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‘Mind the gap!’ rethinking the role of health in the emergency and development divide
Author(s) -
O'Dempsey Tim,
Munslow Barry
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the international journal of health planning and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1099-1751
pISSN - 0749-6753
DOI - 10.1002/hpm.1020
Subject(s) - health care , emergency response , business , political science , emergency relief , public relations , emergency management , medicine , medical emergency , law
The ‘Emergency Relief—Rehabilitation—Development’ model is highly problematic, especially in fragile states which fluctuate in and out of crisis. Lack of definition as to what constitutes a humanitarian emergency and the absence of rules of engagement of NGOs and donors further complicates the problem. Restricted mandates and budgets of institutions and funding bodies lead to gaps in the provision of health services for affected populations. Reducing the gap between emergency and developmental healthcare requires approaching the issue from both sides, recognizing that the emergency‐development gap is not a single uniform entity but a complex dynamic of heterogeneous gaps. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.