Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Climate Change and Human Well-Being pp 79–96Cite as

Humanitarian Crises: The Need for Cultural Competence and Local Capacity Building

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: International and Cultural Psychology ((ICUP))

Abstract

Humanitarian crises are already causing significant suffering in many regions throughout the world, and climate change is likely to worsen the problem. With rising temperatures, climate scientists predict an increase in droughts and floods, as well as more severe tropical storms and other adverse weather events such as heat waves (IPCC, 2007). Such extreme weather events can manifest as natural disasters, which are defined as causing a “serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources” (International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2004). Humanitarian emergencies, on the other hand, are characterized by additional factors such as the need for external assistance, risks of ongoing excess deaths, diseases, and malnutrition (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 1999). Complex humanitarian emergencies can result from additional factors such as ongoing armed conflict, leading to extensive violence and loss of life, massive displacement of people, widespread damage to societies and economies, the need for large-scale, multifaceted humanitarian assistance, as well as hindrance to such assistance by political and military constraints and security risks to relief workers (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 1999). The extent of humanitarian emergencies can be measured by using rates of mortality, malnutrition, and diseases (e.g. measles, cholera, diarrhea), as well as by the breakdown of governmental structures and human rights abuses (Toole & Waldman, 1990). An increase in humanitarian crises has been recognized as yet another likely result of climate change, with the international and humanitarian communities working on identifying areas of high risk, adaptation mechanisms, and responses. Issues of mental health and psychosocial well-being have received increasing consideration in the area of humanitarian crises, which also has implications in the context of climate change. The goal of this chapter is threefold: to provide a framework for conceptualizing vulnerability at the individual, community, and country levels; to shed light on important challenges and cross-cultural considerations in the humanitarian field; and to explore ways in which psychologists and mental health professionals can contribute to responding to humanitarian crises, promoting adaptation, and building the evidence base for effective intervention.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adaptation Fund Board (2009). Background of the adaptation fund. Washington, DC: Adaptation Fund Board Secretariat.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahern, M., Kovats, R. S., Wilkinson, P., Few, R., & Matthies, F. (2005). Global health impacts of floods: Epidemiologic evidence. Epidemiology Review, 27, 36–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alderman, H., Hoddinott, J., & Kinsey, B. (2003). Long term consequences of early childhood malnutrition. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

    Google Scholar 

  • Allden, K., Jones, L., Weissbecker, I., Wessells, M., Bolton, P., Betancourt, T. S., et al. (2009). Mental health and psychosocial support in crisis and conflict: Report of the mental health working group—Humanitarian action summit 2009. Prehospital Disaster Medicine, 24(4), s217–s227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Almedom, A. M., & Summerfield, D. (2004). Mental well-being in settings of ‘complex emergency’: An overview. Journal of Biosocial Science, 36(4), 381–388.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Atkins, D., & Moy, E. M. (2005). Left behind: The legacy of hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina puts the health effects of poverty and race in plain view (Editorial). BMJ, 331, 916–918.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baingana, F., Bannonb, I., & Thomas, R. (2005). Health, nutrition and population (HNP) discussion paper: Mental health and conflicts: Conceptual framework and approaches. Washington, DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Batniji, R., Van Ommeren, M., & Saraceno, B. (2006). Mental and social health in disasters: Relating qualitative social science research and the Sphere standard. Social Science & Medicine, 62(8), 1853–1864.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, H., Kelly, B., Hanigan, I., Coates, J., McMichael, A., Welsh, J., et al. (2008). Rural mental health impacts of climate change. Garnaut Climate Change Review.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanch, A. (2008). Transcending violence: Emerging models for trauma healing in refugee communities. Alexandria, VA: National Center of Trauma-Informed Care.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolton, P. (2001). Cross-cultural validity and reliability testing of a standard psychiatric assessment instrument without a gold standard. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 189(4), 238–242.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bolton, P., Bass, J., Betancourt, T., Speelman, L., Onyango, G., Clougherty, K. F., et al. (2007). Interventions for depression symptoms among adolescent survivors of war and displacement in northern Uganda: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 298(5), 519–527.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bolton, P., & Tang, A. M. (2002). An alternative approach to cross-cultural function assessment. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatry Epidemiology, 37(11), 537–543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breslau, J. (2004). Cultures of trauma: Anthropological views of post-traumatic stress disorder in international health. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 28, 113–126.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brklacich, M., Chazan, M., & Dawe, A. (2007). Vulnerabilities of societies under global environmental change. In H. Tiessen, M. Brklacich, G. Breulmann, & R. S. C. Menezes (Eds.), Communicating global change science to society (pp. 73–88). Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brownscombe, J. (2005). Crisis in humanitarianism? Journal of Medical Ethics, 31(3), 182–183.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brymer, M. J., Steinberg, A. M., Sornborger, J., Layne, C. M., & Pynoos, R. S. (2008). Acute interventions for refugee children and families. Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics North America, 17(3), 625–640, ix.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burkle, F. M. (1999). Lessons learnt and future expectations of complex emergencies. BMJ, 319(7207), 422–426.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coelho, A., Adair, J., & Morcellin, J. (2004). Psychological responses to drought in northeast Brazil. Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 38, 95–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, P. Y., Holman, A. R., Freeman, M. C., & Patel, V. (2006). What is the relevance of mental health to HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs in developing countries? A systematic review. AIDS, 20(12), 1571–1582.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Jong, J., & Van Ommeren, M. (2002). Toward a culture-informed epidemiology: Combining qualitative and quantitative research in transcultural contexts. Transcultural Psychiatry, 39(4), 422–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, I., Aam, K., Maghenda, M., McDonnell, Y., McLean, L., & Campbell, J. (2008). Unjust waters: Climate change, flooding and the urban poor in Africa. Environment and Urbanization, 20(1), 187–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durkin, M. S., Khan, N., Davidson, L. L., Zaman, S. S., & Stein, Z. A. (1993). The effects of a natural disaster on child behavior: Evidence for posttraumatic stress. American Journal Public Health, 83(11), 1549–1553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eaton, J., & Patel, V. (2009). A movement for global mental health. African Journal of Psychiatry, 12(1), 1–3.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenbruch, M., De Jong, J., & Van De Put, W. (2004). Bringing order out of chaos: A culturally competent approach to managing the problems of refugees and victims of organized violence. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17(2), 123–131.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Galler, J. R., & Barrett, L. R. (2001). Children and famine: Long-term impact on development. Ambulatory Child Health, 7(2), 85–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Good, M. J., Good, B., & Grayman, J. (2009). Complex engagements: Responding to violence in post-conflict aceh. In M. Pandolfi (Ed.), States of emergency. Cambridge: Zone Books, 241–268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gorst-Unsworth, C., & Goldenberg, E. (1998). Psychological sequelae of torture and organised violence suffered by refugees from Iraq. Trauma-related factors compared with social factors in exile. British Journal of Psychiatry, 172, 90–94.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, N., Pepitone-Arreola-Rockwell, F., & Greene, A. F. (2000). Multicultural competence: Criteria and case examples. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 31, 652–660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herman, J. (1992). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence: From domestic abuse to political terror. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inter-Agency Standing Committee. (2007). IASC guidelines on mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings. Geneva: IASC.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction. (2004). Terminology: Basic terms of disaster risk reduction. Geneva: ISDR.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. (2007). Climate change 2007: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of working group ii to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, L., Asare, J. B., El Masri, M., Mohanraj, A., Sherief, H., & van Ommeren, M. (2009). Severe mental disorders in complex emergencies. Lancet, 374(9690), 654–661.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, G., Torbay, R., & Lawry, L. (2007). Basic health, women’s health, and mental health among internally displaced persons in Nyala Province, South Darfur, Sudan. American Journal of Public Health, 97(2), 353–361.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kleinman, A. (1995). Writing at the margin: Discourse between anthropology and medicine. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsella, A. J., & Christopher, M. A. (2004). Ethnocultural considerations in disasters: An overview of research, issues, and directions. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 27(3), 521–539.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marsella, A. J., Johnson, J. L., Watson, P., & Gryczynski, J. (2008). Chapter 1: Essential concepts and foundations. In A. J. Marsella, J. L. Johnson, P. Watson, & J. Gryczynski (Eds.), Ethnocultural perspectives on disasters and trauma: Foundations, issues, and applications (pp. 3–13). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McEwen, B. S. (1997). Protective and damaging effects of mediators of stress. Elaborating and testing the concepts of allostasis and allostatic load. Archives of Internal Medicine, 157(19), 2259–2268.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, K. E., Kulkarni, M., & Kushner, H. (2006). Beyond trauma-focused psychiatric epidemiology: Bridging research and practice with war-affected populations. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(4), 409–422.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mollica, R. F., Cardozo, B. L., Osofsky, H. J., Raphael, B., Ager, A., & Salama, P. (2004). Mental health in complex emergencies. Lancet, 364(9450), 2058–2067.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, J., van Ommeren, M., Belfer, M., Saxena, S., & Saraceno, B. (2007). Children and the Sphere standard on mental and social aspects of health. Disasters, 31(1), 71–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neugebauer, R., Hoek, H. W., & Susser, E. (1999). Prenatal exposure to wartime famine and development of antisocial personality disorder in early adulthood. JAMA, 282(5), 455–462.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nordanger, D. (2007). Beyond PTSD: Socio-economic Bereavement in Tigray, Ethiopia. Anthropology & Medicine, 14(1), 69–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norris, F. H., Friedman, M. J., Watson, P. J., Byrne, C. M., Diaz, E., & Kaniasty, K. (2002). 60,000 disaster victims speak: Part I. An empirical review of the empirical literature, 1981–2001. Psychiatry, 65(3), 207–39.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Norris, F. H., Stevens, S. P., Pfefferbaum, B., Wyche, K. F., & Pfefferbaum, R. L. (2008). Community resilience as a metaphor, theory, set of capacities, and strategy for disaster readiness. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 127–150.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). (1999). OCHA orientation handbook on complex emergencies. OCHA. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patel, V., Araya, R., Chatterjee, S., Chisholm, D., Cohen, A., De Silva, M., et al. (2007). Treatment and prevention of mental disorders in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet, 370(9591), 991–1005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Patel, V., Araya, R., de Lima, M., Ludermir, A., & Todd, C. (1999). Women, poverty and common mental disorders in four restructuring societies. Social Science & Medicine, 49(11), 1461–1471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patel, V., DeSouza, N., & Rodrigues, M. (2003). Postnatal depression and infant growth and development in low income countries: A cohort study from Goa, India. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 88(1), 34–37.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Patel, V., Garrison, P., de Jesus Mari, J., Minas, H., Prince, M., & Saxena, S. (2008). The Lancet’s series on global mental health: 1 year on. Lancet, 372(9646), 1354–1357.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Patel, V., Saraceno, B., & Kleinman, A. (2006). Beyond evidence: The moral case for international mental health. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163(8), 1312–1315.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Patel, V., & Sartorius, N. (2008). From science to action: The Lancet Series on Global Mental Health. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 21(2), 109–113.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pupavac, V. (2001). Therapeutic governance: Psycho-social interventins and trauma risk management. Disasters, 25(4), 358–372.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pupavac, V. (2004). Psychosocial interventions and the demoralization of humanitarianism. Journal of Biosocial Science, 36(4), 491–504.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, A., Patel, V., Maselko, J., & Kirkwood, B. (2008). The neglected ‘m’ in MCH programmes – why mental health of mothers is important for child nutrition. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 13(4), 579–583.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reacher, M., McKenzie, K., Lane, C., Nichols, T., Kedge, I., Iversen, A., et al. (2004). Health impacts of flooding in Lewes: A comparison of reported gastrointestinal and other illness and mental health in flooded and non-flooded households. Communicable Disease and Public Health, 7(1), 39–46.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, S., Bisson, J., Churchill, R., & Wessely, S. (2002). Psychological debriefing for preventing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12076399

  • Saraceno, B. (2007). Advancing the global mental health agenda. International Journal of Public Health, 52(3), 140–141.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schipper, L., & Pelling, M. (2006). Disaster risk, climate change and international development: Scope for, and challenges to, integration. Disasters, 30, 19–38.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, S., Semenov, A., Patwardhan, I., Burton, C., Magadza, M., Oppenheimer, A., et al. (2007). Climate change 2007: Assessing key vulnerabilities and the risk from climate change. Intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schulz, A., Israel, B., & Lantz, P. (2003). Instrument for evaluating dimensions of group dynamics within community-based participatory research partnerships. Evaluation and Program Planning, 26(3), 249–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheik, M., Gutierrez, M. I., Bolton, P., Spiegel, P., Thieren, M., & Burnham, G. (2000). Deaths among humanitarian workers. BMJ, 321(7254), 166–168.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D., & Vivekananda, J. (2007). A climate of conflict: The links between climate change, peace and war. London: International Alert.

    Google Scholar 

  • Song, S., Wang, W., & Hu, P. (2009). Famine, death, and madness: Schizophrenia in early adulthood after prenatal exposure to the Chinese Great Leap Forward Famine. Social Science & Medicine, 68(7), 1315–1321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • St Clair, D., Xu, M., Wang, P., Yu, Y., Fang, Y., Zhang, F., et al. (2005). Rates of adult schizophrenia following prenatal exposure to the Chinese famine of 1959–1961. JAMA, 294(5), 557–562.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stern, N. (2006). The economics of climate change. Stern review. London: HM Treasury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strachan, J. (2006). Adapting to climate change in developing countries. London: Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Summerfield, D. (1995). Debriefing after psychological trauma. Inappropriate exporting of western culture may cause additional harm. BMJ, 311(7003), 509.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Summerfield, D. (1999). A critique of seven assumptions behind psychological trauma programmes in war-affected areas. Social Science & Medicine, 48(10), 1449–1462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Summerfield, D. (2002). ICD and DSM are contemporary cultural documents. BMJ, 324(7342), 914.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Summerfield, D. (2008). How scientifically valid is the knowledge base of global mental health? BMJ, 336(7651), 992–994.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thow, A., & de Blois, M. (2008). Climate change and human vulnerability: Mapping emerging trends and risk hotspots for humanitarian actors. Summary for decision makers and technical annex and additional maps: Report to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Palais des Nations CH-1211, Geneva 10, Switzerland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toole, M. J., & Waldman, R. J. (1990). Prevention of excess mortality in refugee and displaced populations in developing countries. JAMA, 263(24), 3296–3302.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Webster, M., Ginnetti, J., Walker, P., Coppard, D., & Kent, R. (2008). The humanitarian costs of climate change. Medford, MA: Feinstein International Center at Tufts University.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2005a). Mental health atlas 2005. Retrieved May 10, 2011, from http://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/mhatlas05/en/index.html.

  • World Health Organization. (2005b). Mental health assistance to the populations affected by the Tsunami in Asia. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mental_health/resources/tsunami/en/index.html.

  • World Health Organization. (2008). Scaling up care for mental, neurological and substance use disorders. Geneva, Switzerland: Mental Health Gap Action Program.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, H., & Harvey, P. (2004). The Sphere Project: The Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response. Disasters, 28: 99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zarowsky, C. (2004). Writing trauma: Emotion, ethnography, and the politics of suffering among Somali returnees in Ethiopia. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 28, 189–209.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Washington, DC, USA

    Inka Weissbecker

  2. Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA

    Jennifer Czincz

Authors
  1. Inka Weissbecker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jennifer Czincz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer Czincz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Perlhuhnweg 2, Berlin, 12355, Germany

    Inka Weissbecker

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Weissbecker, I., Czincz, J. (2011). Humanitarian Crises: The Need for Cultural Competence and Local Capacity Building. In: Weissbecker, I. (eds) Climate Change and Human Well-Being. International and Cultural Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9742-5_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation