Managing Humanitarian Emergencies

According to the 2025 Global Humanitarian Overview, humanitarian partners are appealing for over US$47 billion to assist nearly 190 million people facing life-threatening and urgent needs across 72 countries. These staggering numbers are fueled by drivers such as conflicts and political instability, climate change, disease outbreaks, poverty, and natural hazards. Together, these drivers have deepened pre-existing vulnerabilities, resulting in unprecedented need. They have also prompted humanitarians to address the accountability challenges and inequities deeply seated within the aid system.

Humanitarian agencies strive to meet rising needs, but the task that confronts them is immense. Funding for humanitarian responses is not keeping pace with requirements: although donors contribute more, the amounts are not commensurate with needs. Beyond financing, donor policies and politics challenge agencies' ability to deliver. The safety and security of aid workers is increasingly under threat.

This course focuses on the management of humanitarian operations and intends to provide students with the opportunity to explore critical issues in the humanitarian system. It helps students understand debates in the humanitarian system, develop a framework of analysis they can use in headquarters and the field, and acquire a toolkit to help them succeed as aid workers. This practical course will interest those wishing to work with an aid agency, directly or indirectly with disaster-affected populations, or those who want to better understand the system and the opportunities and challenges that humanitarians face.