From Camps to Streets: Adapting Humanitarian Operations for Urban Areas

Are urban humanitarian operations the same as humanitarian operations in both camp and rural settings? How do the needs of people displaced from urban areas differ from those displaced from rural areas? What new coordination structures are required to foster collaboration between formal, informal, and spontaneous actors providing humanitarian assistance?

The United Nations estimates that by 2050, approximately 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. Therefore, to have the ability “to prevent or alleviate human suffering arising out of disaster or conflict,” humanitarian structures and processes primarily designed for rural and camp settings will need to be adapted for use in urban areas. During this webinar, Instructor Rick Fernandez will discuss how humanitarians can do just that.

Fernandez has served as a program development officer and an international protection officer with Nonviolent Peaceforce in South Sudan, a program manager with IBM’s Corporate Service Corps Program, and a planner for the NYC Emergency Management Department.