Ailes de l'Aide et de la Paix
Organisation Ailes de secours et de paix

Santé

Supporting Health, Dignity and Access in Humanitarian Crises

Conflict, displacement and humanitarian emergencies can disrupt access to essential health services, increase health risks and place additional pressure on individuals, families and communities.

Wings of Aid & Peace (WAP) seeks to contribute to appropriate, needs-based health responses that promote access, dignity, prevention and community well-being while connecting humanitarian health action with protection, nutrition, WASH and other relevant areas of support.

Programme Overview

Health as an Essential Part of Humanitarian Response

Access to appropriate healthcare and reliable health information can become increasingly difficult during humanitarian crises.

Conflict and displacement may disrupt health services, affect infrastructure and supply systems, restrict movement and create additional barriers for people seeking care.

At the same time, overcrowding, inadequate water and sanitation, food insecurity, malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions may increase health risks.

WAP's Health programme provides an institutional framework through which the organization may contribute to humanitarian health responses according to assessed needs, technical capacity, available resources, coordination arrangements and the specific context of each intervention.

The Challenge

When Crisis Disrupts Access to Health

Humanitarian emergencies can affect both the health needs of communities and the systems available to respond to them.
The nature and severity of these challenges vary between contexts.
Health programming should therefore be based on appropriate assessment and technical analysis rather than assumptions about community needs.

People may face challenges including:

Santé

Learning Through Crisis. Opportunity for the Future.

Situation géographique

Yémen

 

Country: General
Resource

Politique de protection de l'enfance

La politique organisationnelle de WAP définit les engagements et les procédures en matière de protection des enfants dans tous les domaines de programmation.

Pays : Soudan
Nouvelles

De nouvelles unités mobiles de santé lancées au Soudan

WAP teams continue to work closely with local partners to deliver assistance to affected communities. Further…

Pays : Soudan
Notre approche

Needs-Based and Community-Informed Health Action

WAP seeks to approach humanitarian health programming through a combination of needs assessment, community engagement, technical responsibility, coordination and accountability.

Our approach is guided by the following priorities:

Areas of Intervention

Health Support Based on Need and Capacity

Depending on assessed needs, technical capacity, available resources, partnerships and approved programme design, WAP's Health programme may include or support appropriate interventions such as:

Referral and Service Linkages

Helping connect people with appropriate available health or specialized services where relevant referral arrangements exist.

Health Promotion

Providing appropriate and understandable information intended to help communities recognize health risks and make informed decisions.

Disease Prevention and Awareness

Supporting relevant community-level prevention and awareness activities where identified health risks require them.

Maternal and Child Health Support

Where appropriate to programme capacity and technical arrangements, supporting initiatives that contribute to improved awareness, access or referral relating to maternal and child health needs.

Community Health

Supporting community-based approaches that strengthen awareness of relevant health issues, preventive practices and appropriate access to available services.

Emergency Health Support

Contributing to appropriate health-related humanitarian responses during emergencies according to assessed needs, organizational capacity and coordination arrangements.

Health-Related Supplies or Assistance

Where technically appropriate and formally approved, supporting relevant health-related assistance within established programme, quality and accountability requirements. The inclusion of an intervention in this programme framework does not mean that WAP currently provides every listed service. Specific activities should be defined and approved at project level.

Community Health

Strengthening Knowledge and Access

Community engagement can play an important role in humanitarian health programming.

People need information that is relevant, understandable and appropriate to their context.

Where appropriate, WAP may support community health approaches intended to strengthen awareness, preventive practices and knowledge of available services.

Community health activities should be designed with appropriate technical input and should avoid providing inaccurate, misleading or unsupported medical information.

Health Promotion and Prevention

Supporting Informed Health Practices

Preventive health information can be particularly important where crises have disrupted normal services or increased exposure to health risks.

Depending on identified needs, health-promotion activities may address relevant topics connected to programme objectives and local health priorities.

Information should be:

WAP should not publish or distribute medical advice beyond its verified technical competence and approved programme materials.

Accessible to intended audiences
Respectful of local realities
Consistent with applicable programme guidance

Referral and Coordination

Connecting People With Appropriate Support

Some health needs require specialized services that may fall outside WAP’s programme capacity or mandate.
Where appropriate referral arrangements exist, WAP may help people understand and access relevant services provided by qualified actors.
Referral processes should consider:
Where appropriate, education projects may seek to address identified barriers and promote equitable access to relevant learning opportunities.
Linking Health and Nutrition

Addressing Interconnected Risks

Health and nutrition can be closely connected, particularly during humanitarian crises.

Malnutrition may increase health vulnerability, while illness can affect nutritional status.

Where relevant, WAP seeks to strengthen appropriate coordination between Health and Nutrition programming so that identified needs can be addressed more coherently.

Any specialized clinical or nutrition treatment should be undertaken only where appropriate technical capacity, protocols and programme arrangements exist.

Linking Health and WASH

Safe Water and Hygiene Support Better Health

Unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene conditions can contribute to significant health risks.

WAP therefore seeks, where appropriate, to connect health programming with WASH interventions and community engagement.

Coordination between these programme areas can strengthen prevention and help address interconnected humanitarian needs.

Health and Protection

Access With Safety and Dignity

People may experience different barriers to accessing health-related support.

Protection risks, displacement, disability, age, gender, insecurity, stigma or other contextual factors may affect people's ability to seek and receive assistance.

WAP seeks to consider relevant protection and inclusion factors in health programme design and implementation.

Health-related activities should respect dignity, privacy and appropriate confidentiality.

Protection et PSEA

Protecting People in Health-Related Activities

Health programming may involve interaction with people experiencing significant vulnerability and may involve sensitive personal information.

WAP seeks to integrate safeguarding and PSEA considerations into relevant programme activities.

Personnel and partners involved in health-related programmes should understand applicable standards of conduct and reporting responsibilities.

Sensitive safeguarding information should be handled through appropriately confidential and restricted processes.

Responsible Health Information

Privacy, Consent and Confidentiality

Health-related information can be particularly sensitive.

Where WAP collects health-related personal information as part of an approved programme, only information necessary for legitimate programme purposes should be collected and handled according to applicable privacy, confidentiality and data-protection requirements.

Access to sensitive information should be appropriately restricted.

Personal health information should not be published in stories, reports, photographs or other communications without appropriate safeguards and authorization.

Target Population

Health Programming Based on Assessed Need

Target populations should be determined at project level according to verified health needs, vulnerability, programme objectives and available capacity.

Depending on the context, particular attention may be required to understand barriers affecting people who face heightened health or protection risks.

WAP should avoid assuming vulnerability solely on the basis of a person's membership in a particular group. Programme targeting should be informed by appropriate assessment and contextual analysis.

Community Participation and Accountability

Listening to Communities About Health Needs

Community perspectives can help programmes understand barriers, priorities, misinformation, service gaps and the experience of accessing assistance.

WAP seeks to create appropriate opportunities for communities to:

Feedback should be reviewed appropriately and used to strengthen programme quality where possible

01

Technical Quality and Responsibility

Health Programming Requires Appropriate Expertise

Health is a technically sensitive programme area.

WAP seeks to ensure that health-related interventions are developed and implemented according to the level of technical expertise required by the specific activity.

Where an intervention exceeds WAP's internal technical capacity, appropriate qualified expertise, partnership, referral or other arrangements should be considered before implementation.

Programme ambition should never substitute for the technical competence required to protect people's health and safety.

02

Coordination and Partnerships

Working With Appropriate Health Actors

Humanitarian health responses often require coordination between communities, health authorities, humanitarian organizations, service providers and other relevant actors.

Where appropriate, WAP seeks responsible coordination and collaboration that can strengthen programme quality, referral pathways, technical capacity and continuity of support.

Formal partnerships should undergo appropriate organizational review.

Only approved partnerships should be publicly displayed.

Santé

WAP seeks to contribute to appropriate, needs-based humanitarian health responses that strengthen access, prevention and community well-being while protecting dignity, safety and accountability.

Health With Dignity. Action With Responsibility.

Health programming carries significant responsibility. WAP seeks to understand needs, work with communities and appropriate technical actors, protect sensitive information and develop interventions that match its capacity and the requirements of each humanitarian context. Our goal is to contribute responsibly to healthier and more resilient communities while recognizing the limits of our role and the importance of appropriate technical expertise and coordination.