The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) is a university-wide center involving multiple entities within the Harvard academic and medical community. The Initiative combines expertise in public health, medicine, social science, and humanities to advance research, practice, and policy in the field of humanitarian assistance to populations affected by war and disaster.

The mission of the Initiative is to relieve human suffering in war and disaster by advancing the science and practice of humanitarian response worldwide. HHI fosters interdisciplinary collaboration in order to:

• Improve the effectiveness of humanitarian strategies for relief, protection and prevention;
• Instill human rights principles and practices in these strategies;
• Educate and train the next generation of humanitarian leaders.

HHI IN THE NEWS

HHI simulates the Darfur/Chad border in an educational exercise for graduate students participating in the Humanitarian Studies program. Read more about the program here.

Listen to Dr. Julia VanRooyen speak about HHI's response to the gender-based violence epidemic in the Congo on Public Radio International's The World.

The Harvard Gazette reports on The South Asia Initiative, including HHI's Dr. Jennifer Leaning. HHI's initiatives in South Asia include Mumbaivoices and South Asia Without Borders.

Harvard Magazine reports on the work of HHI in its Nov/Dec 2007 issue. Think Tank for Aid Workers outlines the work of HHI and reports on its recent Humanitarian Health Conference.

USA Today reports on a new article co-authored by HHI Fellow Frederick M. Burkle, Jr., and Research Director P. Gregg Greenough “Excess Mortality in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: A Preliminary Report.” Published in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 1.1 (2007): 15-20.

Jennifer Leaning quoted in The Online NewsHour's in-depth report, "Crisis in Sudan: Victims of Sexual Violence in Darfur Face Stigma, Unresponsive Justice System," June 15, 2007.

International and Emergency Medicine - Harvard Humanitarian Initiative Fellow Raul Ruiz profiled by the Harvard University Gazette. “Harvard does something to you: It opens the door to the world.” By Elizabeth Gehrman (7 Jun 2007).

HHI IN THE FIELD