Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster

This course teaches the ethical and professional principles guiding humanitarian response to modern emergencies, and the challenges faced in the field today. It is offered by Harvard University through edX, an online education platform.

This course from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and HarvardX explores legal and historical frameworks that shaped the humanitarian response to conflict and disaster. Through four case studies covering the responses to crises in Goma (Zaire), Somalia, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Pakistan, participants will engage with Harvard faculty, current practitioners, and one another. These cases introduce major trends affecting the current landscape of humanitarian response, which includes rapid population displacement, violence against aid workers, and civil-military engagement.

Some of the course contents are:

• Humanitarian principles
• International humanitarian law
• Trends affecting the scope and implementation of humanitarian work