Humanitarian Engineering : Innovative Approaches and Partnerships in Crisis Response
The overall purpose was to identify how reconstruction of infrastructure and provision ofessential services could be more effective,especially in countries, such as Lebanon andJordan, facing a massive refugee crisis driven by the war in Syria. The...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2016
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/10/26836503/humanitarian-engineering-innovative-approaches-partnerships-crisis-response http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25128 |
| Summary: | The overall purpose was to identify how
reconstruction of infrastructure and provision ofessential
services could be more effective,especially in countries,
such as Lebanon andJordan, facing a massive refugee crisis
driven by the war in Syria. The attention of the
international community is increasingly focusedon maximizing
effectiveness in crisis response. That is underscored in the
communiqué of therecent G7 summit in Japan, and in the
recent UN World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, which
highlighted the need for the humanitarian and development
communities to collaborate inaddressing the special needs of
growing numbers of people facing long-term crisis
conditions. TheCyprus workshop was thus very
timely,especially in identifying priority steps tooptimize
the critical role of procurement, onwhich the effectiveness
of crisis response ultimately depends. The notion of
“Humanitarian Engineering” and the International
Humanitarian Engineering Partnership (HEP) were key themes
at the workshop. Humanitarian Engineering” hasbeen defined
in terms of enhancing human and community welfare, including
in situations of chronic distress of large numbers of people
(e.g.,emergencies and refugee crises) and encompassing
research, design, manufacturing,construction and service
delivery. HEP engages key stakeholders to develop innovative
approaches and tools for moreeffective crisis response, in
particular in the procurement dimension. The critical need
for resources being developedby HEP was highlighted by a May
2016 surveyconducted across regions. Practical information
about effective crisisresponse procurement that HEP can
disseminate was illustrated at the workshop. Traditionally,
development organizations haveoperated outside the emergency
context.However, with the rise in long-lasting crises, itis
critical to coordinate with local and regional stakeholders
such as Non-governmental organization (NGOs), humanitarian
agencies, and private sector, including small and medium
enterprises (SMEs). The World Bank’s participation in HEP
builds on its commitment to addressing the regionalcrisis
including the MENA Financing Initiative to support refugees,
host communities, and recovery and reconstruction.
Partnering with stakeholders such as International
Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) in the HEP
initiative provides a strategic multiplier for the Bank’s
efforts in crisis response. The dialogue at the workshop
suggests key takeaways for the way forward. |
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