The Union of Relief and Development Associations in Lebanon (URDA), in cooperation with Active Voice Center, organized a training course entitled “Humanitarian Work Ethics” while using the Sphere handbook as a global humanitarian guide, presented by Dr. Ramzi El Hagg to around 20 URDA employees.
The course included a definition of several topics including the Sphere standards, which set out the basis for the response of relief and humanitarian aid providers to disaster and conflict-affected persons, as well as the Humanitarian Charter and its relevance to relief workers, code of conduct, and the minimum standards for projects (Water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion (WASH), food security and nutrition, shelter and settlement, and health.
URDA’s General Manager, Houssam Al Ghali explained that participation in such courses means that we are building a team that can deal with relief needs in accordance with international standards.
It is worth mentioning that the “Sphere Handbook” is a set of principles developed by a group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) together with the Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations in 1997, aimed at formulating a set of core areas for humanitarian response in conflict areas. The Sphere handbook is the longest living initiative in the field of humanitarian standards, field-tested over 20 years and periodically updated to remain suitable for the purpose for which it was developed in an ever-changing world.
