Academics from Anglia Ruskin University (located in Cambridge, England) have been awarded £417,000 to analyse the ethical challenges involved in health research in humanitarian crises in Afghanistan, Nepal, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. An online resource to improve awareness and share best-practice among researchers looking into humanitarian health issues will also be implemented.
Lead investigator Dr Chesmal Siriwardhana will work with colleagues at Médecines Sans Frontières, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Dublin City University, HealthNet TPO – a Dutch research organisation – and other global partners. The project will gather data from earthquake-hit Nepal, refugee camps in Lebanon and Ethiopia, war-torn communities such as Helmand in Afghanistan and Freetown in Sierra Leone and the Northern Provinces of Sri Lanka, an area still coming to terms with the effects of a civil war. More information can be obtained by clicking here.
Funding comes from Elrha’s Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) programme. The R2HC programme is funded equally by the Wellcome Trust and DFID, with Elrha overseeing the programme’s execution and management. It aims to improve health outcomes by strengthening the evidence base for public health interventions in humanitarian crises. Visit www.elrha.org/work/r2hc for more information.
There is a large interest in the ethics involving humanitarian research. The Centre for the Study of Global Ethics at Birmingham next annual conference is on the theme of humanitarian ethics and action. There website can be visited by clicking here.
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