What's New

Welcome to the first newsletter of the Sphere groups working towards the institutionalisation and practical use of the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards across countries. Now access Sphere in Practice Newsletter HERE. (.pdf file). (March 2004) The Sphere Handbook 2004 revised edition: In a remarkable international initiative aimed at improving the effectiveness and accountability of disaster response, the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response sets out for the first time what people affected by disasters have a right to expect from humanitarian assistance. The aim of the Project is to improve the quality of assistance provided to people affected by disasters, and to enhance the accountability of the humanitarian system in disaster response. This new edition of the handbook (2004) has been thoroughly revised and updated, taking into account recent developments in humanitarian practice in wat/san, food, shelter and health, together with feedback from practitioners in the field, research institutes and cross-cutting experts in protection, gender, children, older people, disabled people, HIV/AIDS and the environment. The revised handbook is the product of an extensive collaborative effort that reflects the collective will and shared experience of the humanitarian community, and its determination to improve on current knowledge in humanitarian assistance programmes. Click HERE to download the full handbook and do a full text search (.pdf file). (November 2003)

• Final Draft Report on The Sphere Project Consultation: Food Security and Nutrition Standards Development available now from HERE . (November 2003)
  
  
• Final Draft Report on Sphere Handbook Revision: National Consultation on Water and Sanitation Standards available now from HERE . (November 2003)

• Good Practice in Flood Assessment: The 2003 floods in Assam (India) have been identified as the most damaging flood in the last 50 years. Sphere Project India member agencies have come together to respond to the Assam floods through a joint assessment. This assessment- in the spirit of Sphere standards- is an attempt to capitalise on the core competencies of the member agencies in different sectors of intervention and plan a coordinated response to the floods. Key INGOs including CARE (India), OXFAM (India) Trust, UNICEF, UNDP, CARITAS, SCF and CRS are planning the assessment. In contribution to the Joint Assam Assessment, DMI has compiled as list of Good Practice in Flood Assessment. Get the document HERE (Word doc). (July 2003)
  
  
• Moving Standards: The Sphere Mobile Unit. In order to further enhance the South Asian regions understanding of Sphere at the community, national, regional and global level, the Disaster Mitigation Institute (DMI) is creating a visual and interactive "Sphere Mobile Unit". Acting as an educational tool, the Unit will work to further generate ideas and related activities on Sphere. Read the Information Sheet for more details. The development is funded by local individual and organisational sources. Contributions are invited. (May 2003)
  
  

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