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| Sphere Handbook | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sphere Handbook |
| Subject | Humanitarian standards manual |
| First published | 1998 |
| Publisher | Sphere Project / Sphere Association |
| Languages | Multiple |
| Editions | 1998, 2004, 2011, 2018 |
Sphere Handbook The Sphere Handbook is a widely used compendium of humanitarian standards that aims to improve the quality and accountability of humanitarian action in crises. It consolidates technical standards, rights-based approaches, and operational guidance to assist organizations such as International Committee of the Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, World Health Organization, and United Nations Children's Fund in planning and delivering assistance. The handbook is referenced by donors, NGOs, and national authorities including United States Agency for International Development, European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, and national red cross and red crescent societies.
The handbook presents minimum standards across sectors including Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Programme, United Nations Population Fund, International Organization for Migration, International Rescue Committee, and shelter actors like UN-Habitat and national societies such as British Red Cross. It aims to bridge policy instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and operational tools used by actors like Oxfam, Save the Children, CARE International, and Mercy Corps. The text combines technical chapters on water, sanitation, nutrition, health, shelter, and protection with cross-cutting themes linked to donors and standards bodies like Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The initiative was coalesced by a coalition of organizations including British Red Cross, Oxfam, Médecins Sans Frontières, International Rescue Committee, and Christian Aid following humanitarian failures observed in crises such as the Rwandan Genocide response and the Great Lakes refugee crisis. The first edition drew on sector expertise from institutions like University of Oxford, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and technical agencies such as WHO and FAO. Subsequent editions in 2004, 2011, and 2018 incorporated lessons from responses to events like the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the Haiti earthquake (2010), and the Syrian refugee crisis, and engaged stakeholders including United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, European Union Civil Protection Mechanism, and national humanitarian networks.
Core principles in the handbook reference humanitarian actors including International Committee of the Red Cross and legal frameworks such as the Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Minimum standards address sectors where agencies like WHO, WFP, UNICEF, UNHCR, and FAO lead technical guidance: water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); food security and nutrition; shelter and settlement; health services; and protection for groups assisted by UNFPA and child-focused NGOs like Save the Children. The standards incorporate accountability measures used by donors such as DFID (now Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) and mechanisms promoted by Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP) and Humanitarian Accountability Partnership. Each standard is linked to monitoring indicators used by organizations including International Medical Corps and African Union partners.
Humanitarian actors from United Nations Development Programme field offices to national NGOs such as Bangladesh Red Crescent Society and Kenya Red Cross Society use the handbook to design assessments, proposals for funders like United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, and operational protocols for crises including floods in Pakistan and displacement in South Sudan. Field practitioners from agencies such as Doctors Without Borders and Concern Worldwide apply Sphere indicators during needs assessments and in coordination forums like Cluster Approach meetings led by OCHA. Donors including U.S. Department of State and European Civil Protection reference the handbook in grant conditions and quality assurance frameworks.
Training curricula developed by organizations including ICRC, IFRC, UNICEF, and academic centers at London School of Economics and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health integrate the handbook into professional development for humanitarian logisticians, WASH engineers, protection officers, and camp managers from institutes such as RedR and Humanitarian Leadership Academy. Assessment tools and audits used by consultancies and networks like ALNAP and certification schemes tied to agencies such as Project Management Institute or sector-specific accreditation bodies draw on Sphere indicators for quality assurance.
Critics from NGOs such as Médecins Sans Frontières and scholars at Harvard University and University of Manchester have argued the handbook can be overly prescriptive, insufficiently context-sensitive, or biased toward international agency capacities versus local responders like Community-Based Organizations and national societies. Debates involving donors such as USAID and ECHO prompted revisions to emphasize localization, protection mainstreaming, and gender considerations advocated by actors including Global Protection Cluster and Women’s Refugee Commission. The 2018 edition incorporated feedback from field studies in crises like Yemen and institutional reviews by bodies including IFRC and OCHA.
Regional adaptations and case studies spotlighted by humanitarian consortia involve responses coordinated by entities such as African Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and national ministries in contexts like the 2015 Nepal earthquake and floods in Philippines. Case studies cite implementations by MSF in conflict zones, UNHCR in protracted displacement settings like Lebanon, and shelter programs run by ShelterBox and Catholic Relief Services in the Caribbean. Evaluations by research centers at Tufts University and University of Bristol document how actors—including national societies like Philippine Red Cross and local NGOs—adapt standards to cultural, climatic, and legal environments.
Category:Humanitarian aid