Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
Rutherford H., Platt et al. Disasters and Democracy: The Politics of Extreme Natural Events
S., Suri Orissa Disaster: Agony of the Living     

The Accuracy of Mortality Reporting in Displaced Persons Camps During the Post-emergency Phase

For humanitarian organisations, accurate data are essential to identify emerging health problems and determine programme needs. We visited 45 post-emergency phase displaced persons camps and collected three months' mortality data which we compared with organisations' routine mortality reports. Organisations reported 612 deaths and we identified 741 deaths, for a mortality-reporting ratio, defined as the number of organisation-reported deaths divided by the number of investigator-identified deaths, of 83 per cent. For the majority of camps which under-reported deaths, mortality reporting ratios were significantly higher for women than men, and for camps with central mortality registers rather than those without. In the few camps which over-reported deaths, these occurred primarily among children younger than five years of age, probably due to the inclusion of abortions and stillbirths. Despite the overall under-reporting of deaths by humanitarian organisations, the existing health information systems appear to estimate mortality rates adequately in these post-emergency camps. However, organisations should improve the precision and completeness with which they report the characteristics of deaths in order to provide valuable data to target their programmes at the most vulnerable people.     

Looking forward: Disasters at 40

This paper reflects on contemporary studies of and responses to disasters, highlighting the importance of historical, spatial, and intersectional modes of analysis, and draws on the author's ongoing research on Southern‐led and local community responses to displacement in the Middle East. Acknowledging the plurality of ‘international communities of response’, it begins by critiquing the depiction of selected responses to disasters as ‘positive’ ‘paradigm shifts’, including in reference to the ‘localisation of aid, and the United Nations’ Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan for Syria. Next it turns to three key themes that are central to disasters studies: migration; forced displacement; and Southern‐led responses to disasters. Among other things, the paper argues that exploring the principles and modalities of South–South cooperation, rather than promoting the incorporation of Southern actors into the ‘international humanitarian system’ via the localisation agenda, presents a critical opportunity for studies of and responses to disasters.     

Satellite Observations of Lava Lake Activity at Nyiragongo Volvano, Ex-Zaire, during the Rwandan Refugee Crisis

In June 1994 the summit crater of Nyiragongo volcano, located in the Great Lakes region of central Africa, began to fill with new lava, ending nearly 12 years of quiescence. An earlier eruption of the volcano in 1977 had culminated in the catastrophic draining of a lava lake through fissures in the crater wall, feeding highly mobile lava flows which reached the outskirts of Goma and killed more than 70 people. By July 1994, as many as 20,000 Hutu refugees were arriving in Goma every hour, only 18km south from the summit of Nyiragongo. The exodus brought more than one million people to the camps near the town raising fears of a repeat of the 1977 eruption. This paper examines the role that satellite remote sensing could have played in surveillance of the volcano during this time, and demonstrates the potential for monitoring this and other volcanoes in the future. Images recorded by the spaceborne Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) – freely available over the Internet – provide semi-quantitative information on the activity of the volcano. The aim of this paper is to promote the wider use of readily available technologies.     

Planning STI/HIV prevention among refugees and mobile populations: situation assessment of Sudanese refugees

This article reflects an investigation of knowledge, attitudes and behaviours and HIV/STI prevalence of Sudanese refugees and Ethiopian sex workers in 1992. It represents one of the earliest such investigations within an African refugee population. The investigation took place in the Dimma refugee settlement in south-western Ethiopia and study participants included Sudanese refugee men and women and Ethiopian female sex workers. Methods used for this investigation included focus group discussions, behavioural surveys and serologic testing. The main outcome measures of the investigation were HIV/STI knowledge, attitudes and behaviours and biological markers for HIV, syphilis and herpes simplex 2. The study findings indicate that in the early 1990s, knowledge about AIDS and condom use was low among Sudanese refugee women and not one reported having ever used a condom. Furthermore, sexual contact between refugee men and sex workers was frequent during the time of this study and the prevalence of HIV and other STIs was high. The results confirm a widely held assumption that highly mobile and transient populations in Africa are susceptible to STIs and HIV, in large part due to their knowledge, attitudes and behaviours.     

Educational,psychosocial, and protection outcomes of child‐ and youth‐focused programming with Somali refugees in Dollo Ado,Ethiopia

Child‐ and youth‐friendly spaces have become a common feature of emergency humanitarian provision. This study reports on the outcomes of child and youth learning centres (CYLCs) in Ethiopia's Buramino Camp established for those fleeing conflict in Somalia. Eighty‐five youths completed baseline assessments shortly after arrival and follow‐up assessments three to six months later. Caregivers of 106 younger children completed similar appraisals. 693 children attending the CYLCs completed pre‐ and post‐educational assessments, which indicated major gains—significant at p<0.0001—in both literacy (younger children, t=9.06; youth, t=13.87) and numeracy (younger children, t=13.94; youths, t=17.10). Children's CYLC attendance increased reports of met needs among caregivers (t=2.53, p<0.05) and youths (t=2.57, p<0.05), and, among caregivers but not youths, significantly moderated protection concerns (t=2.39, p<0.05, and t=?1.90, p=0.06, respectively). There was general improvement in psychosocial well‐being over time for all children; CYLC attendance predicted greater reductions in reported difficulties only among younger children (t=2.51, p<0.05).     

Contrasting ecological information content in whaling archives with modern cetacean surveys for conservation planning and identification of historical distribution changes

Many species are restricted to a marginal or suboptimal fraction of their historical range due to anthropogenic impacts, making it hard to interpret their ecological preferences from modern-day data alone. However, inferring past ecological states is limited by the availability of robust data and biases in historical archives, posing a challenge for policy makers . To highlight how historical records can be used to understand the ecological requirements of threatened species and inform conservation, we investigated sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) distribution in the Western Indian Ocean. We assessed differences in information content and habitat suitability predictions based on whale occurrence data from Yankee whaling logs (1792–1912) and from modern cetacean surveys (1995–2020). We built maximum entropy habitat suitability models containing static (bathymetry-derived) variables to compare models comprising historical-only and modern-only data. Using both historical and modern habitat suitability predictions  we assessed marine protected area (MPA) placement by contrasting suitability in- and outside MPAs. The historical model predicted high habitat suitability in shelf and coastal regions near continents and islands, whereas the modern model predicted a less coastal distribution with high habitat suitability more restricted to areas of steep topography. The proportion of high habitat suitability inside versus outside MPAs was higher when applying the historical predictions than the modern predictions, suggesting that different marine spatial planning optimums can be reached from either data sources. Moreover, differences in relative habitat suitability predictions between eras were consistent with the historical depletion of sperm whales from coastal regions, which were easily accessed and targeted by whalers, resulting in a modern distribution limited more to steep continental margins and remote oceanic ridges. The use of historical data can provide important new insights and, through cautious interpretation, inform conservation planning and policy, for example, by identifying refugee species and regions of anticipated population recovery.     

The impact of workplace exclusion on the humanitarian response to the refugee crisis in Lebanon

A contemporary issue of major concern is the millions of people fleeing homelands owing to political and socioeconomic challenges and seeking assistance elsewhere throughout the world. An effective response to this crisis includes support models that meet the various needs of refugee populations. In the complex system of humanitarian action, aid workers, among a multiplicity of actors, are the most important assets. This study utilised an inclusion–exclusion theoretical lens to examine the impact of their workplace experiences on activities in the context of the refugee crisis in Lebanon. In-depth interviews were held with 36 humanitarian practitioners, representing five international organisations that are involved in refugee aid programmes in the country. The study led to a new understanding of the link between inclusion and exclusion and the effectiveness of the humanitarian response to emergencies. In addition, it yielded new insights into apprehension about the national–international divide and its consequences for humanitarian assistance.     

乡村政治视角下战时河南难民迁移特点

因特殊的时间、地点等因素,乡村政治视角下战时河南难民迁移,具有一定特点:战时河南难民迁移数量位居全国之首,并且迁移的时间相对集中,混乱中又带有一定的规律性;安土重迁的特性使得这一时期的难民迁移又具有一定的保守性;另外,造成战时难民迁移的原因除战争外,自然灾害亦是重要因素,同时,这一时期的河南难民迁移还具有全国战时人口迁移的特点。