Blogs, news & events
149 stories
blog
Members of SSHAP participated in the State-of-the-art Symposium in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in December 2025. This blog shares insights from the Symposium; considers the important of social and behavioural science and the existing evidence gaps; and lessons for global health security.
news
SSHAP has published a collection of short videos featuring methods, tools and thinking to aid the use of social science approaches in humanitarian and health emergency response practice. This free collection is for researchers, humanitarian practitioners or others interested in learning and incorporating social science analysis in their work.
blog
In the wake of nearly a decade of protracted conflict in Yemen, Mamoon Al-Absi, a former SSHAP Fellow, considers the uncomfortable intersection between international frameworks and local realities and asks: can localised governance and community-driven strategies truly build resilience in fragile, urban environments?
blog
Humanitarian crises are growing in complexity and impact. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs nearly 300 million people globally needed humanitarian assistance and protection in 2024. In a world plagued by natural disasters, violent conflict, and public health emergencies, humanitarian service delivery is critical.
blog
Among the countries worst affected from the sudden and wide-ranging US aid cuts is South Sudan. South Sudan relies on international assistance to provide basic services to its people. Cuts will devastate its healthcare system, including its ability to prepare for and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.
blog
A key dimension of the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform’s approach to mobilising evidence on the social dimensions of emergency responses is helping to build capacity and regional networks of social scientists and practitioners. This blog shares insights from the experiences of participants.
blog
As mpox continues to spread within the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries, concern is growing over how best to respond to this second mpox Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Research in Nigeria during the first PHEIC points to the importance of involving affected community perspectives.
news
The UK's Humanitarian Innovation Hub has featured SSHAP in its series of case studies on academic-practitioner collaborations in humanitarian settings. The case study features learning from SSHAP and highlights key components of SSHAP's approach, including localisation, network building and evidence on demand.
EVENT
18 February 2025
Who controls the borderlands? Rents, debts and the role of political and commercial elites on the Kenya-Ethiopia and Sudan-South Sudan borders
18 February 2025
Who controls the borderlands? Rents, debts and the role of political and commercial elites on the Kenya-Ethiopia and Sudan-South Sudan borders
blog
Learn why setting up multiple channels, presenting in different fora and adapting to decision makers’ schedules is key in this fourth in a five-part blog series. The series offers social scientists tips to better connect with humanitarian responders and planners in advocating for evidence-informed emergency response.
blog
Find out why you should know your audience – their name, their organisation, their sector (and its jargon) – in this third in a five-part blog series. The series offers social scientists tips to better connect with humanitarian responders and planners in advocating for evidence-informed emergency response.
blog
The spread of the current mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has increased both the suffering of communities and the scale of the challenge facing humanitarian actors and authorities. In such circumstances, how can an effective response to mpox, including through vaccination, be achieved?
blog
Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) is a critical component of cholera outbreak response. Sharing insights, strategies, and best practices for RCCE from national and regional efforts to combat cholera can enable actors to co-create solutions to common challenges and help pave the way towards stronger and more empowered communities.
blog
Equipping people working in community engagement and communications during humanitarian crises with the knowledge to use social science research can enable them to generate robust, rigorous and context-relevant socio-behavioural evidence to inform interventions and policymaking. Ginger Johnson highlights the important work of Collective Service partners to support governmental and non-governmental…
blog
The Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP) supported the Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency and the Enugu State Ministry of Health to strengthen their qualitative research capacity to improve preparedness for disease outbreak. This blog shares learning from the process.
blog
Rapid qualitative assessments can contribute to efforts to strengthen community awareness, preparedness and response by improving practitioners’ understandings of emergency contexts and helping to tailor strategies and approaches to people’s needs, capacities, and resilience mechanisms. The Collective Service and partners have been piloting a comprehensive and open source social science…
news
Overcoming barriers: Integrating South Sudanese refugee health professionals into Uganda’s workforce
Around the world many health professionals displaced as refugees face multiple barriers to securing meaningful work in host countries' health systems. Dr Jennifer Palmer, Associate Professor of Anthropology in Global Health, LSHTM, and SSHAP team member, talks about her research among South Sudanese health workers who are refugees in Uganda.
blog
In the context of the global cholera upsurge and in particular the most recent outbreak in Zambia, Eva Niederberger, Santiago Ripoll and Tom Barker blog about the importance of centring cholera outbreak preparedness and response strategies on the circumstances and needs of communities and the experiences and insights of local…
blog
EVENT
14 December 2023
Decolonising Humanitarian Action: A Multiplicity of Meanings, Modes and Methods
14 December 2023
Decolonising Humanitarian Action: A Multiplicity of Meanings, Modes and Methods
On 14 December 2023, this webinar, led by SSHAP Fellows, explored the multiple and emerging meanings, modes and methods for decolonising aid and emergency response. Le 14 décembre 2023, ce webinaire, animé par les boursiers SSHAP, explorera les significations, modes et méthodes multiples et émergents pour décoloniser l'aide et les…
blog
In this blog, Sylvie Imata and Godefroid Muzalia, who work at Groupe d'Etudes sur les Conflits et la Sécurité Humaine (GEC-SH) - a Central & East Africa Regional Hub partner organisation - explore how humanitarian actors, including NGOs, can be aware of and sensitive to the needs and perceptions of…
