Humanitarian Congress Berlin – Programme 2024

Welcome Note: 
Francois de Keersmaeker | Director, Ärzte der Welt / Médecins du Monde Germany 

Keynote Speaker:
Nimo Hassan | Director, Somali NGO Consortium
&
Heba Aly | Coordinator, UN Charter Reform Coalition; and Senior Advisor, Coalition for the UN We Need

Chair:
Isabelle Arradon, Director of Research, International Crisis Group

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a country with a vibrant civil society and significant natural resources has been experiencing escalating conflict, in particular in the eastern provinces. This session will look at current and urgent humanitarian challenges but also address root causes of conflict and violence, such as the trade of minerals and violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, including SGBV. It will also look at synergies between the work of humanitarian and human rights actors and seek recommendations on how they can support each other in the face of escalating violence and significant humanitarian needs. Finally, the session will also explore ways of ensuring that the urgent humanitarian situation in the DRC is not ignored by mainstream media, donor countries and political actors. 

Luise Amtsberg | Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Assistance
Sandrine Lusamba | National Coordinator, SOLIDARITE FEMININE POUR LA PAIX ET LE DEVELOPPEMENT INTEGRAL “SOFEPADI”     
Manu Lampaert | DRC country représentative, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders 
Faridah Luanda | Gender and Diversity Coordinator, Global Refugee Youth Network 

Chair:
Omar Ahmed Abenza | Head of Region – Africa, Geneva Call   

In humanitarian settings, access to sexual and reproductive health and rights is often limited or non-existent, while contraception and abortion care remain neglected components. However, safe abortion is essential healthcare and a lifesaving intervention. Self-managed abortion has emerged as a viable and safe approach, especially when conventional medical services are unavailable. WHO considers abortion essential health care and calls on countries to decriminalize abortion and remove the many access barriers. Refusing abortion services can cause severe mental and physical suffering and has been considered a violation of IHL to ensure human treatment. This panel highlights the importance of safe abortion as a public health component in humanitarian contexts. It explores the role of self-managed abortion and share good practices from feminist organizations. Overall, it provides insights and solutions for the integration of self-managed abortion into humanitarian health frameworks.

Najat Lahmidi | SHRH Advisor, Médecins du Monde France  
Dr. Bela Ganatra | Head of Unit PUA; Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health, HRP/ WHO (Geneva)
Dr. Lucía Berro Pizzarossa | British Academy International Fellow, University of Birmingham
Bill Powell | Senior Medical Scientist, IPAS

Chair:
Kristin Horn

This panel explores the lack of humanitarian response in many global crises, despite the growing humanitarian system. In acute emergencies, international staff are often evacuated, leading to reduced or suspended programs. Many agencies focus on easily accessible populations, neglecting harder-to-reach areas. Increasingly, humanitarian actors operate remotely through local NGOs or government authorities, acting more as technical experts or donors. Local organizations, bearing significant responsibilities, often lack the resources and face high security risks. 

In Sudan, over a year into the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a colossal man-made catastrophe continues. Urgent safe humanitarian access is a matter of life or death for millions. The panel will discuss the reasons behind the inadequate response and potential solutions to scale up activities across the country. 

Maryam Elfaki | Civil Society Activist, Sudanese Civil Society
Ozan Agbas | Emergency Manager, Médecins Sans Frontières
Betty Ka | Regional Emergency Coordinator for Sudan Crisis/Director of Supply Chain and Delivery Division, World Food Programme
Christina Förster | Deputy Head of Division for Humanitarian Assistance / Operations, German Federal Foreign Office  

Chair:
Kholood Khair | Director, Confluence Advisory

In recent years, the working conditions for humanitarians have become more difficult, volatile and insecure. This has increasingly created INVISIBLE FRONTIERS for humanitarian actors operating in fragile contexts. This panel looks at the changing environment for HUMANITARIAN NEGOTIATIONS, especially for local actors who are at the forefront of humanitarian responses and regularly conduct negotiations for humanitarian access. Yet, they are often the least protected and their needs are not always considered. This panel therefore explores different perspectives, experiences and learnings from locally led humanitarian negotiations. Speakers representing local organizations from Afghanistan, Nigeria and Venezuela share their strategies to secure humanitarian access. Different approaches to negotiations and how to handle practical, security and ethical dilemmas are discussed. Overall, the panel shows practical solutions for humanitarian negotiations from local actors, and how international actors can support them best in doing so

Hamsatu Allamin | Founder and Executive Director, Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development
Khalil Karimi I Head of Operations, Razi Social Development Organization (RSDO)
Arquímides Farías | Senior Analyst, Humanitarian professional
Dr. Kristina Roepstorff | Senior Researcher, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)

Chair:
Armando Palacios | Network Security Advisor, Médecins du Monde

Handling dilemmas that challenge humanitarian principles can be difficult, as they often require balancing competing ethical values, addressing complex societal issues, and making decisions that affect people’s lives. If we reflect the Core Humanitarian Principles that normally should guide humanitarian action, we will realize that dealing with dilemmatic situations is rarely easy and often does not offer perfect solutions, but even more requires well-founded, ethically justifiable decisions and the willingness to choose the better of two “bad solutions”.  

This Panel aims to answer questions like whether every humanitarian need has an equal priority for every humanitarian actor, and is intergenerational aid – is the future – part of the emergency of the present, and should it be prioritized? Another burning question would be whether it is unethical – if no alternative financial support is offered – to involve profit-oriented companies in burden-sharing? Finally, the session will discuss whether humanitarian aid that is more successful should be weighed against that which is less promising.  

Prof. Marco Sassòli I Honorary Professor, University of Geneva 
Dr. Andrea Steinke | Researcher and Consultant, Egilstein – Agency for Process Design   
Abby Stoddard | Partner, Humanitarian Outcomes  
Nimo Hassan | Director, Somali NGO Consortium

Chair:
Alexandra Rüth | Head of Knowledge & Innovation Department, German Red Cross

This session looks at the elephant in the (emergency) room: money and resources. Decreasing budgets and changing funding landscape pose significant challenges to humanitarian actors, while needs are escalating and complex crises become more protracted. This trend is often framed with  narratives that link humanitarian funding to political and security interests of donor states or economical interests. Humanitarian organizations are increasingly required to “do more with less”. The panelists with their individual backgrounds will discuss their experience and concrete responses to the critical and changing funding panorama and its impacts on prioritization in humanitarian and developmental work. What are new and local solutions to funding gaps and what are the implications of new narratives on funding? Overall, the panel focuses on possible solutions and ways to move towards a more effective and equitable funding landscape, and asks what is needed from different stakeholders to achieve it.        

John Bryant | Research Fellow, Humanitarian Policy Group, ODI
Margret Müller | Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator, Oxfam International
Misun Woo |  Regional Coordinator, Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
Mehdi Poyan | Desk Officer for Principles of Humanitarian Aid, International Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Demining, German Federal Foreign Office

Chair:
William Anderson | Executive Director, Sphere Standards

Delivering aid where it is needed the most, health care workers are often at the forefront of armed conflicts.  the security of health workers in conflict zones hangs on a thin thread: The obligation to protect and respect medical personnel in contexts of armed conflict, embedded in international humanitarian law (IHL), is often not complied with in practice.  This solution-oriented panel discussion explores how to prevent the grinding down of respect and security of medical care in armed conflicts. We approach this topic by looking at the dilemmas that aid workers are confronted with when their security is threatened. We will consider the impressive record of humanitarians in implementing their own security measures, as well as their advocacy for the implementation of legal obligations with warring parties and the international community. Learning from best and failed practices we strive to understand how we can attach thick mooring ropes to IHL to reestablish trust in its underlying principles. Drawing from the expertise of the room, the panel will be interactively guided by contributions of the audience.

Aurelien Buffler | Chief of Policy Advice and Planning, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Ana Elisa Barbar | Consultant, World Health Organisation  
Dr Houssam al-Nahhas | Health and Human Rights Researcher, Physicians for Human Rights

Chair:
Christina Wille | Director, Insecurity Insight

Welcome Note: 
Rosella Lombardi | Programme Director, Oxfam Germany

Keynote Speaker:
Ugochi Daniels | Deputy Director General for Operations, International Organization for Migration

Chair:
William Anderson | Executive Director, Sphere Standards

Humanitarian work takes place in geopolitical contexts and complex crises, whose drivers and root causes have always been important factors influencing how aid is funded and delivered. Humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, that aid must solely be based on needs, guided the work. Recent years show that contextual complexity is often reduced to simplistic narratives on who deserves aid and who doesn’t, while the global context is changing significantly. Do these changes drive us further away from principled humanitarian action and are we still serving the “most in need”? Has aid ever been non-political? Based on their experience and expertise, the panelists will critically discuss the politicization of humanitarian work of different stakeholders in a post-colonial framework and with competing narratives – its impact on affected communities, staff members and on implementation of aid projects. What lessons and recommendations can be drawn for the future of (principled) humanitarian action?   

Marta Lorenzo | Director of UNRWA for Europe, United Nations Relief and Works Agency UNRWA
Deike Potzel | Director-General for Stabilisation and Humanitarian Assistance, German Federal Foreign Office 
Prof. Thea Hilhorst I Professor for Humanitarian Studies,The Hague Humanitarian Studies Centre, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Olivier Vandecasteele | Director, Protect Humanitarians 
Wafa’a Al Saidy | Head of Mission Syria, Médecins du Monde

Chair:
Ralf Südhoff | Director, Centre for Humanitarian Action

A multitude of paradigm shifts are changing daily life and the future, including the perception of long-standing IHL by a young algorithm-savvy, globally connected generation. Especially when it comes to highlighting innovative aspects of IHL, one should not ignore the technological dangers. In already crisis-ridden regions, feigned neutrality, independence, or participation in either a positive or negative sense is an issue that the younger generation must address when thinking about innovations in IHL. How do young people today understand and feel about international humanitarian law (IHL) and the policies in place when it comes to armed conflict? Many young people want to build bridges and remind others that building peace requires effort and commitment. Others choose the easy path and stray into confrontational ideologies. This diversity means that new solutions to complex humanitarian challenges must be found, including for IHL. This panel will discuss what this might look like. 

Dr. Tassilo Singer | Lecturer “Technical Data Protection”, University of the Bundeswehr Munich
Erik Tuchtfeld | Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law | Head of the humanet3 Research Group 
Dr. Claire Vergerio | Independent Scholar
Mirka Schäfer | Head of Advocacy & Mobilisation, SOS Humanity

Chair:
Dr. Katja Schöberl | SeniorAdvisor Political & Movement Relations, German Red Cross

With shrinking foreign aid budgets and upcoming pledging campaigns, multilateral financing organizations face significant budget cuts, potentially reducing vital health services in high-burden countries. Many countries have not fully recovered from COVID-19, which severely impacted the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Humanitarian needs are also at an all-time high due to conflicts and the climate crisis, complicating health service delivery. 

The next few years are crucial for global health organizations like Gavi, the Global Fund, WHO, and the Pandemic Fund as they seek new funding. If these organizations fail to fulfill their missions, there will be setbacks in infectious disease control and routine immunization, reversing progress on Sustainable Development Goal 3. Cost-saving measures, debt relief, and alternative funding must be explored to strengthen health services and mitigate budget crises.This panel will discuss cost-saving strategies, resource mobilization, and the roles of donor countries and civil society in mitigating cutbacks. 

Mit Philipps | Senior Health Policy Advisor, Médecins Sans Frontières
Yolanda Paul | Manager, The University of the West Indies Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit, Mona Jamaica
Dr. Katja Pohlmann | Head of Unit for Global Health and Health Financing, Germany Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) 

Chair:
Andrew Green | Freelance Global Health Correspondent

The climate crisis with its growing number of looming droughts and severe floodings is increasing humanitarian needs worldwide. Disasters are becoming more frequent and severe and the resilience of those affected is declining. All projections indicate that this situation will worsen.  

The scale and nature of climate change will have specific impacts on the humanitarian WASH sector. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services are confronted by multiple growing challenges, such as: increased demand for water due to heat, increased pathogen activity in stored water and increased likelihood of overflow or damage to sanitation infrastructure. Water insecurity is also expected to grow in many regions across the globe. 

The session “Unpacking the Climate-Water Nexus” spotlights climate change adaptation in humanitarian WASH. What are the challenges and technical solutions in light of growing water insecurity and other climate-related changes in the WASH sector? 

Mercy Kieni | Public Health Engineer, Oxfam GB – Kenya
Dr. Karen Lebek | Postdoctoral researcher and scientific coordinator, University of Potsdam
Paul Knox-Clarke | Principal, ADAPT Initiative on climate change and humanitarian action 

Chair:
Nishanie Jayamaha | Co-lead, Secretariat for the Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organizations 

The European Union is increasingly closing itself off from refugees, creating a ‘gated Europe’ where its external borders have become hotspots of death, despair, and destitution. Despite having the wealth and capacity to manage the humanitarian challenges posed by refugee movements, EU states prioritize deterrence and outsourcing, often through ethically questionable deals. Humanitarian actors, filling the gaps in aid provision, risk becoming part of a system that uses structural violence as a deterrence tool. At the same time, the space for humanitarian work is shrinking, with increasing criminalization of aid providers and restricted access to vulnerable populations. This panel will explore how humanitarian actors can navigate this dehumanizing landscape and hold EU states accountable for violating European and international law.

Chris Jones | Executive Director, Statewatch
Ruben Andersson | Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford
Chloe Marshall-Denton | Humanitarian Advisor on Forced Migration, Médecins Sans Frontières

Chair:
Karoline Popp | Researcher, Expert Council on Integration and Migration

With Ukraine and Gaza as current examples, this panel aims to discuss how concepts of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) are integrated and delivered in humanitarian work in complex crisis settings and emergencies and what the lessons learned are – also for the mental health of our own staff.    

The panelists will discuss the mental health (+social) impacts and traumatic, long-lasting or intergenerational effects of crises situations on affected communities, especially children. What concepts are applied currently in humanitarian and development work, how do they relate to local culture and contexts, how is priority setting on the ground being considered?  

Examples from their daily work will highlight the challenges, that that practitioners, staff of international and local NGOs are facing in providing MHPSS services to affected communities. What kind of answers and tools were useful, what works and what doesn’t and why.  

Sameh Hendi | Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Technical Advisor, Save The Children International – Ukraine Country Office
Ananda Galappatti | Co-Director, MHPSS.net
Hanan Ismael | Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Referent, Medicos Del Mundo – Spain 
Ohaila Shomar | General Director, Sawa Orgnization 

Chair:
Pennina Munguti | Regional Head/Coordinator Eastern Africa, arche noVa

Introduction: 
Dr. Parnian Parvanta | President, Médecins Sans Frontières Germany

Dr. Hugo Slim | Senior Research Fellow, University of Oxford
&
Anita Kattakuzhy, Director of Policy, NEAR

The documentary “Affliction” (50 min) sheds light on the fates of those affected by the Ebola epidemic in West Africa (2014-2016) − the largest outbreak of the highly contagious disease to date. Community leaders, patients, survivors, national and international aid workers from Doctors without Borders talk about the fear and rejection, the stigma, the impact of quarantine, the mortality of health personnel, the failure of the international response and the lack of adequate medical treatment.

In the following Q&A session Dr Maximilian Gertler will report on his work with Doctors without Borders against Ebola in Guinea. The tropical medicine specialist and epidemiologist will speak about the various challenges in fighting the outbreak, the tough choices of humanitarian aid and our current epidemic preparedness. 

If you feel uncomfortable giving interviews, making official statements or speaking at public events, DW Akademie media trainers can show you how gestures, body language and poise can help you deliver your message clearly and confidently. Practice in front of the camera and get feedback from the professionals. 

You can register directly at the booth on October 17. The training sessions are offered in German and English.