutrality states that aid should be given without favouring any side in armed conflicts.
Impartiality guides to provide humanity aid without any discrimination
Independence states the independence of humanitarian aims from any kind of pressure such
as political, social or military (Weiss, 2018).
Humanitarian assistance principles provide knowledge about the humanitarian aid
and the procedure of their implication such as: providing life-saving support to the people in
need without any kind of discrimination and injustice. The humanitarian principles keep them
apart and distinguished from other factors such as religious and political nature. The workers
facilitating the humanitarian principals are found to be devoted enough to provide the service
in a way which serves benefit and safety to the people in need (Rysaback-Smith, 2015). The
humanitarian principles are found to be providing humanitarian aids in various regions where
people are in need. There are three case reports where the act of humanitarian principles was
witnessed for the Rohingya refugees. In the year of 2017, the Rohingya refugees which also
included several children, witnessed violence in Myanmar, and because of which they were
forced to arrive in the Bangladesh border (Jeremiah et al., 2017).

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UN World Health Organization and the Bangladeshi ministry of health (UN News, 2019)
The UN World Health Organisation after the new release supported the Bangladeshi
Ministry of Health to conduct campaign for providing vaccination and healthcare facilities to
the Rohingya refugees and children. The health condition was at a very sever stage as they
were witnessing increasing number of infections. The humanitarian principles were
maintained by both the UN WHO and the Bangladeshi ministry of health and life-saving
measures without any discrimination or taking any particular countries side, was provided to
the Rohingya refugees.
UN International Organization for Migration (UN News, 2019)
After the Rohingya refugees where provided shelter by Bangladesh, the UN
International Organization for Migration, also stepped forward to provide support to the
Rohingya refugees. They UN IOM provided the refugee camp with trucks filled with 740,000
litres of water. They also helped Bangladesh and the refugee camps by building infrastructure
such as drainage system and roads (UN News, 2019). IOM provided its health teams to
address emergency and primary health services to the refugee patients, along with personal
hygiene kits. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees also relocated new
refugees from Kutupalong to the south-eastern Bangladesh (Khan et al., 2019). They also
were provided with the same facilities and other required things.
Pledging Conference in Geneva (MSF International, 2019)
Dr Joanne Liu, MSF International President after returning from a visit to Bangladesh,
where she witnessed the crises faced by the Rohingya refugees, Dr Liu took a part in a
Pledging Conference in Geneva which was organised by various organizations that follow the
humanitarian principles such as IOM, OCHA and UNHCR and the European Union and
Kuwait, in order to discuss and address the difficulties of refugees sheltering in the informal
settlements in Bangladesh Cox’s Bazar (Friedrich, 2018).

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The organizations did not focus on the pressure or conflict that Myanmar may reflect,
and provided lifesaving campaign for the people in the refugee camps. Bangladesh supported
them and provided them with refugee camps and it was all conducted with the support and
humanitarian behaviour of the organizations (MSF International, 2019).
Specific humanitarian health program management principles
Humanitarian health is referred to as the changes in individual lives when relocated
by any disaster, changes in disease outline, admittance to healthcare, shelter, livelihoods,
sanitary conditions and nutritional status. Humanitarian health management program helps
those uprooted individual to access healthcare services and other basic amenities for a healthy
life. Humanitarian health management principles helps to ensure the assistance of such health
program (Gallardo et al., 2015). World health organization health management programmes
are strategized and managed in the framework of a comprehensible and carefully prioritized
emergency health strategy which is adapted to the local conditions and restructured as
settings change and innovative data becomes available (WHO, 2019). WHO ensures
accountability and transparency in all of their operations. The humanitarian health
management principles advocated by WHO based on long term perspective and population
based approach.
WHO advocates a long term perspective to ensure that the immediate problems
are identified and temporary needs are fulfilled. It also ensures that all the local and national
health authorities directs all feasible action related to healthcare which is sustained in that
role. Confirmation of reinforcement and rebuilding of health system is also done by WHO
and along with that establishment of parallel system are also directed by WHO in order to
save lives of the individual (WHO, 2019).

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Another approach advocated by WHO is population-based approach, which ensures
health security of the affected demographic population. According to the population based
approach, the demographic population who are at the high risk of unfortunate health
outcomes are identified and their needs are being evaluated and must be fulfilled and
monitored. Assumption about the vulnerable population should be avoided (for example, only
women and children are vulnerable) (WHO, 2019). It assists in gathering of evidence based
enumeration and identification of the beneficiary population and target groups. After
identification, it helps in the systemic monitoring of standard nutrition and health indicators
including gauges of maternal, injury, disability, non-communicable, child, elderly,
adolescent- and psychosocial health status (FitzGerald et al., 2016). In addition, it also aids
the involvement of local institution and communities in the assessment, planning and
evaluation process. The humanitarian health management principles helps the refuges to
access health care facilities and along with that it also helps in providing health care security
of the affected individual from getting more severe illness (WHO, 2019).
In the case of Rohingya refuges, they were arrived to Bangladesh from Myanmar
due to violence. Their situation is extremely severe, they have no place, no food no healthcare
access which is deteriorating their health to the extreme. The Myanmar government is not
allowing the humanitarian workers in providing health care access to the refuges, which is
against the humanitarian health care principles. International Organization for Migration
noted that suite planning and management is compulsory in order to provide protection as
large amount of population is settled in very small area of the Bangladesh (UN News, 2019).
By following the principles of Humanitarian health management programs, humanitarian
workers ensures the access of displacement sites, where it is easier to provide the services as
compared to the hilly terrain areas. The humanitarian health management workers shifted
around 46,000 of refugees to displacement sites. Health care programs helps in providing the

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basic amenities of life to the refugees, such as International Organization for Migration has
been carrying around 740,000 litres of water to the affected population to the displacement
areas and after that the water is hand carried to the elder and children taking shelter in the
hilly areas. As suggested by the principles of humanitarian health care, temporary
arrangements (shelter, water) of basic facilities is to be done to meet their needs. Emergency
health care access is provided by International Organization for Migration with the help of
humanitarian workers, according to the humanitarian heath management principles,
permanent management strategies are also provided to provide heath security but it requires
some time, so till then temporary arrangements are done. Around 660, pit latrines and about
100 mobile toilets are constructed. Humanitarian health care workers assists in providing
emergency medical care to the affected population (MSF International, 2019). Medical care is
provided by the help of health care team, which will identify the issue and then the care is
planned and managed. As in the Rohingya case, International Organization for Migration and
transmitted health care team to identify their issue. Health services is provided to around
53,000 refuges. UNICEF (UN Children's Fund), WHO (world health organization) along
with Bangladeshi Ministry of Health, also helped in providing health security to around
150,000 refugees by providing vaccination for rubella, measles. Polio vaccination is also
provided to the children of age below than 15 years. UN High Commissioner for Refugees
has relocated around 1700 refugees to safer places. Several campaigns were organized where
the issue and their management strategy is discussed. Humanitarian management program
helps in providing special health such as hygiene, sanitary, water, food, disease surveillance
care to new-born and pregnant women (UN News, 2019).
Key stakeholders in the humanitarian assistance
In the case where the Rohingya refugees faced life threating problem after they faced
violation in Myanmar. They were provided shelters by the Bangladesh Government with the

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association and help of the UN WHO, UN IOM and UNHCR. The key stakeholder’s role
here was to provide humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refuges in their life threatening
condition.
Rohingya refugees: The Rohingya refugees are the main aspect of the humanitarian
assistance. They faced a sever impact of violence in Myanmar which forced them to arrive in
Bangladesh for shelter. They were provided with all kinds of facilities such as treatments,
vaccinations, food and shelter. They were supported in the time of crises by the UN
organisations and Bangladesh government following the humanitarian principles.
The Bangladeshi ministry of health: The Bangladeshi ministry of health, without thinking
or caring about the consequences that might take place in the Bangladesh Myanmar
relationship, they provide shelter to the refugees in their region (WHO, 2019).
UN World Health Organisation, UN International Organization for Migration, UN
High Commissioner for Refugees: these UN organisations stepped forward in the situation
where the Rohingya refugees were in vital need of support. They provided every kind of help
that was required to save their lives. They did not focus on what the outcomes can be and
how Myanmar will react. They followed the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality,
impartiality and independence and saved their lives. They provided them with waters, health
kits, medical team for health assistance, vaccination camps, built roads and drainage system
for them as well (UN News, 2019).
Legal implications of the humanitarian assistance efforts described
Humanitarian assistance is the logistics or material assistance provided for the
humanitarian determinations, typically in reaction to humanitarian crises such as manmade
disaster ad natural disaster. The main objective of humanitarian assistance is to save the lives
of the affected population and also helps in alleviate sufferings in order to maintain human

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dignity (Halvorsen, 2017). When the humanitarian assistance is provide in case of any
conflicts or vulnerable population of the society, it can give rise to legal complication. In case
of Rohingya, as the refugees were migrated from Myanmar due to violence and took shelter
in Bangladesh, legal complication may arise to the humanitarian workers from the ministry of
Bangladesh as well as from the Myanmar end. As a huge amount of refugees were arrived to
Bangladesh, large portion of land is requited for their accommodation (UN News, 2019).
Hence, in order to provide the required shelter to all the refugees, legal issues such as
application to the Bangladesh ministry is provided. If the land is provided to the refugees
without proper permission, it can lead to legal complication or conflicts. Along with shelter
other basic facilities such as food and water which is not possible without the help of
government for which all legal requirements should be completed. For providing health care
access also several campaigns were organized which requires the assistance of the social
workers. Providing sanitary facilities such as mobile toilets and other sanitary facilities
requires the assistance of social workers which requires legal consideration (Zwi, 2017). To
provide the health care services such as vaccination, emergency treatment, and other medical
facilities, assistance of healthcare professional is required for which permission from
healthcare professional is required (Rodenhäuser & Giacca, 2016). In addition if the affected
population is because of any conflict legal complication may arise from the country. For
example in case of Rohingya, they were violated from Myanmar, hence if the organisation
will help the refugees it can gives rise to legal complication from the Myanmar end. To avoid
such legal issue, application or permission is collected. Affected population also have to face
discrimination with respect to their age, race and sex. To avoid such discrimination several
human rights were followed and implicated to reduce the negative impact of the vulnerable
population (Maurer, 2016).

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