scholarly journals Experiences of humanitarian assistance programs with corporate funding

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Makhoul ◽  
F Nasser ◽  
Z El-Amine ◽  
R Nakkash
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Industry Funding ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Corporate Funding ◽  
Adverse Influence ◽  
Project Coordination ◽  
Humanitarian Agency

Abstract Background Dwindling governmental funding for widespread natural disasters and armed conflicts have attracted corporate funding for humanitarian assistance. Although such funding has allowed expansion of humanitarian programs and capacity building, evaluations of such partnerships are rare and focus only on management aspects, without attention to possible influences on the organizations themselves and the populations they serve. Given the well-established conflicts of interest of corporations and their adverse influence on public health, an assessment of industry funding to humanitarian assistance is necessary to identify potential violations and harms. Methods The research explores the experiences and views of a sample of humanitarian agencies in Lebanon which serve refugee populations about corporate funding and influences on their programs. In-depth interviews with international and local humanitarian agency representatives in Lebanon were conducted and analyzed by thematic analysis. Results Findings indicate perceived advantages with financial assistance, flexible agendas and mutual learning. Meanwhile, challenges fall in project coordination, implementation, and the lack of attention of the private sector to the work ethics with vulnerable populations. Also, this collaboration could impact refugees positively or negatively depending on the type of corporations, their branding and how they are perceived by the populations served. Organizations trust that their processes of detection and reporting are an impervious firewall against conflicts of interest. Conclusions Corporate power expressed through funding to humanitarian agencies may influence the decision making and the implementation of the programs for humanitarian assistance. The study highlights the need for critical thinking about corporate funding, and creating opportunities for discussion about this issue for humanitarian agencies. Key messages Industry conflicts of interest on public health are well-established, but understudied in humanitarian assistance programs. Corporate funding for humanitarian assistance may hide potential conflicts of interest for the corporation.

scholarly journals 10.B. Workshop: Corporate influence on science – what is happening and what can be done?

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Industry Funding ◽  
Corporate Influence ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industries ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Funding Research

Abstract The role of the corporate sector in research sponsorship is growing. So too is the evidence that corporations whose products are potentially damaging to health or the environment influence science and the ways in which science is used in policy and practice. Such efforts are a key part of corporate attempts to maintain or increase the consumption or use of industry products, and to secure favourable policy outcomes. The products and practices of corporations are responsible for a growing proportion of the global disease burden. Non-communicable diseases, many driven by consumption of unhealthy commodities and exposure to chemicals, account for over 73 percent of global deaths. It is increasingly important to understand the complex and multifaceted ways corporations seek to influence science; the impact these strategies have; and the ways this influence can be addressed. This workshop brings together global experts to explore these issues. Drawing on examples from several industries (e.g. tobacco, alcohol, food, and pharmaceuticals), it aims to: Increase understanding of the ways corporations whose products are potentially damaging to health influence science. We present a newly developed, evidence-based typology which draws together the vast existing literature in this field, to present a simplified way of understanding corporate influence on science. Delegates will be provided with materials that provide a means for recognising such influence.Examine the influence that corporations have on the first stage in the research process - research agendas. We present examples from tobacco, food and pharmaceutical industries which illustrate the mechanism through which industry funding of science drives researchers to study questions that are favourable to industry. The desired outcome is to maximise research on the benefits of industry products (positioning these products as solutions to complex problems), minimise research on the harms of their products, support their policy and legal positions, and impede potential regulation of their products.Increase awareness of the involvement that corporations have had in altering the mechanisms though which science is used in policymaking. Delegates will hear how corporations promoted and embedded policymaking reforms which increase reliance on and provide a conduit for industry-favourable science.Suggest ways forward concerning management of conflicts of interest in the publication of health research. Here we will discuss the roles that journals can play in governing conflicts of interest and issues of transparency in the publication of academic research.Suggest ways forward for funding research on unhealthy commodities. We present criteria for tobacco industry-supported research funding programs, and discuss the applicability of similar programs for funding research on other unhealthy commodities, and on the practices of other industries such as the fossil fuels industry. Key messages Corporations have been seen to skew evidence bases, manipulate interpretations of science, and influence use of science in policy and practice – such influence is a major threat to public health. This workshop exposes industry tactics in this area and begins to identify ways for dealing with them.

Commissioned Corps Deployments & Family Resiliency

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice Arceneaux ◽  
James Dickens ◽  
Wanza Bacon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
United States Public Health ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
The United States ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Family Resiliency ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
National Public Health ◽  
The U.S

Established in 1889, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (Corps) is one of the seven uniformed services and is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Corps is committed to protecting, promoting and advancing the health and safety of the nation with a history that dates back over two centuries, beginning as the U.S. Marine Hospital Service. Today, the Corps responds and serves in many areas impacted by natural disasters, disease outbreaks, terrorist attacks and public health emergencies. Corps officers have deployed to provide assistance during national public health emergencies (e.g., hurricanes, bombings, flooding and wild fires); to combat the Ebola epidemic in West Africa; and to provide humanitarian assistance in Latin America and the Caribbean. Corps deployments impact not only service members but also their families. This article offers a brief overview of the Corps and discusses how deployments impact families. Family resiliency and future implications for research and practice will also be examined.

scholarly journals Beyond financial conflicts of interest: Institutional oversight of faculty consulting agreements at schools of medicine and public health

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. e0203179
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Mello ◽  
Lindsey Murtagh ◽  
Steven Joffe ◽  
Patrick L. Taylor ◽  
Yelena Greenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Financial Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Institutional Oversight ◽  
Schools Of Medicine

The International Committee of the Red Cross and humanitarian assistance: A policy analysis

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (314) ◽  
pp. 512-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Forsythe
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
World History ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Emergency Relief ◽  
Complex Emergencies ◽  
The Cold War

In today's armed conflicts and complex emergencies more civilians suffer than combatants. After the Cold War one could identify a zone of turmoil in which civilian suffering was acute. But one could also identify a zone of stability from which operated a complicated system of humanitarian assistance designed to respond to civilian suffering. Media coverage emphasized the suffering, but never before in world history had such a kaleidoscope of humanitarian actors tried to provide emergency relief during armed conflicts and complex emergencies. Inevitably calls were heard for better organization and coordination, and in 1991–92 the United Nations created a Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA).

Epilogue

2021 ◽  
pp. 213-230
Author(s):  
Courtney S. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
The United States ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Social Commitment ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Basic Health ◽  
The Church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has not addressed the structure of health care delivery in the United States that is simultaneously expensive far beyond the levels of any other nation and yet fails to provide access to basic health services for nearly 10% of the population. The concept of adequate health care in LDS teaching on welfare principles provides a basis for constructing an LDS argument for universal access to basic health care. This epilogue draws on the examples of Church advocacy of health care reform in Utah—and Church priorities in international humanitarian assistance programs—to construct a framework of ethical principles to assess proposals and criteria for a social commitment to provide adequate health care to all citizens.

scholarly journals Health behaviours during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: implications for obesity

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (17) ◽  
pp. 3121-3125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niyati Parekh ◽  
Andrea L Deierlein
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Cardiometabolic Health ◽  
Dietary Intakes ◽  
Sedentary Behaviors ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

AbstractObjective:Obesity is a risk factor for severe complications and death from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Public health efforts to control the pandemic may alter health behaviors related to weight gain, inflammation, and poor cardiometabolic health, exacerbating the prevalence of obesity, poor immune health, and chronic diseases.Design:We reviewed how the pandemic adversely influences many of these behaviors, specifically physical activity, sedentary behaviors, sleep, and dietary intakes, and provided individual level strategies that may be used to mitigate them.Results:At the community level and higher, public health and health care professionals need to advocate for intervention strategies and policy changes that address these behaviors, such as increasing nutrition assistance programs and creating designated areas for recreation and active transportation, to reduce disparities among vulnerable populations.Conclusions:The long-lasting impact of the pandemic on health behaviors, and the possibility of a second COVID-19 wave, emphasize the need for creative and evolving, multi-level approaches to assist individuals in adapting their health behaviors to prevent both chronic and infectious diseases.

From humanitarian assistance to “intervention on humanitarian grounds”?

1992 ◽  
Vol 32 (288) ◽  
pp. 228-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Torrelli
Keyword(s):  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Voluntary Organizations ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Sanitary Conditions

While States ever more ardently defend their sovereignty, which does little to improve international cooperation, and as the application of humanitarian law in armed conflicts declines, men of good will throughout the world are doing their utmost to reverse these trends. The century now drawing to a close has witnessed a plethora of private initiatives taken in an effort to temper reasons of State by more humane considerations. Many non-governmental organizations, some symbolically styling themselves “without borders”, have taken over where governments can no longer cope, organizing relief, combating drought, preserving the environment or improving sanitary conditions. These voluntary organizations whose vocation is to serve mankind are without question pursuing humanitarian aims as defined in the first Red Cross principle, which is “to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found”, and whose “purpose is to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being”. Emergency medical assistance organizations, stating that they wish to remain independent of the powers that be, demanding freedom of action to help all victims and encouraged by the example set by Henry Dunant and the ICRC, do not hesitate to claim that their activities fall within the terms of an as yet unwritten body of law entitling them to bring assistance to needy civilian communities, even against the will of the government. Indeed, they believe that receiving proper care is one of the basic human rights of the individual, wheresoever and whosoever he may be. Such basic rights know no national boundary. While awaiting recognition of their activities, the duty to intervene is created by moral considerations.

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