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Question Bank
Tools
Mpox question bank: Qualitative questions for community-level data collection frpt
A Question Bank for use by field teams and local research teams working in communities with mpox transmission and those at risk of transmission with the aim of supporting the collection and use of consistent and high-quality social and behavioural…
Article
The safety of strangers: the realities and politics of protecting civilians in times of war
Recent wars have brutally shown that civilians are not safe. This is despite high-level global commitments and multi-billion-dollar humanitarian spending to keep civilian strangers protected. The high civilian death tolls in recent armed conflicts are prompting new questions about how…
Article
Protection and containment: surviving COVID-19 in Palabek refugee settlement, Northern Uganda
Humanitarian assistance is framed around ‘protection’. Deciding whom to protect and against what is not straightforward, particularly during a pandemic. This article critically explores containment and protection by focusing on refugee self-protection in Uganda.
Article
Seeking safety: Identifying protection gaps for artists in South Sudan
Protection of artists during times of conflict has no specific framework in international humanitarian law. However, cultural sites, artefacts and institutions are protected. This article contributes empirical evidence from South Sudan to reveal how artists experience the protection gap and…
Article
Safety among displaced South Sudanese in Khartoum: the role of Christian faith communities
Christianity occupies an integral part of South Sudanese journeys through wars and displacement. This article explores the role of Christian faith communities in providing protection during South Sudanese displacement in Khartoum.
Article
Sing safety: understanding South Sudanese protection strategies through song
This article argues that paying attention to music can help humanitarians understand self-protection strategies, especially as music can create space for discussion even about emotive or political topics that cannot be verbalised in other ways.
Briefing
Cross-border dynamics between Burundi and Tanzania in the context of viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks, 2025 fr
This brief summarises key considerations regarding cross-border dynamics between Burundi and Tanzania in the context of viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) outbreaks in Tanzania and Uganda.
Briefing
Mpox in the Busia-Malaba border region linking Uganda and Kenya
This brief summarises how mpox is perceived and managed in the Busia-Malaba border region that links eastern Uganda and western Kenya.
Briefing
Key considerations: Home-based care for mpox in Central and East Africa fr
This brief outlines key considerations on health system requirements for safe and inclusive home-based care for mpox.
Report
Meeting report: The impact of global aid funding cuts on people and programmes in South Sudan
Report of a roundtable with government actors, academics, development partners and journalists in South Sudan on the sweeping impacts on people and programmes of aid cuts and multiple, intersecting crises.
Case study
SSHAP learning note: Building a localised approach
This learning note shares insights, experiences and lessons from SSHAP's approach to the localisation of its operational responses in sub-Saharan Africa.
Briefing
Social, structural and community dynamics of cholera transmission and mortality in Ethiopia am
This key considerations brief was developed to support response efforts by exploring the social and structural determinants and community dynamics of cholera infection and mortality in Ethiopia.
Report
Conflict-sensitive returns and integration in South Sudan
This research aims to provide a stronger understanding of the risks and opportunities associated with ‘returns’ and ‘integration’ in South Sudan, as well as highlight opportunities for conflict-sensitive (re)integration and early solutions activities.
Briefing
Responding to floods in South Sudan through the humanitarian-peace-development nexus arfr
This Key Considerations brief looks at interconnected problems in the context of South Sudan through a focus on flooding, with wider relevance to other countries in the region, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan, experiencing similar…
Briefing
Child engagement in the context of disease outbreaks in Eastern and Southern Africa arfrptessw
This brief explores why, when and how to engage children in the prevention, response and recovery stages of disease outbreaks.
Infographic
Responding to floods in South Sudan through the humanitarian-peace-development nexus infographic arfr
This infographic summarises the insights from a recent key considerations brief on responding to floods in South Sudan, describing the multidimensional impacts of flooding on peace, health, livelihoods and governance.
Infographic
Child engagement in the context of disease outbreaks in Eastern and Southern Africa
This infographic, in Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Swahili as well as English, summarises insights from a recent key considerations brief exploring why, when and how to engage children in the prevention, response and recovery stages of disease outbreak in…
Briefing
Alleviating chronic food insecurity in South Sudan arfr
This Key Considerations brief analyses the causes of food insecurity in South Sudan and the responses by government and non-government actors and partners, and offers considerations for these actors to support ending food insecurity, especially via bolstering agriculture and livelihoods.
Report
Roundtable Report: Discussion on mpox in DRC and social science considerations for operational response fr
This report synthesises the discussions at a SSHAP-organised roundtable on the mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo held in May 2024 to appraise the situation, with a focus on social science insights for informing context-sensitive risk communication…
Briefing
Risk communication and community engagement for mpox vaccination in eastern DRC fr
This Key Considerations brief presents social and political considerations for the design and implementation of vaccination-related risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies for mpox in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Infographic
Alleviating chronic food insecurity in South Sudan arfr
This infographic summarises the Key Considerations briefing on responding to food insecurity in South Sudan, highlighting the importance of investment in agriculture and livelihoods, market access and infrastructure, and promoting sustainable peace.
Infographic
Risk communication and community engagement for mpox vaccination in Eastern DRC fr
This infographic summarises insights from the SSHAP briefing 'Key Considerations: Risk Communication and Community Engagement for Mpox in Eastern DRC', presenting social and political considerations for the design and implementation of vaccination-related risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies.
Report
How can epidemic preparedness and response be improved in the Central and East African Borderlands? fr
This workshop report offers recommendations and reflects on discussions from a workshop attended by social scientists, policymakers, and humanitarian and public health practitioners from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan that was facilitated and hosted by…
Briefing
Mpox, mining, and vulnerabilities of women and children in eastern DRC fr
This Key Considerations brief presents considerations for contextualising and responding to the mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, focusing on women and children living and working in artisanal and small-scale mining areas.
Briefing
Balancing epidemic preparedness and response with humanitarian protection in Ugandan refugee settlements
This brief presents considerations for preparedness and response, focusing on refugee settlements in north Uganda and drawing on ethnographic data collected during COVID-19.
Briefing
From data to action: How findings from an interagency rapid qualitative assessment are stimulating action to support drought-affected communities in Zambia
This brief shares findings and learnings from a rapid qualitative assessment to inform community engagement strategies and hold response actors accountable to affected populations.
Report
Meeting report: Mpox and discrimination in African settings fr
This report summarises contributions from speakers and participants at a Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP)-organised online meeting to discuss mpox and discrimination issues in African settings, and operational responses to mpox that are contextually sensitive.
Briefing
Outbreak of Marburg virus disease in Rwanda, October 2024 frsw
Key Considerations regarding the outbreak of Marburg virus disease in Rwanda, including national response capabilities, local governance structures, and regional and economic implications.
Briefing
Food assistance prioritisation in refugee settlements in Uganda and its impacts sw
This brief considers the humanitarian and policy implications of the general food and cash assistance prioritisation strategy in Uganda’s refugee settlements.
Briefing
Humanitarian responses to famine and war in Sudan ar
This Key Considerations brief offers key information about the background to the civil war in Sudan, responses to the humanitarian crisis and reasons why relief has been inadequate, setting out opportunities to push against the obstacles or constraints to relief.
Briefing
Mutual aid lessons and experiences from Emergency Response Rooms in Sudan arfr
A Key Considerations brief based on the first case study of the volunteer networks known as Emergency Response Rooms, conducted June to August 2024.
Article
Humanitarian protection activities and the safety of strangers in the DRC, Syria and South Sudan
Many contemporary humanitarian organisations derive their legitimacy from their claims to protect civilians. Yet, what these organisations do in its name includes a diverse and contested range of activities that are often far from what global publics and affected populations…
Article
Community self-protection, public authority and the safety of strangers in Bor and Ler, South Sudan
Protection is not simply something done or delivered to people by states, humanitarian organisations and armed peacekeepers. We use interview data from communities in Bor and Ler, South Sudan, long affected by conflict, to show how attention to the relationship…
Article
Negotiating faith in exile: learning from displacements from and into Arua, North West Uganda
Humanitarians have recently championed faith actors as valuable resources in delivering humanitarian aid. This paper explores how faith has been entangled within the dynamics of two spatially connected crises: Ugandans fleeing post-Amin reprisals in the mid-1980s, and South Sudanese fleeing…
Blog
A widow’s story of survival and humanitarianism in the Sudans
The story of Nyapuottek, a widow from the Sudanese war, illustrates how fraught it can be to navigate changing relations during times of conflict and migration, and how such struggles can intersect with humanitarian initiatives.
Research paper
Psychosocial health in adolescent unmarried motherhood in rural Uganda: Implications for community-based collaborative mental health education, and empowerment strategies in the prevention of depression and suicide
Using co-produced Open Space and ethnographic methods, we examined the psychosocial impact of unmarried motherhood on girls and their communities, and explored problem-solving with key local stakeholders. Findings indicate that girls experience extreme stress, social exclusion and rejection by their…
