Rebuilding the Humanitarian Information Ecosystem
The international community has made major progress in the warning and assessment of crises but continues to struggle to ensure the linkage between information, analysis, and action.
This umbrella project includes studies on specific aspects of this problem: the challenges of real-time monitoring; the constraints to linking diagnostic information to anticipatory action and response; the political constraints to the independence and objectivity of data collection and analysis; and technical and conceptual constraints and the validity of indicators.
To date this research program includes six different studies, multiple partners, and multiple donors:
- The most recent study is Transforming the Humanitarian Information System, funded by USAID/Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (2023-2025). This project focuses on improving the real time monitoring of crisis (in between major assessment activities such as IPC analyses) and reducing the gap between humanitarian evidence and decision-making. Alternative models of humanitarian information systems and linkages to resource-prioritization and decision-making systems within country contexts will be developed and pilots tested in two crisis contexts.
- FCDO Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Help Desk (2020-2024). Funded by the East Africa Research Fund/Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, this is primarily a short-term technical assistance project offering analytical support to FCDO offices, and also “deep dive” analysis on selected topics.
- Early Warning-Early Action for Resilience in the IGAD Region (2020-2022). Funded by FAO, this study reviewed early warning systems in the IGAD region and its links to early or anticipatory action.
- Constraints and Complexities of Information and Analysis (2017-2021), funded by ECHO/Action Against Hunger, the USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, the Office of Swiss Development Cooperation, and the East Africa Research Fund/Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK. This study analyzed the political interference or manipulation of data collection and analysis, focusing primarily on six famine risk countries.
- Improving the Analysis of Food Security, Nutrition and Famine (2019-2020). Funded by Action Against Hunger, FAO, and REACH. This study reviewed the validity of food security indicators and conducted a pilot study of early warning systems in East Africa.
- Comparing Household Food Consumption Indicators to Inform Acute Food Insecurity Phase Classification (2015), funded by FEWS NET and FANTA.
Action Against Hunger:
- Imelda Awino
- Lilian Kaindi
- James Njiru
- Ellyn Yakowenko
Centre for Humanitarian Change:
- Guhad Adan
- Linsday Baker
- Peter Hailey
- Stephen Odhiambo
IMPACT Initiatives, Geneva Switzerland:
- Jeremy Binz
- Nanki Chawla
- Margot Fortin
- Katie Rickard
Mercy Corps:
- Jeeyon Kim
REACH South Sudan:
- Dut Akuei
- Matthew Day
- Khemis Moses
- Katie Rickard
- William Yak
University of Texas-Austin:
- Erin Lentz
Early Warning and Early Action for Increased Resilience of Livelihoods in IGAD Region
Multiple calls have been issued for better preparedness, early warning, and, above all, early action to prevent hunger and malnutrition, reduce the scale of food insecurity, improve resilience, and reduce...
Early Warning and Early Action in the IGAD Region: Description of Regional and National EW-EA Systems
This study examines the links between early warning and early action (EW-EA) in East Africa. The report describes existing regional and national EW-EA systems.
Early Warning and Early Action in the IGAD Region: Main Report, Findings, and Recommendations
This study examines the links between early warning and early action in East Africa. The report provides the background to the study, a brief conceptual overview, the main findings of the study, and the recommendations to FAO and IGAD.
Early Warning and Early Action in the IGAD Region: Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning Approaches to Support EW-EA
This study examines the links between early warning and early action (EW-EA) in East Africa. The report deals specifically with new technology in predictive analytics and machine learning to enhance approaches to EW-EA.
Seeing in the Dark: Real-Time Monitoring in Humanitarian Crises
This paper reviews real-time monitoring (RTM), how it fits into a humanitarian information system, how systems quickly adjusted toward RTM in 2020, and provides a series of case studies of RTM systems, their objectives, and their outcomes.
2020 Hindsight? The Ecosystem of Humanitarian Diagnostics and Its Application to Anticipatory Action
The nature of humanitarian crises has changed over the past two decades. These changes demand increased anticipatory humanitarian action and improved information to guide that action. The COVID 19 pandemic...
Briefing Paper: Famine, the Coronavirus, and the Politics of Information and Analysis
This brief lays out lessons from our study of famine information systems and considers how they may be applicable to the coronavirus pandemic response.
Briefing Paper: The Politics of Information and Analysis in Famines and Extreme Emergencies: Synthesis of Findings from Six Case Studies
This is a brief on the full report of the study that synthesized findings from six different country case studies, noting influences on data collection and analysis processes during emergencies.
The Politics of Information and Analysis in Famines and Extreme Emergencies: Synthesis of Findings from Six Case Studies
This study synthesized findings from six different country case studies, noting influences on data collection and analysis processes during emergencies.
Constraints and Complexities of Information Analysis in Humanitarian Emergencies: Evidence from Somalia
The humanitarian situation in Somalia is among the world’s most enduring current crises. As a result of conflict and a very weak central state, the country ran for two decades...
Classifying Acute Food Insecurity Using the Household Hunger Scale
This study employed an active case identification approach to identifying the worst affected households in communities and make recommendations for how classification could be further improved.
Towards Anticipatory Information Systems and Action: Notes on Early Warning and Early Action in East Africa
This paper reviews issues with contemporary humanitarian information and early warning systems. While the cases focus on the East Africa region, they have broader implications as well.
The Politics of Information and Analysis in Humanitarian Emergencies: Evidence from Ethiopia
This study examines the politics of information and its influences on humanitarian information systems in Ethiopia today.
The Politics of Information and Analysis in Humanitarian Emergencies: Evidence from Kenya
This report provides recommendations related to managing the political influences and improving the technical quality of the data and analysis in Kenya.
Famine Early Warning and Information Systems in Conflict Settings: Challenges for Humanitarian Metrics and Response
Attention to the growing number of people caught in crises characterized by extreme and often protracted levels of food insecurity, malnutrition, and mortality is increasing. The information systems that track...
Constraints and Complexities of Information and Analysis in Humanitarian Emergencies: Evidence from Yemen
A study of the effectiveness of the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) system, as it is used to identify famine and levels of food insecurity in Yemen.
Briefing Paper: Constraints and Complexities of Information and Analysis in Humanitarian Emergencies: Evidence from Yemen
A study of the effectiveness of the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) system, as it is used to identify famine and levels of food insecurity in Yemen.
Constraints and Complexities of Information Analysis in Humanitarian Emergencies: Evidence from South Sudan
A study of the effectiveness of the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) system, used to identify famine and levels of food insecurity, in South Sudan.
Constraints and Complexities of Information Analysis in Humanitarian Emergencies: Evidence from South Sudan
The briefing paper about a study of the effectiveness of the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) system, used to identify famine and levels of food insecurity, in South Sudan.
Contraintes et complexités liées à la collecte et à l’analyse de données en situation d’urgence humanitaire : Le cas du Nigeria
Ce rapport examine le Cadre Harmonisé pour mieux comprendre les contraintes techniques et politiques à l'analyse des famines et des urgences extrêmes.
Constraints and Complexities of Information and Analysis in Humanitarian Emergencies: Evidence from Nigeria
This report examines the Cadre Harmonisé in Nigeria to better understand the technical and political constrains to analyzing famines and extreme emergencies.
Briefing Paper: Constraints and Complexities of Information and Analysis in Humanitarian Emergencies: Evidence from Nigeria
This brief examines the Cadre Harmonisé in Nigeria to better understand the technical and political constrains to analyzing famines and extreme emergencies.
Document d’information : Contraintes et complexités liées à la collecte et à l’analyse de donées en situation d’urgence humanitaire : Le cas du Nigeria
Dans le but d’identifier et de classifier la sévérité de l’insécurité alimentaire, y compris la famine, le Nigeria utilise l’approche du Cadre Harmonisé (CH), un processus analytique semblable au Cadre...
Constraints and Complexities of Information and Analysis: Data Planning in Famine-Risk Countries
The humanitarian community has technical definitions of famine and food security or nutrition emergencies: the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). The classification requires good quality and coverage of food...
Comparing Household Food Consumption Indicators to Inform Acute Food Insecurity Phase Classification
One important component of analysis of food insecurity in emergencies is the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Acute Food Insecurity Reference Table. This table provides a graduated description of...
Daniel Maxwell, Guhad Adan, Peter Hailey, Matthew Day, Stephen B.J. Odhiambo, Lilian Kaindi, James Njiru, Aishwarya Venkat, and Anastasia Marshak. 2023. “Using the Household Hunger Scale to Improve Analysis and Classification of Severe Food Insecurity in Famine-Risk Conditions: Evidence from Three Countries.” Food Policy. Vol. 118 (2023) 102449 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2023.102449
Erin Lentz and Daniel Maxwell. 2022. “Anticipating, Mitigating, and Responding to Crises: How Do Information Problems Constrain Action?” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. Vol. 81. 103242 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103242
Daniel Maxwell and Peter Hailey. 2021. “Analyzing Famine: The Politics of Information and Analysis in Food Security Crises.” Journal of Humanitarian Affairs Vol. 3 (1), pp. 16-27 http://dx.doi.org/10.7227/JHA.055
Daniel Maxwell, Peter Hailey, Abdullahi Khalif and Francesco Checchi. 2020. “Determining Famine: A Multi-Dimensional Analysis for the 21st Century.” Food Policy. Vol. 92 (April) Article 101832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101832
Bapu Vaitla, Jennifer Cisse, Joanna Upton, Girmay Tesfaye, Nigussie Abadi, and Daniel Maxwell. 2020. “How the choice of food security indicators affects the assessment of resilience—an example from northern Ethiopia.” Food Security. Vol. 12(1), pp.137–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-019-00989-w
Bapu Vaitla, Jennifer Coates, Laura Glaeser, Christopher Hillbruner, Preetish Biswas, and Daniel Maxwell. 2017. “The measurement of household food security: Correlation and latent variable analysis of alternative indicators in a large multi-country dataset.” Food Policy. Vol. 68 (April) pp. 193-205.
Early Warning Early Action for Increased Resilience of Livelihoods in IGAD Region
In this first installment of the series, Key Findings and Recommendations from “Early Warning and Early Action for Increased Resilience of Livelihoods in IGAD Region,” Dan Maxwell and Erin Lentz...
Webinar: The Politics of Information and Analysis in Famine and Extreme Emergencies
The ability to predict and analyze famine has improved sharply in the past 15 years. However, the political influences on data collection and analysis in famine and extreme emergencies continue...