Geneva / Southampton – 16.03.2026 Sphere and Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) today announced a landmark shared services agreement that deepens their long-standing collaboration and marks a new phase in how humanitarian standard-setting organisations work together. Sphere, a charity registered in Switzerland, and LEGS, a UK-registered charity,…

Geneva: Sphere announces the “Global Launch of the Sphere Handbook Revision”. The Sphere Handbook sets out minimum standards that uphold people’s right to life with dignity during crises, providing practical guidance to ensure principled, accountable, and effective humanitarian response worldwide. The Launch will be a flagship event during this…

Jonas Habimana, Executive Director, Bureau d’Information, Formations, Echanges et Recherche pour le Développement (BIFERD) Local humanitarian actors are at the heart of effective crisis response, yet in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), they often face barriers to funding, recognition, and decision-making. Understanding these challenges is key to…

When a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar in March 2025, it deepened an already fragile humanitarian context marked by displacement, conflict, and limited access to services. For communities affected by the crisis, the need was not only for timely assistance, but for aid delivered with dignity, fairness, and accountability. Against…

Quarter four of 2025 ends a turbulent year which will be starkly remembered by the humanitarian sector for tidal changes. And while it may be a time many of us would like to forget and move on, every challenge is an opportunity and a chance to learn; for Sphere, the…

Jonas Habimana, Executive Director, Bureau d’Information, Formations, Echanges et Recherche pour le Développement (BIFERD) BIFERD, Sphere’s focal point in the DRC, has been supporting displaced communities by applying the Minimum Standards for food security and nutrition in their programmes. Their work focuses on meeting urgent needs while helping…

Jonas Habimana, Executive Director, Bureau d’Information, Formations, Echanges et Recherche pour le Développement (BIFERD) Rutshuru, Democratic Republic of the Congo – For years, families in the Rwanguba and Rangira health zones struggled to access clean water. Walking long distances to rivers was a daily challenge, and the lack of safe…

Felicity Fallon, Director of Engagement Since the first Sphere Handbook was published in 2000, Sphere has become the go-to resource for quality and accountability in humanitarian response. We are often asked to demonstrate the impact of the Sphere Handbook. This is a difficult task given Sphere’s ubiquity; open source ’public…

Annik Tiedt, CBI Private Sector Coordination Specialist, and Zunaira Shams, Sphere Communications Manager   Imagine someone you love has been in a car accident. What would you expect from medical services? Speed. Professionalism. Trained personnel. Kindness. No mistakes. Now ask yourself: shouldn’t that same quality of care apply…

In the third quarter of 2025, Sphere continued to strengthen its impact and presence globally through training, partnerships, communication and advocacy. Highlights included a new partnership to reduce duplication, a new tech grant, a new look for the Sphere website, and a new member of staff for the Sphere team.

Tamara Zibin, a Protection and humanitarian advisor and Sphere member, has spent her career working in Jordan, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, the UK, and beyond. She was recently nominated by Sphere for Humanitarian Hero of the Year. In this conversation, she reflects on her journey, the challenges of working in…

Enos Bonny, humanitarian innovator Summary RoofWash is a simple yet effective innovation for improving household-level rainwater harvesting. This article outlines how RoofWash works, provides step-by-step operation and maintenance guidance, and highlights key rainwater treatment protocols. It also identifies contexts where RoofWash can be an appropriate humanitarian WASH/Shelter intervention. RoofWash addresses…

Zunaira Shams, Communications Manager, Sphere Day 1 – Arriving in the desert heartland The journey to Umerkot started early in the morning. Four and a half hours on the road, deep into Sindh’s interior, to a place that still feels untouched by development. The roads grew quieter as…

A people-centred approach to recovery and safety. Mohammad Shazed, Pongkaj Moy Tripura and Risat Ara Meem, Plan International Bangladesh “The cyclone destroyed everything. Our house and our old toilet got flooded and became unusable. We could not rebuild another one and went into the open spaces.” – Bibi Bibi lives…

Hamna Chohan, Olivia Bornyi, and Maria San Miguel Vidal – Applied Research Project Team, Geneva Graduate Institute (IHEID) Understanding the need Sphere’s Theory of Change (ToC) outlines its mid-term vision across four priority areas: Policy and advocacy; Strategic partnerships; the Sphere Handbook; and the Champions…

By Tristan Hale, Operations Director, Sphere In today’s digital age, humanitarian organisations and other aid agencies require information to be accessible, adaptable, and cost-effective. XML[1]-first publishing, where content is authored and managed as structured XML and made available via multiple formats, delivers exactly that. Not only does this…

In response to growing demand from the sector, Sphere and RedR UK launched a new training workshop ‘AI literacy for humanitarians’ in June 2025. Tristan Hale, Director of Operations, explains how and why Sphere engaged in this worksteam, and invites all humanitarian organisations to get involved. Background In 2024,…

In the second quarter of 2025, Sphere continued to strengthen its impact and presence globally through training, partnerships, communication and advocacy. Highlights include new research; new grants; newly translated and localised resources; AI literacy workshops in Romania; publication of our 2024 Annual Report; two new focal points; and…

The Sphere Association unequivocally disassociates itself from a recent public letter addressed to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres by Rev. Johnnie Moore, Executive Chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), in which GHF claims to be “delivering…

Sphere, host of the Humanitarian Standards Partnership, expresses grave concern over the escalating conflict in Iran. The intensification of military action in the region, including recent strikes on Iranian territory, poses a growing threat to thousands of civilians…

By Jonas Habimana, Sphere focal point representative and CEO of BIFERD in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Jonas Habimana attended the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (HNPW) 2025 in Geneva – his first time participating in this global event organised by UNOCHA. Supported by Sphere,…

Gerard Lamb Hing, Sphere focal point representative and CEO of 180 Degree As the Sphere focal point in Mauritius, 180 Degree Ltd Life.Change has spent the past year actively promoting humanitarian standards across the country and the wider Southwest Indian Ocean region. Through collaboration, regional engagement, and a commitment to…

Sphere Association was around 60% funded by the US government in 2024. Like many other humanitarian organisations, the association was required to stop work on activities funded by USAID BHA and US State PRM on 21 January – and subsequently made the difficult but necessary decision to reduce team capacity…

Aslı Maraşlı Wojciechowski, Senior Learning Officer, IFRC Türkiye Delegation The Turkish Red Crescent Society (TRCS) and the Sphere Secretariat, with the support of the IFRC Türkiye Delegation, just completed an ambitious project to promote humanitarian standards in Türkiye, neighbouring countries, and globally. Running from February 2024 to February…

By Elizabeth M. Valmoria, Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD) Context Delivering quality humanitarian aid requires teams well-versed in key humanitarian frameworks like Sphere Standards, the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), and Humanitarian Inclusion Standards. These guide effective, inclusive, and sustainable…

By Nabil Al-Kumaim In the diverse and challenging world of humanitarian assistance, no two crises are alike. Recognising this, Aya Yagan and I worked together between July and October 2024 to create a comprehensive guide to help…

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are actions that hold the twin objectives of providing for human well-being and protecting the environment. They are a tangible solution that can build immediate and long-term resilience for those affected by crisis. This interactive module is designed to equip humanitarians with practical knowledge and strategies to…

By Tristan Hale, Head of Digital and Communications, Sphere Use and perceptions of AI in humanitarian organisations In a recent survey of humanitarian organisations conducted by Sphere: 51% of respondents said that their organisation was using –…

By Elizabeth M. Valmoria, Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD) Standards in food security and livelihoods Food is a fundamental necessity during disasters, and ACCORD’s humanitarian response is guided by Sphere’s minimum food security standards. Our food packs, designed for a family of five…

What happens when thousands of humanitarian workers from across Latin America come together for seven weeks of intensive training on humanitarian standards? The Sphere in Practice Spanish MOOC (massive open online course), a joint effort by Sphere and RedR UK, delivered critical knowledge to several thousands Spanish-speaking…

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Caritas Moldova has played a crucial role in providing humanitarian aid to displaced people. As a Sphere Focal Point, they have been leading efforts to ensure that aid is…

By Zohaib Hassan, Norwegian Church Aid Context In 2022, severe floods in Pakistan affected over 33 million people, causing widespread damage. Sindh province was among the worst-hit areas, with major damage to infrastructure, homes, and essential services. Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), under the ACT Appeal (PAK221), provided urgent help…

An open letter to Mr Tom Fletcher, CMG, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs & Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), from the Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP) Dear Mr Fletcher, Congratulations on your appointment. We wish you courage and steadfastness as you begin your work…

In response to Israel’s Knesset proposed restrictive ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), William Anderson, Sphere Executive Director, has made the following statement: “Israel was admitted to the United Nations as…

By Sarah Bellovich, Yejin Stella An and Yuzuka Motegi Background In response to increasingly complex crises and responses to those crises, humanitarian practitioners must develop the skills they need to provide lifesaving, protective and accountable assistance which upholds the dignity of crisis-affected communities. As such, education and training are key…

By Alejandro Castañeda Espinel, Sphere trainer and focal point representative (Colombia Sphere Trainers)   In August 2015, the government of Venezuela ordered the closure of the border with Colombia. Nine years later, this is creating significant challenges for people fleeing neighbouring Venezuela. In 2018, the United Nations created…

By Iozefina Teodorescu, Education in Emergences Specialist and Sphere focal point representative, World Vision Romania World Vision Romania joined Sphere’s focal point network in October 2023. Since then, we’ve been promoting Sphere Principles and Standards with…

Many humanitarian concepts, such as community engagement, are diversely defined and divergently understood. There is a demand among practitioners for guiding products such as glossaries and dictionaries that articulate clear and concise definitions. However, attempts to impose…

The Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week(s) is an annual conference which serves as a platform for inter-network collaboration to improve humanitarian preparedness and response. From 400 participants at the first edition in 2015, this event now regularly attracts…

The purpose of The HSP Challenge is to demonstrate in a fun and engaging way the usefulness of different sets of minimum humanitarian standards to diverse actors at each stage of a crisis. Download board game. There…

Maher Alabrsh was a dedicated and gifted humanitarian whose unexpected passing last week has come as a shock, and is an immense loss to the people he served in Syria and the Middle East, and the sector as…

Sphere and CHS Alliance will be co-locating from 1 March 2024 in a move designed to increase effectiveness and collaboration. Both network organisations are part of the Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP) and…

An interview with Vlatko Jovanovski, Head of DPPI SEE Secretariat What is the DPPI SEE? The Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative for South-Eastern Europe (DPPI SEE) is an initiative owned by ten national civil protection authorities which…

By Sarah J Ward, Livelihoods and Economic Recovery in Crisis Big news for global humanitarian standards: the well-known Minimum Economic Recovery Standards (MERS) has a new home in the Sphere network and remains in the Humanitarian Standards Partnership…

By William Anderson, Executive Director, Sphere Today, 16 January, marks my first year leading Sphere, and so it’s a good moment to share some reflections of the last twelve months and considerations looking forward to the year ahead.

Sphere’s crisis response Programme for Ukraine and Eastern Europe ran from July 2022 to June 2023. An important objective of the programme was to build a network to sustain Sphere’s presence in the region. This was a great success, with five organisations joining Sphere’s focal point network resulting from outreach activities:…

In August 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti, leaving thousands of people dead, injured or homeless. Transport and water supply infrastructure was severely damaged and, one month later, more than half a million children still lacked access…

Sphere Training of Trainers (ToT) programmes remain an essential component of Sphere’s global network’s activities. There were/will be at least eight ToT workshops during 2023 – all led by Sphere’s partners. Indonesia 22 to 26 May, hosted…

Using Sphere standards in urban contexts is a new training pack co-developed by Sphere and the German Red Cross. Download the training pack (currently in English only). The pack contains comprehensive training materials to support a…

Sphere’s new self-paced online course is an excellent multimedia introductory guide to using the Sphere Handbook. Follow Sophia, Joseph, Waleed, Daniela, Laila, Esther and Ricardo as they find solutions to their work challenges – from…

By Fundación delALTO, Sphere’s new focal point in Argentina (originally in Spanish) Through active participation, indigenous communities of the Argentine Gran Chaco are exercising their rights and contributing their ancestral knowledge to disaster risk management The…

Sphere is shocked at the horrific attacks in the last week on civilian populations in Ukraine and the Middle East, including children and vulnerable adults, in Hroza – Kharkiv Province, Israel and Gaza. Sphere condemns the mass killings,…

You are invited to take part in the largest ever survey of users of humanitarian standards! Click here to get started: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SPHERE-2023?lang=en Please help us to support you better by completing the…

By Dina Volynets, Sphere trainer and Head of Supervisory Board at Tvoya Opora The ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine is causing serious humanitarian challenges both in Ukraine and in other countries that are offering temporary protection to…

By Juan José Dorado J., Sphere trainer and focal point representative for APGRB Over a thousand people in Bolivia accessed and learned about the Sphere Handbook through virtual and in-person workshops over a period of three months.

In a rapidly changing world, how can we ensure the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) is a more accessible, relevant and user-friendly tool to drive better quality and accountability in the humanitarian sector and…

By IUCN In many places, the increasing severity and frequency of climate-related disasters exacerbate underlying risks, stoke conflict, and undermine humanitarian and development gains. Within these complex response dynamics, the environment is often overlooked or is treated…

Sphere’s “25 years of Sphere” panel session at the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) in Geneva on 27 April was one of the most highly anticipated and best attended sessions of the conference.

By Dr. Raju Thapa, Sphere focal point representative The Sphere Handbook is the benchmark set of Minimum Standards, actions, indicators and guidance for humanitarian response, and has been widely used by NGOs, INGOs, UN agencies, and others for…

Following a comprehensive recruitment process, Sphere is pleased to announce the appointment of William Anderson as Executive Director. William joins Sphere with extensive leadership experience from working for humanitarian and development organizations at international, national and local levels. With…

The Sphere Project started in 1997, which means that Sphere is now 25 years old! “Vintage” Sphere logo celebrating 25 years of Sphere To celebrate this occasion, we asked our focal points, members and trainers for some photos and memories. Below you will find what came back, arranged in chronological…

(Continued from Part #1) Trained trainer trains trainers Left: Sphere workshop in 2013, right: Aya holding the 2018 Sphere Handbook “Every Sphere event leaves me with a multitude of enduring memories and creates new relationships and wonderful opportunities for collaboration. Dr Khaled Khalifa led my Sphere ToT in 2013,…

(Continued from Part #2) Disseminating the Standards Tracing its roots to 2011, Sphere’s focal point in Brazil and Portugal, Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM), renamed itself and expanded its global footprint in 2018. FIHM translated the Sphere Handbook into Brazilian Portuguese for the first time. Sphere Board…

An interview with Oumar Dembele, Sphere trainer, Burkina Faso Becoming a Sphere trainer requires experience, skill, and commitment. Oumar Dembele completed the Sphere Training of Trainers (ToT) program in Burkina Faso in late 2020 and is now a listed Sphere trainer. Sphere workshop, Burkina Faso, 2022 Sphere caught up…

By Anne Radday, Communications for SEADS and Research Program Manager for Tufts University Corey O’Hara and Shradha Bhatta of iDE Nepal receive their new SEADS handbooks Millions of people around the world who are vulnerable to crises rely heavily on crop production to support their livelihoods. Currently, 40% of the…

The Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) revision process started in early 2022 and was formally launched in May. The first round of CHS revision consultation events is now underway, in which event participants discuss the suitability of the existing version of the CHS before submitting a co-authored feedback document to…

By Ms. Daria Pistriak, Coordinator for Ukraine and Eastern Europe, Sphere Sphere’s Programme for Ukraine and Eastern Europe started earlier in 2022 in response to the conflict in Ukraine. Four translation agencies have now been selected to translate the Sphere Handbook into the target languages: Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian and…

The Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP) releases a new website and navigation tool to make humanitarian standards more accessible. New website New HSP website The HSP is a network of standard-setting initiatives that supports quality and accountability in humanitarian action by promoting the development and harmonisation of standards.

A response to the 2022 State of the Humanitarian System Report #HumanitarianSystemChange The finding of “business-as-usual-but-little-improvement” in today’s …

By Ms. Daria Pistriak, Coordinator for Ukraine and Eastern Europe, Sphere Sphere will translate the Sphere Handbook into Ukrainian, Polish, Slovak and Romanian, and expand its network – of trainers, focal points, members, experts and practitioners – in Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova. Mock-up of the Sphere Handbook in…

The Africa Humanitarian Standards Network (AHSN) was officially launched in Harare on Africa Day, 25 May 2022, marking 59 years since the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was established, and 20 years since the OAU was succeeded by the African Union (AU). The AHSN is a…

By Martín Villarroel García and Magdalena Medrano, Sphere trainers, focal point representatives (Red Esfera Bolivia) and individual members. The Guayaquil Sphere workshop training team Download the Sphere NDMA training pack (in Spanish only). Download the Guide to adapting Sphere training for NDMAs in English, French…

Seven years ago, the Core Humanitarian Standard for Quality and Accountability (CHS) was launched, marking a major milestone for the aid sector. Development of the standard brought together multiple stakeholders, including people and communities affected by crises, to agree on a common set of commitments and good practices to improve…

The new Sphere online training package includes materials and guidance for facilitating over 25 interactive online learning activities, and guidance on how to run effective online Sphere workshops and courses, including pre-training preparations and post-training actions. There are no PowerPoint slides in this training package! Using games, videos, breakout…

By Juan José Dorado J., Sphere trainer Working together with a team of disaster risk specialists, we ensured that ‘Esfera en la Practica’ (the Spanish version of the course) is not just a translation of the English version. Everyone in the team used the opportunity to refresh their knowledge…

A thorough audit of Sphere’s digital content against Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) For over 20 years, Sphere has made significant efforts to ensure our products and services are accessible: to make them freely available, and easy to use and understand by everyone. This goes hand in hand with one…

By: Flor Piñango, Sphere trainer Venezuela’s Vice Ministry of Risk Management, the National Civil Protection authority and Caritas Venezuela are organizing a series of Risk Management and the Environment workshops as part of a wider Implementing Humanitarian Action in Venezuela strategy. As part of this initiative, 25 participants, including…

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic brought complications and challenges, the Sphere network hosted over 100 learning events during the year, including training programmes in Brazil, Chile, Mozambique, Syria and elsewhere. The new Sphere in Practice…

Sphere members elected a new governing board and Rita Rhayem as their president on 1 December 2021. “We made a commitment in Sphere’s strategy 2025 to create a more inclusive, diverse and representative board and membership, with more women, more national organisations, more local perspectives and a broader range…

We announced our new membership model earlier this year, creating a flatter structure and offering significant reductions in fees. Now we need your involvement and support to make our governance more inclusive, diverse and representative: more women, more national organisations, more local perspectives and a broader range of expertise.

  By Cesar Alvarez Sanchez, Independent Risk Management Consultant and Sphere trainer On August 7, 2021, Law No. 21,364 was enacted by the government of Chile, establishing the National System for Prevention and Response to Disasters (SINAPRED)[1]. The new law modifies the way in which the State…

Over 200 humanitarians in Mozambique will receive Sphere training between September and December 2021 A series of twelve in-person Sphere workshops will be held across all eleven of Mozambique’s provinces. Selected workshop graduates will be invited to join a five-day Sphere Training of Trainers workshop in Maputo at the beginning…

By Anne Radday and Nola Jenkins In 2021, the SEADS Project team will draft the first ever standards to support agricultural livelihoods in emergencies. Before we began, we wanted to better understand the preferences of the future users of SEADS. So, in early 2021 we collected input through a…

Jonas Habimana is the executive director of the Bureau d’Informations, Formations, Échanges et Recherches pour le Développement (BIFERD), a Sphere focal point in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and also a board member of Sphere. Following a major eruption of Mount Nyiragongo on 22 May 2021, Jonas…

We remember our wonderful friend and colleague Simon Russell who recently passed away in the UK. Simon worked with many organisations around the world including ICMC, Refugee Review Tribunal, ProCAP and most recently with UNHCR as the Coordinator of the Global Protection Cluster. We reflect on how…

The Sphere Handbook’s blend of ethical, rights-based approach and technical standards makes it one of the best-known and respected reference documents in the humanitarian sector. Its usefulness in assessing situations and needs; for writing project proposals; and as a framework for presenting…

The network of Sphere practitioners around the world includes people with experience in conducting training and learning activities based on Sphere and the Sphere Handbook. Find a Sphere facilitator From early 2020, COVID-19 lockdown measures made in-person workshops difficult to organise and increased the demand for online learning. Facilitating…

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020. Sphere issued COVID-19 guidance based on Sphere standards in February 2020. This was translated into another 13 languages by the Sphere community and was…

Sphere members show off their new Sphere Handbooks at the General Assembly in Geneva, November 2018 Sphere has taken the bold step to change its membership model, creating a flatter structure and offering significant reductions in fees. The objectives are to increase the engagement of national…

Yaoundé. The residents of the Foyer Colonel-Daniel-de-Rouffignac for the blind support each other a lot, especially during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: DANIEL BELOUMOU/ICRC.   Read the Sphere Annual Report 2020 Download the full financial statements 2020 In the midst of a pandemic, the past year…

  Laurie Chartrand and Anna Ploeg are students at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva. During a 10-month research project in collaboration with the Humanitarian Exchange and Research Center (HERE-Geneva), they explored how the concept of “life-saving” humanitarian assistance has evolved since…

Sphere was established in 1997 as an inter-agency project in response to concerns about the performance, accountability and lack of coordination among humanitarian actors during the Great Lakes refugee crisis. Sphere developed standards for humanitarian response which have inspired generations of humanitarians, and transformed from a project to an…

  https://spherestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/SIP-promotional-video.mp4   Sphere’s newly released e-learning course “Sphere in Practice” supports students, humanitarian professionals and anyone who wishes to learn about humanitarian standards in an interactive and engaging way. On top of being entirely free of charge and soon available in multiple languages, “Sphere in Practice” is designed…

Photo courtesy of War Child Holland   By Dr Unni Krishnan The ancient Spanish port city of A Coruña has a fascinating history – one which contains many parallels with our present fight against a global pandemic. In fact, the city shares its name with the virus that currently…

Participants of the Training of Trainers workshop in Burkina Faso. Photo: Illiassou Adamou   Every year, a committed group of some 120 Sphere trainers across 50 countries is responsible for spreading knowledge of Sphere standards among field practitioners, policymakers and government officials around the world, advocating for the importance…

Members of the translation and publishing team hold copies of the newly released Brazilian-Portuguese Handbook. Photo: Fraternidade-Federação Humanitária Internacional   Sphere’s focal point organisation in Brazil, Fraternidade-Federação Humanitária Internacional (FFHI), recently completed the translation of the Sphere Handbook into Brazilian Portuguese. You can now download the PDF for…

The Philippine Red Cross engages communities to better prepare for and cope with the impact of disasters and health hazards. Photo: Juan Carlo de Vela / Japanese Red Cross Society   Sphere released a new resource that supports humanitarian practitioners implementing Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities while keeping a standard-based…

    This opinion piece by Sphere Executive Director Dr Balwant Singh is an excerpt of the latest Humanitarian Accountability Report, released by the CHS Alliance in October 2020. Read the Humanitarian Accountability Report 2020 in full   Covid-19 demands our undivided attention and requires effective and timely…

  By Aninia Nadig, Sphere’s Policy and Pratice Manager  Do you sometimes feel confused about different kinds of guidance on the same topic and wonder which one you should follow? I would like to offer a way of navigating through different kinds of guidance using one example…

  https://spherestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/ENG-Promo-Webinar-Indonesia.m4v   When COVID-19 began to spread across Indonesia, the Javanese village of Gumuk Indah did not wait for assistance from government or for international NGOs to fly in. Taking matters into their own hands, residents put a response system in place to protect the community. They relied…

“The golden rule is to always find the right balance between a pragmatic and a principled response”, says Rohan Kent. Photo: Save The Children Rohan Kent works within the Concepts and Capabilities Directorate of the Australian Civil-Military Centre, a government agency that promotes joint efforts between civil,…

  Aninia Nadig, Sphere’s Policy and Practice Manager, shares her thoughts about the importance of providing palliative care in responses to COVID-19.   Despite some progress, palliative care still does not receive enough attention in humanitarian response. We need to remind ourselves of its importance, particularly in the…

  Over the course of the past year, Sphere continued to promote quality and accountability across the humanitarian sector. Our newly released annual review presents a summary of Sphere’s many activities and achievements throughout 2019. The brochure includes a financial overview as well as a poster to print out.

Indonesian Red Cross volunteers deliver hygiene kits in Paramadina as part of the COVID-19 response in March 2020. Photo: Indonesian Red Cross   A strategic document published this month by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) stresses the importance of supporting humanitarian workers to…

  https://spherestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/sphere-handbook-tutorial_extended.mp4   Humanitarian practitioners anywhere in the world can now share their first-hand experience, add to the knowledge of the Sphere community and shape the next edition of the Sphere Handbook and standards. Sphere is launching a new digital tool that allows you to comment on the Sphere…

  Visit the dedicated page and download our COVID-19 guidance   Coronavirus is spreading globally. How can individuals, communities, humanitarian actors, local and national authorities best respond to uphold the rights of all affected people? Sphere and its partner standards can guide our response. In situations of…

Firzan Hasmim delivers school supplies to Pitabeddara students who lost them during the 2017 floods and landslides. Photo: A-PAD Sri Lanka.   Firzan Hashim is the Sri Lanka Country Director for the Asia-Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management, a trans-national platform that coordinates the work of governments, private companies and…

  Humanitarian practitioners working in Syria can now have a revamped tool to support them in providing high quality and accountable assistance. Sphere recently released an updated version of its Syria training pack, a set of Arabic-language materials that contain guidance on how best to apply the Sphere standards…

Photo: KCOC   Tristan Hale, Sphere’s Learning and Training Manager, recently took part in a Sphere training event in Lebanon. Through the workshop, he had the opportunity to interview members of the Syrian refugee communities and discover the value of field visits for practitioners to learn more about putting…

     Sphere is developing a new five-year strategic plan which will draw on the inputs of the global Sphere community. The strategy, built upon the priorities articulated by Sphere members during the last…

Dear Sphere friends, As another exciting year draws to a close, we would like to thank our global community for your active engagement and commitment. Every year, each person and organisation supporting Sphere plays a key role in contributing to our mission to improve the quality and accountability of humanitarian assistance globally. We…

Energy and waste management are vital issues for the humanitarian sector to address in the near future, says Amanda George. Photo: Kate Holt/IRIN   Sphere recently published a new resource that offers hands-on guidance to practitioners looking to consider environmental issues in their humanitarian programmes. It is the first in…

The second edition of the Child Protection Minimum Standards. Photo: Sphere   The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, one of Sphere’s partner standard initiatives, released the second edition of the Child Protection Minimum Standard (CPMS) in October. The CPMS handbook guides humanitarian professionals in preventing harm…

Bringing water to South Sudanese refugees in Uganda: the Nyumanzi 1 refugee camp. Photo credits: Oxfam Uganda   Edward Sembidde Mwebaze, Oxfam’s humanitarian programme manager in Uganda, shares his experiences and lessons learnt during the response to the country’s protracted refugee crisis. This article is based on his contribution…

  This article first appeared on the blog of the European Association for Palliative Care. Continuing our new series about palliative care in the context of humanitarian crises where we shall look at the implications of providing palliative care for migrants, refugees and people who have fled war-torn countries…

Dr Balwant Singh is a senior executive with long-standing experience in humanitarian and development programmes. Photo: Sphere   The Sphere Executive Committee is delighted to announce that Dr Balwant Singh will start as Sphere’s new Executive Director on 15 October 2019. Dr Singh brings more…

Patrick Melancon, BGR’s Director of Disaster Response and Training, leads BGR work after an earthquake in Asia. Photo: BGR   Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas islands on 1 September 2019. The storm destroyed 13,000 homes and affected around 76,000 people, leaving Bahamians in extreme need of shelter, food, and…

  Participants learn about the Sphere standards during the workshop in Tripoli. Photo: Osman Consulting   The first Sphere workshop to be organised in Libya took place in late August in the capital, Tripoli. It was delivered by the Sphere member and focal point Sheikh…

Participants in a training workshop organised by Community World Service Asia in Pakistan to learn about the Sphere standards. Photo: CWSA   The updated version of the Sphere training pack has been published in three additional languages, making the material available to an even broader group of humanitarian practitioners around…

  The Amman Citadel. Photo: D. Bjorgen via Wikimedia Commons   Aninia Nadig’s * recent visit to Jordan made her think about how early warning systems and Sphere standards can work together to temper the impacts of crises.  A few weeks ago, I visited the Amman Citadel. As I explored…

Sajilu Kamwendo visits Buzi, Mozambique, in June 2019. Photo: courtesy of World Vision.   This month, Sphere met Sajilu Kamwendo, Director of Preparedness and Standards at World Vision International. He shared memories of how he first got to know Sphere and reflected on how standards…

The Sphere members who attended the General Assembly in Nairobi. Photo: R. Benicchio/Sphere   Sphere members gathered in Nairobi last month to attend the annual General Assembly. The agenda included a discussion of the challenges facing the humanitarian sector, and the ways in which humanitarian standards and the Sphere…

  Sphere has recently updated its Interactive Handbook, making it quicker and easier to browse and access its content. New features allow users to browse the Handbook in multiple languages, access additional sets of standards, filter and share search results and embed the Handbook into other websites. This improved…

The fourth edition of the Sphere Handbook was launched by Sphere partner Community World Service Asia (CWSA) in different locations in Pakistan in November 2018. Photo: CWSA   Download the annual report 2018 (in English) Read the Consolidated financial statements 2018 (in English)   Dear Friends of…

The new Sphere training pack was piloted during a four-day workshop in Nairobi in March 2019. Photo: Tristan Hale   Sphere has just released an updated version of its comprehensive training pack to support humanitarian professionals wishing to learn more about Sphere and humanitarian standards or deliver training themselves. The…

Handbook co-authors and experts meet in Geneva in 2017.   Sphere is truly grateful to all the humanitarian practitioners and experts who participated in the Handbook drafting process throughout 2017 and 2018, putting their time and expertise at the service of the humanitarian community. The 2018 edition of the…

Sphere Executive Director Christine Knudsen at the Nairobi launch event. Photo credits: Plan International   Throughout March 2019, Sphere and its partners continued the roll-out of the new Sphere Handbook, with events scheduled across four continents. These events demonstrated a renewed commitment to providing better humanitarian assistance, as well…

Community World Service Asia (CWSA) se asoció con un grupo de teatro local en dos pueblos del distrito de Umerkot (Pakistán) para organizar funciones de teatro interactivas. Foto: CWSA   En los cuatro meses desde que se lanzó la cuarta edición del Manual Esfera a nivel mundial,…

Community World Service Asia (CWSA) partnered with a local theatre group in two villages of the Umerkot district to organise interactive theatre performances. Photo credits: CWSA   In the four months which followed the global launch of the fourth edition of the Sphere Handbook, this flagship publication…

Sphere Handbook users curious to know more about the content of the 2018 edition now have access to a wide range of in-depth information. Sphere’s “What is New” materials provide an insight into what has changed – and what has not – in the Handbook since the 2011 edition.

  A new Sphere e-learning course will help users gain the skills needed to promote Sphere within their own network and to leverage improved quality and accountability for people affected by crisis and disaster. The one-hour interactive course is aimed at anyone involved in…

  Following the launch of the Sphere Handbook in November, Sphere’s partners are already at work translating the Handbook into their own languages. These efforts will bring the Handbook to more humanitarian professionals and communities around the globe to support preparedness, response, and training initiatives.

Credits: Lynette Nyman/IFRC   How can humanitarian standards support the empowerment of local actors, including affected people? With the localisation agenda receiving much attention and the 2018 Sphere Handbook focusing even more on using standards in context at the local level, this question was discussed by a group of 20 experts.

Dear Sphere friends, As a very busy and successful 2018 draws to an end, we would like to thank you for your support and engagement over the past many months. The Sphere network has been growing stronger each year and 2018 was no exception. You are all playing a key…

The event, held in Geneva on 6 November, saw the participation of an experienced group of panellists who shared their reflections on past and future challenges of the Sphere standards. Photo: Alexander Petrenko     “When we started it, we had a real hard time publishing the Handbook”, said Peter…

The members were called to elect a new President as well as representatives for the Sphere Executive Committee. Photo: B. Sartore / Sphere   The Sphere General Assembly met in Geneva, Switzerland, on 5 November. The meeting was aimed at welcoming the new members who joined Sphere during 2018,…

  The Sphere Handbook is the oldest initiative in the field of humanitarian standards. It has been field-tested over twenty years and  regularly updated to ensure it remains fit for purpose in a changing world. What does not change is its rights-based foundations: people have the right to…

The World Conference of Humanitarian Studies took place on 27-29 August 2018 in The Hague. Photo credits: IHSA   Can humanitarian standards contribute to empowering local actors and affected populations during humanitarian response and recovery phases? Aninia Nadig, Sphere Advocacy and Policy Manager, discussed this question during a panel discussion…

Sphere will convene an extraordinary session of its General Assembly during the week of 5 November to welcome new Sphere members who have joined since the launch of the membership campaign in June. The General Assembly will also elect the new Sphere Executive Committee and its officers.

The Ecuadorian government reaffirmed the Sphere standards’ role as the foundation of the country’s risk management structures as it unveiled its recently updated National Disaster Response Plan (RESPONDE Ec). In April 2016, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the country, killing almost 700 people and leaving 700,000 more in need…

Are you a natural communicator and relationship builder? Do you enjoy the challenge of finding new ways to engage and connect with a wide variety of people and organisations?...

The Sphere Executive Board convened for its biannual meeting on 8 May, hosted by Oxfam Intermón in Barcelona. The agenda included review and sign-off on the 2018 edition of the Sphere Handbook and a new application to join the Humanitarian Standards Partnership, as well as financial and administrative matters.

The Sphere Executive Board welcomed a humanitarian standards initiative focusing on older people and people with disabilities as the newest member of the Humanitarian Standard Partnership.

Following an intense year of drafting, consultation and review, the fourth edition of the Sphere Handbook is approaching the final stages of production. The consolidated manuscript of four foundational chapters and four technical chapters will be submitted to the Sphere Executive Board for validation and approval in May.

Marvin Parvez is one of the firmest believers in the positive impact of humanitarian standards, as well as an expert practitioner within the Sphere community. Discussing his work as a long-time Pakistani humanitarian professional and as a Sphere partner in Asia, he shared his experience and talked about the many times he saw standards improve people's lives in the aftermath of a crisis.

Two new focal points have recently joined the ranks of the Sphere network, making it a 54 members strong global community of practitioners engaged in the promotion of humanitarian standards.

With more than 15 percent of the global population living with a disability, Sphere has been working with partners and trainers to make sure that humanitarian assistance is more inclusive and accessible to all. Sphere Focal Points and trainers in Asia have been leading the way, with workshops in Bangladesh and Indonesia over the past several months to help humanitarian workers provide appropriate assistance to some of the most vulnerable members of society.

Japan is one of the world's most disaster-prone countries, with risks of earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. In such a context, local actors' training and preparedness play a key role in limiting the potential impact of these natural hazards, and in meeting the needs of people in the aftermath of crisis.

From the unparalleled consultative process which nurtured the revision of the Handbook to the growth of its global community, many achievements marked 2017 as an important year in Sphere's history.

For the first time since the creation of the network, Sphere’s Focal Points gathered from across four continents for a global forum in Bangkok, Thailand.

Facing a host of natural hazards and recurring emergencies, both Chile and the Philippines have recently taken steps to embed the Sphere standards into national regulations on emergency response.

Six humanitarian standards bearers announce the launch of a joint mobile application. The new Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP) application provides the humanitarian sector's flagship standards and guidance in a single,...

Cash-based assistance has emerged as an evidence-based means of meeting needs in humanitarian response since the publication of the Sphere Handbook 2011 edition. Here is how the upcoming edition...

From its establishment as a non-profit association to laying the groundwork for the revision of its Handbook to the growth of its network of practitioners, a series of achievements...

With the Handbook revision underway, the Sphere Executive Board is focused on deepening partnerships, aligning the organisation's institutional structure, and building capacities to support practitioners around the world. The...

The revised Sphere standards will provide clearer, better integrated and more practical guidelines on gender and humanitarian action. By Mireia Cano Viñas (*) For most humanitarian practitioners nowadays, the...

A training of trainers course focused both on Sphere and on age and disability inclusion standards took place in the Philippines. Its motto: "Nothing about us without us." Some...

The current revision of the Sphere Handbook is probably the most participatory ever of these periodic exercises. After 10 weeks of open public consultation on the first draft, the...

The sector's key handbook is being revised to offer guidance on what actions aid agencies and others should take in cities. By Pamela Sitko, Citiscope (*) How does humanitarian...

Learning experts agree that games are a great way to help adults learn things. So two humanitarian trainers developed a deck of Sphere playing cards for use in workshops....

As consultations around the world were being held to contribute practitioner voices to the Sphere handbook revision, several events in Pakistan and Afghanistan focused on the Asian context. By...

The revision of the Sphere Handbook has reached its first milestone as the public consultation phase begins today. The first draft of the Sphere revised standards is now available...

Humanitarian crises are becoming longer in duration and more complex in scope. In preparing for the 2018 Handbook, Sphere commissioned a research team of the London School of Economic...

The revision of the Sphere Handbook is picking up steam and Draft 1 of the new standards is about to be released. Get ready for some serious reading and...

The third edition of the Minimum Standards for Economic Recovery reflects recent developments in the humanitarian sector and benefits from input gathered across a wide range of organisations and...

A revamped version of the highly successful Sphere Handbook in Action e-learning course now includes the Core Humanitarian Standard and is accessible on smartphones and tablets. With over 30,000...

The Sphere Handbook 2011 edition is now available in Swahili, bringing the total number of language versions of the Handbook up to 30. The translation of the Handbook into...

The revision of the Sphere standards started with a three-day workshop with a diverse group of humanitarian professionals driving the process. The initial workshop with the authors and experts...

The new e-learning course Sphere for Managers - How to Champion the Sphere Approach in your Organisation provides a snapshot of the benefits of applying the Sphere standards and...

National disaster management policies and guidelines benefit from building on and incorporating references to international humanitarian standards. But what does it take to link both and how can humanitarian...

A new version of the Sphere Training Package customised to the Syria response is available for download in Arabic from the Sphere website. This new version of the Sphere...

Ensuring that Sphere continues to adapt itself as a user-driven, practitioner-governed organisation, the project has become a non-profit association under Swiss law. At its second regular annual meeting held...

Using the Sphere Standards in Urban Settings, the latest publication in the ‘Sphere unpacked' series, fills a gap in current guidance on how to implement humanitarian standards across different...

By Christine Knudsen (*) The year ahead will see significant moves in the humanitarian standards landscape - and mark Sphere's 20th anniversary! As the number of people requiring humanitarian...

By Christine Knudsen (*) When disaster strikes, it is critical to pay special attention to the situation of those who may be disenfranchised, at heightened risk, and with fewer...

By Nik Rilkoff (*) When it comes to meeting humanitarian accountability commitments, many organisations have put time, money and effort into information systems and complaints feedback mechanisms. However, it...

A further step towards incorporating the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) into the Sphere Handbook has been taken: now buyers of the Handbook also receive a free-of-charge copy of the...

In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, 60 aid workers attended a training on Sphere principles and standards in Haiti. Hurricane Matthew made landfall in southwestern Haiti on 4 October....

A Ukrainian-language version of the Sphere Handbook 2011 edition has just been published. With this new version, the Handbook is now available in 29 languages. The translation of the...

For Sphere standards to be more useful, appropriate and ultimately effective, they can - and must - be adapted to local contexts. This is one of the key findings...

Sphere regional partner Community World Service Asia has recently completed 10 years of work to improve the quality and accountability of humanitarian response in the region. It all began...

Over 2,800 users in 149 countries shared their views on the Sphere Handbook. Nine out of ten say the Handbook is useful in their daily work. In April 2016,...

The Sphere Handbook 2011 edition has just been published in Italian. With this new version, the Handbook is now available in 28 languages. The Italian version of the Handbook...

With the first-ever Sphere training of trainers in Iran, the standards' introduction there reached a new phase that seeks to build larger capacity faster. Working with the International Consortium...

If you could have all the humanitarian standards you usually work with in a smartphone application, what features would you like such an “app” to have? The Global Humanitarian...

Are you wondering how to implement feedback mechanisms in contexts where communities have different literacy levels? Or if there is an accountability working group near you? Or how best...

By Cassie Dummett (*) Everyone would agree that humanitarian standards need to be coherent, but do we agree on what that means? At a basic level, coherence means that...

More than just a revision, the next Sphere Handbook will ask what quality and accountable humanitarian assistance should look like in 10 years. The framework for the 2018 edition...

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a country four times bigger than France, has gone through recurrent humanitarian crises for the last 20 years. In that context, Boniface...

By Aninia Nadig (*) The Sphere Project booth at the World Humanitarian Summit exhibition was a go-to spot for humanitarian practitioners who wanted to learn how to set up...

Humanitarian standards help governments, communities and the humanitarian system at large put people affected by crisis or conflict at the centre of humanitarian response, but not without challenges. After...

By Cassie Dummett (*) Many areas, one integrated approach - that's the potential and promise the Global Humanitarian Standards Partnership brings to humanitarian standards. Humanitarian standards are exactly what...

By Vincent Trousseau (*) Humanitarian response is undergoing a profound re-think as we see an increased use of cash-based programming. What are the implications for a rights-based approach, direct...

Sphere and Partners call for commitments to quality assistance, protection, and accountability at the World Humanitarian Summit. In just a few hours, the World Humanitarian Summit will convene in...

A new free-of-charge course on the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) is now available online in English, Arabic and French, with a Spanish version expected in...

By Irina Kulenovic (*) In order to promote good international practice and support the development of a culture of emergency preparedness and response in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sphere...

By Christine Knudsen (*) The first year of implementing the new Sphere 2020 strategic plan revealed a dynamic and growing community of practitioners galvanised around a core commitment to...

Sphere for Urban Response, a new publication in the ‘Sphere unpacked' series that fills a gap in current guidance on how to implement humanitarian standards across different contexts, is...

The Sphere Handbook 2011 edition has just been published in Thai. With this new version, the Handbook is now available in 27 languages. The translation of the Handbook was...

By Chris Wong (*) Several local and international NGOs, foundations and universities are working together to more strategically promote the Sphere Project in China. Ten organisations involved in humanitarian...

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is offering the Sphere Handbook in Action e-learning course to its over 2,000 staff across the world. The course...

Nicole Attro's career within the humanitarian sector in West Africa allowed her to discover how Sphere standards function as a common language that enables practitioners to work across countries...

From dilemmas in applying humanitarian principles at field level to organisational obstacles that hinder collective accountability and governmental reluctance to abide by humanitarian standards, a range of concrete challenges...

A new training module on the Core Humanitarian Standard and its usage in conjunction with the Sphere Handbook is now available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish. The Sphere...

The revision process of the Minimum Economic Recovery Standards (MERS) began with a write-shop hosted by the SEEP Network in Washington, D.C. on 27-28 January. The event was attended by...

The Sphere Handbook 2011 edition has just been published in Turkish. With this new version, the Handbook is now available in 26 languages. The translation of the Handbook was...

By Erik Johnson (*) We humanitarians often get it wrong. We hand out food to displaced families, only to see it appear on the market so that they can...

Meeting in Geneva in mid-November, the Sphere Project Board of directors welcomed a new member to the Sphere companion standards family and endorsed moving ahead with the Global Humanitarian...

“The issue of accountability was what made the biggest impression on us,” Elmehdi Ag Wakina says as he recalls the workshop in which he and colleagues first came to...

(*) By Aninia Nadig The contribution of humanitarian standards as a common language to improve collective accountability was emphasised at a workshop attended by key humanitarian actors in Niamey...

Amadou Mansour Diouf is a curious type of person. Hardly surprising that he discovered and enrolled in a rather demanding e-learning course to find out what Sphere standards were...

Please take a few minutes to respond to this online survey. Your input will help shape the future of Sphere. Update of 12 December 2015: This survey is now...

[This article was updated on 24 February 2016] The indicators and guidance notes for the Core Humanitarian Standard have been published in English, Arabic, French and Spanish. The indicators...

Humanitarian practitioners in West and Central Africa commit to grow a robust Sphere network across the region. The first West and Central Africa Sphere Practitioners Workshop gathered 19 participants...

From Gaziantep in Turkey to Calais in France to several German cities, humanitarian standards are taking centre stage in the response to an unprecedented crisis... with no end in...

Hameed Kareem knows first-hand what it means to be in need of humanitarian assistance. As a member of Iraq's Kurdish minority, he and his family experienced internal displacement under...

On 9 October 2015, the CHS Alliance was launched in Geneva. The new organisation is the outcome of the merger of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) International and People...

As the aid community gathers at the Global Consultation for the World Humanitarian Summit in Geneva next week, we all face an unmissable opportunity to ask what it would...

We have a strong vision of a humanitarian world where standards are not only based on experience and evidence, but also built upon a common framework and language, thus...

[This article was updated on 3 February 2016] Are you curious about the number of professional humanitarian workers worldwide? Or about how many aid organisations are out there? Or...

The Sphere Handbook 2011 edition has just been published in the Myanmar language. With this new version, the Handbook is now available in 25 languages. The translation of the...

By Irene Van Horssen HelpAge International has worked with six other agencies to launch a new set of minimum standards to support ageing- and disability-inclusive responses in humanitarian crises....

The first time Kamil Erdem Güler ever saw a Sphere Handbook was in a refugee camp on the outskirts of the Somali capital city, Mogadishu. It was 2012 and...

The Sphere Project office and DisasterReady.org will offer a short introductory online course on Sphere principles and standards at the end of September. "An introduction to Sphere" is an...

This year's campaign to mark World Humanitarian Day aims to tell the stories of extraordinary resilience behind today's humanitarian crises. Every year on 19 August, World Humanitarian Day recognises...

"One out of four people in Jordan is a Syrian refugee," says Firas Saleh, Programme Quality Manager at CARE International in Jordan. In addition to Syrians, there are some...

A pharmacist with a degree on health management, Rita Rhayem discovered the humanitarian field thanks to a short stint with Doctors Without Borders during the 2006 Lebanon War. "That...

Just released, The Sphere Story is a three-part video documentary on the origins, dissemination and impact of Sphere principles and standards. It also looks at the challenges and opportunities...

The Sphere Project Board met in Rome on 27-28 May and endorsed concrete steps to implement the new strategic plan Sphere 2020. Representatives of companion standards joined one of...

Twenty-five humanitarians from 11 countries in the Middle East and North Africa participated in the first Sphere regional practitioners workshop on 3-4 May in Amman. The meeting identified a...

As the humanitarian community is busy responding to the crisis unleashed by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal on 25 April, an initiative to build Sphere capacity in the...

By Christine Knudsen, Sphere Project Director Sphere focal points are some of the most important unsung heroes in the movement for humanitarian quality and accountability. I continue to be...

As we finalise our video documentary on the history of the Sphere Project, we'd like to share our excitement with the community of Sphere practitioners. So here is an...

The representative of the International Consortium for Refugees in Iran, Nazanin Kazemi has worked with refugees for nearly 16 years. In the following interview, she discusses the impact of...

Update (27 April 2015)Made about a month ago, our offer to ship a hard copy of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) for free to anyone interested got a great...

Conducting systematic reviews of aid delivery against quality humanitarian standards is a crucial step to ensure continuous learning and improvement of humanitarian response. This Audit Tool and Quick Guide...

The Sphere Project office has published Sphere for Monitoring and Evaluation, a short guide to help humanitarian staff identify and implement the sections of the Sphere Handbook that are...

The Arabic-language version of the Sphere Handbook is now available in eBook format. To celebrate its launch, Practical Action Publishing is offering a time-limited 45% discount on the price...

Sphere 2020, the Sphere Project strategic plan for the coming six years, has just been published. The plan defines an ambitious agenda for Sphere to continue fulfilling its unique...

By Marc Olivier (*) Developing a strong network in which organisations can learn and apply Sphere humanitarian standards to improve the quality and accountability of their work is one...

The Sphere Project office has published a new training resource covering virtually all aspects of the use of Sphere humanitarian standards. The Sphere Training Package 2015 is available in...

The Sphere Project office has published a short comparative analysis of the Sphere Handbook's Core Standards and the recently released Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability. On November...

By Roderick Valones (*) For the Alliance of Sphere Advocates in the Philippines (ASAP), 2014 has been the most eventful if not demanding year so far. The need to...

The Arabic, Spanish and French versions of Sphere for Assessments are now available for free downloading as PDF files. Sphere for Assessments is a short guide to help humanitarian...

The second edition of the Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) will be launched in London and Washington in February 2015. About one billion people worldwide depend on livestock...

By Aninia Nadig (*) The humanitarian community understands very well how important it is to listen to and engage with the people it intends to serve. However, much needs...

A wide array of representatives of the humanitarian community gathered in Copenhagen on 12 December for the launch of the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) gave...

The Core Humanitarian Standard will be launched in Copenhagen on 12 December. The event will include a roundtable discussion featuring Sphere India CEO Vikrant Mahajan among other panellists. The...

Do you have ideas and recommendations on how the humanitarian system could better meet the needs of people affected by crises? Would you like to share your views on...

The Sphere Project Board met in New Delhi on 11-12 November. The meeting made strides towards an ambitious new strategy aimed at leveraging the impact of the world community...

By Christine Knudsen, Sphere Project Director December is usually a time when many of us hope to slow down, reflect on the year that is ending and prepare for...

A recent gathering of Sphere country focal points demonstrated the increasing strength of the community of humanitarian practitioners working with Sphere standards in the region. Meeting in Bangkok 14-15...

What should be done when people blame a flood on an angry goddess? Or a volcanic eruption on the mountain god? These are some of the questions asked by...

The Sphere Project Board is meeting in New Delhi, India, on 12-13 November 2014. The meeting is hosted by Sphere India, a national coalition of humanitarian agencies working across...

The official launch of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) on Quality and Accountability is to take place in Copenhagen on 12 December 2014. The event will gather some 120...

The Sphere Project office has published a series of six posters and six matching postcards featuring humanitarian messages illustrated with cartoons. The posters and postcards are available in Arabic, English,...

The Sphere Handbook 2011 edition is now available in Farsi. With this new language version, the Handbook is now available in 24 languages. The Farsi version of the Sphere...

The Sphere Board has appointed Christine Knudsen as Sphere Project Director. Knudsen will take up her new position on 1 November 2014. Knudsen brings 17 years of experience ranging...

The third version of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) on Quality and Accountability is available for consultation until 17 October. The final version will be launched in Copenhagen on 12 December...

Catholic Relief Services, Concern Worldwide and Human Rights Education Associates have added the Sphere Handbook in Action e-learning course to their learning offerings. With these three additions, the Sphere...

The People First Impact Method (PFIM) is a tool to assess the impact of humanitarian and development interventions from a community perspective. Its recently released facilitator's toolkit has been...

A new edition of the State of the Humanitarian System report is in the making. And your experience as an aid professional can be part of it. The well-known...

The Core Humanitarian Standard is being tested by 60 organisations around the world. Meanwhile, individual humanitarian workers have the possibility of sharing their feedback on the standard until 12...

Communicate humanitarian messages with cartoons? Well yes, we're about to try to do just that. The Sphere Project office is about to publish a series of six posters and...

When almost a billion people go to bed hungry every night, being a humanitarian is not a choice, says Dr Unni Krishnan, head of disaster preparedness and response for...

[This story was updated on 2 September 2014. See why below.] A bit more than a year after its launch and with over 13,200 humanitarians enrolled, the Sphere Handbook...

By Markus Forsberg (*) Because of the nature of humanitarian work in crisis situations, consultation is especially important for discussion and development of new initiatives. But how can we...

What are the main trends in the humanitarian sector today? The principal challenges and opportunities? How will the sector look in 10 years' time? Watch the experts sharing their...

The Sphere Board has appointed Linda Poteat as Sphere Project Director (interim). Poteat will take over the position at the end of June for a period of three months....

Building a Better Response is a recently launched e-learning course aimed at strengthening the knowledge and ability of humanitarian actors to engage effectively in the international humanitarian coordination system...

At its meeting in New York City in May the Sphere Project Board decided to renew its involvement in the development of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS). In the...

Meeting in New York City in May, the Sphere Board began to develop a new strategy to transform the Sphere Project into a global standards network by 2020. Over...

The Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP), People In Aid and the Sphere Project, with the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) Technical Steering Group, are pleased to present the revised version of...

Sphere minimum standards have been incorporated into the recently adopted Indonesian National Standards on Humanitarian Response. The Indonesian National Standards on Humanitarian Response were adopted by the country's National...

The first stages of a humanitarian response may have crucial consequences for the longer-term recovery that should begin once the crisis has subsided. If not properly done, economic development...

The World Humanitarian Summit is starting to take shape. Recent weeks have seen people, organizations and governments coming on board to join in the task of shaping the future...

A version with subtitles in Japanese of the film Humanitarian standards in context; Bringing the Sphere Handbook to life is now available. The Japanese-subtitled version of the 20-minute film...

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will integrate the Sphere Handbook in Action e-learning course into its new learning platform. As of next month, UNICEF staff across the world...

Livestock are key livelihood assets for many people in rural areas. No wonder that a specific set of standards has been developed to help practitioners deal with a much-neglected...

Every year, the dedicated community of Sphere practitioners offers training workshops on Sphere principles and standards around the world. Many of these trainings take place in an emergency setting...

Experienced Sphere trainers share their wisdom on how to deal with on-the-spot training in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. When a sudden disaster strikes, the capacity of humanitarian...

Children in the Atma camp in northern Syria, which has become temporary home to thousands of people who have fled the violence as the war rages on in the...

Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS-P/A) has just published Quality and Accountability for Project Cycle Management, a booklet authored by experienced trainers Sylvie Robert and Astrid de Valon. Presented as "a...

The Sphere Project Board has appointed Alistair Dutton as the Project’s Interim Manager. Dutton will take over the position on April 1. Dutton brings over 15 years of experience...

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, which represented a traumatic watershed for the humanitarian sector. The following interview discusses its impact on the efforts to...

The Sphere Project manager since 2009, John Damerell, is stepping down at the end of next month. In the following interview he reviews the development of the Project over...

When a disaster strikes, the priority for humanitarian organisations is to bring aid to those affected. But as the following story from the Philippines shows, education on quality and...

The Sphere Project office has published Sphere for Assessments, a short guide to help humanitarian staff involved in needs assessments to identify and implement the sections of the Sphere...

Online courses are great, but poor or non-reliable Internet access may make them inaccessible to humanitarian staff in some contexts, particularly in the field. That's why DisasterReady.org - a...

By Daphne Nadig * "Reaching Resilience," a game developed by CARE International, Urgence Réhabilitation Dévelopement (Groupe URD) and the Wageningen University, uses a fun method to teach the concept...

The Sphere Project is pleased to announce the eBook edition of its Handbook, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response (2011 edition). MEDIA-52e24bb372cb2 The new eBook is available...

The global children's charity Plan International is offering the Sphere Handbook in Action e-learning course to their staff through the agency's brand-new e-learning platform. Founded over 75 years ago,...

By Cecilia Furtade * The need to reassert humanitarian principles in a changing and increasingly complex humanitarian landscape was the leitmotiv of the discussion at the Network of Humanitarian...

A forward-looking meeting of the Sphere Project Board took place in Geneva mid-November. A post-2015 strategy for the Project, next steps in the process of harmonisation of humanitarian standards...

Representatives of the Boards of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP), People In Aid and the Sphere Project met this week and considered the current status of the process towards...

Efforts to support aid delivery according to humanitarian standards are under way in the Philippines, where Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda caused massive destruction and loss of life when it hit the...

Meeting in Istanbul on 23 October, representatives of five humanitarian standards-setting initiatives stressed their shared commitment to support quality and accountable work across all sectors of humanitarian response. Over...

A new short film features examples of humanitarian agencies around the world working with the Sphere Handbook. The Sphere Project office has released Humanitarian standards in context; Bringing the...

Next Saturday, Angelina Jolie will receive an Oscar in recognition of her humanitarian efforts. At the same time, a planned Italian TV show involving celebrities and humanitarian operations has...

The Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) International has made available a comprehensive quality and accountability online resource library for the humanitarian and development sectors. Each resource is tagged and includes...

While the rate of attacks against aid workers continues to grow, kidnapping is the top threat they face, a new report says. This is one of the findings of...

When it meets later this month, the Sphere Project Board will engage in strategic discussion about the future direction and priorities for the Project, prompted by new trends and...

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Sphere Project have agreed to include the Sphere Handbook in Action e-learning course in the ICRC online learning platform....

The Sphere Project has published the Arabic-language version of its website at SphereProject.org/ar. A work-in-progress, the new language version of the website is already online and new content will...

The Groupe URD (Urgence, Réhabilitation, Développement), one of the most influential quality and accountability initiatives in the French-speaking world, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, using the occasion as an...

To mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction 2013, a group of humanitarian organisations and UN agencies released a new Guidance note on disability and emergency risk management for...

You still have four weeks to order the Sphere Handbook in bulk from Practical Action Publishing at its current price of GBP 5.00 per copy (plus shipping cost). Bulk...

From Bolivia to the Philippines and from Vietnam to Nepal, humanitarian practitioners and organisations are developing new activities and strategies to further disseminate Sphere principles and standards. Bolivia In...

With the addition of Arabic, French and Spanish versions, the Sphere Handbook in Action e-learning course is now accessible to a wider spectrum of the Sphere community. The Sphere...

The staff of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) as well as Red Cross / Red Crescent volunteers all over the world now have...

[For new developments on this subject, see HAP, People In Aid and the Sphere Project on the harmonisation of humanitarian standards] The Core Humanitarian Standard will help humanitarian actors...

The Sphere Handbook is alive and well in China. Following the launch of the simplified Chinese version of the Handbook a few months ago, a series of trainings will...

UNOCHA, IHC and the Sphere Project offers a Sphere Training of Trainers course in Arabic in Dubai - UAE.

Every year on 19 August, World Humanitarian Day recognizes those who face danger and adversity to help others. This year the World Humanitarian Day project is a month-long campaign...

Where does humanitarian funding come from? Where does it go? What is it spent on and how does it get there? These and other questions are addressed by the...

Ever wondered how exactly the Sphere Handbook standards and those of the Minimum Standards for Education correspond? These two sets of standards are companions - that is they recognise...

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is offering the Sphere Handbook in Action e-learning course to their own and their worldwide partners' staff at the agency's learning platform. The...

Accountability mechanisms do improve the quality of humanitarian and development aid, a new report shows. Across the humanitarian and development sectors, aid agency accountability to populations affected by crises...

One of the main achievements of the Joint Standards Initiative, a collaborative effort between the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP), People In Aid and the Sphere Project, was the Global...

[For new developments on this subject, see HAP, People In Aid and the Sphere Project on the harmonisation of humanitarian standards] Over 150 leaders across the humanitarian sector gathered...

A new short film features examples of humanitarian agencies around the world working with the Sphere Handbook. The Sphere Project office has released Humanitarian standards in context; Bringing the...

The Sphere Handbook in Action e-learning course is now also available off-line for those humanitarian workers with difficult or non-existent access to the Internet. The four language versions of...

DisasterReady.org is a free and open-to-all learning platform intended to help prepare aid workers for the demands they face in the field. The platform offers dozens of cutting edge...

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has published the second edition of the Professional Standards for Protection Work. Available in English and French, the publication constitutes a...

The Sphere Handbook in Action e-learning course is now available to thousands of humanitarian workers across the world thanks to a partnership between the Sphere Project and Learning In...

Nearly 200 senior representatives from the humanitarian community will gather in Geneva at the end of this week to discuss current developments in the field of humanitarian standards. Participants...

The Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action and the Sphere Handbook, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response are now officially companion standards. The companionship agreement...

The Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action have been accepted as a companion to the Sphere Handbook, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response. By virtue...

Training reports are usually a great source of lessons learned, methodologies and statistical information. That's why the Sphere Project office would like to collect them and make them available...

On 7 May Verónica Foubert, responsible for Training and Learning Management at the Sphere Project office, conducted a webinar about the recently released Sphere Handbook in Action e-learning course....

[For new developments on this subject, see HAP, People In Aid and the Sphere Project on the harmonisation of humanitarian standards] The Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP), People In Aid...

A basic set of promotional materials for the Sphere Project in Arabic, English, French and Spanish can be freely downloaded from the Sphere website. The promotional kit includes an...

The global stakeholder consultation report on humanitarian standards, commissioned by the Joint Standards Initiative (JSI) has been made public on the Joint Standards website. Download the report (PDF, 1.4MB)....

A review of work done over the last three years by humanitarian agencies in Zimbabwe has shown significant progress both in raising awareness of as well as in implementing...

Chinese (simplified) is the latest addition to the growing number of language versions in which the Sphere Handbook is available. Currently, the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian...

The humanitarian needs assessment community is currently piloting two new assessment tools - for the time being only available in English. The Good Enough Guide to Humanitarian Needs Assessment...

This user-friendly version of the Sphere Handbook 2011 edition has been created in Bolivia and is available only in Spanish. It was developed to introduce the Handbook to affected...

As of 1 April 2013, the Sphere Project team will be hosted by the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), a Sphere Board member with headquarters in Geneva. The...

An e-learning course that allows humanitarian workers to undertake an ambitious training programme on Sphere principles and standards in an autonomous manner is now available via the Internet. The...

The Sphere Project office is upgrading its focal points strategy as part of its continued effort to foster the global network of promoters of Sphere principles and standards. The...

We are in the thick of the Joint Standards Initiative consultation that was launched in December 2012 and ends on 1 March 2013. An online survey has been widely...

The Boards of three standards-setting initiatives — the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP), People In Aid and the Sphere Project — met at the end of November and renewed their...

The Sphere Project office will be hosted by the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) as of 1 April 2013. The Board of the Sphere Project made the decision...

Three standards-setting initiatives — the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) International, People In Aid and the Sphere Project — have launched a process to seek greater coherence for users of...

The Sphere Project office is finalizing work on a new e-learning course that will allow humanitarian workers to undertake an ambitious training programme on Sphere principles and standards in...

Officially launched in mid-1997, the Sphere Project has just turned 15. To mark the occasion, we talked with one of its originators. Peter Walker's first experience of humanitarian work...

The ground breaking collaboration to transform the quality and accountability system is gathering pace. Robert Schofield has now started as the Joint Standards Initiative (JSI) Coordinator, having taken his post...

Organizing trainings on humanitarian quality and accountability has become easier in Kenya since the opening of a new resource center in Nairobi by the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG). One...

The English version of the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response is now available in Braille. This makes its content accessible for visually impaired people. The Braille...

The Sphere Handbook "Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response" is now available online as a micro website. "With this new micro website, the full content of the...

Neil Casey, current chair of the Joint Standards Initiative, announced on 3 July that Robert Schofield has been appointed as the full time Joint Standards Initiative Coordinator to begin...

The Sphere Project launches a new version of its logo to strengthen the brand's visual identity. "We felt the logo needed refreshing after many years of serving us well,"...

The need for better engagement with affected communities is the "most salient finding" highlighted by a report on the humanitarian response to the crisis in the Horn of Africa....

The Sphere Handbook's recommendations for the management of chronic diseases in humanitarian crises were featured at a panel discussion during the 18-20 April 2012 Geneva Health Forum. A platform...

In the following interview Erik Johnson, Chair of the Sphere Project Board, reviews recent and future developments in the Project and talks about how and why humanitarian standards are...

The Boards of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP), People In Aid and the Sphere Project met for the first time ever in Geneva on 25 April. This was a...

A central objective of an October 2011 - January 2012 Joint Standards Initiative deployment to the Horn of Africa was to ensure that the voices of those affected by...

In 2010, severe floods affected some 20 million people in Pakistan. The subsequent recovery and rehabilitation phase was characterized by high demands for technical assistance on humanitarian quality and...

The web portal JointStandards.org has now launched, giving humanitarian workers the opportunity to view and use guidelines and guidance from the humanitarian sector on one website. A simple site...

Following our last communiqué in December 2011, the chairs and directors of the Sphere Project, the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) and People In Aid would like to share an...

Coordination between the government, the UN and national and international organizations working in the field of disaster preparedness and response in Kyrgyzstan was considerably strengthened in 2011 by a...

The Joint Standards' Initiative deployment to the Horn of Africa that began at the end of October 2011 concluded on 31 January 2012. The Joint Standards' Initiative is an...

A group of key humanitarian actors have created the Sphere Bangladesh Community, a platform to promote the Sphere Project in the South Asian country. They plan to give Sphere...

The Sphere Project and the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) are pleased to announce that the Companionship Agreement between the two entities has been renewed. The agreement...

The design and implementation of aid programmes in the Horn of Africa should allow for more participation by crisis-affected communities says a quality and accountability team. The team also...

Three of the best-known standards-setting initiatives to improve the quality and accountability of humanitarian response have charted the next steps towards achieving greater coherence. "The goal of this process...

The Sphere Project Board affirmed its commitment to achieving greater coherence amongst initiatives working to improve the quality and accountability of humanitarian work and welcomed RedR International as a...

The commitment of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to humanitarian law and standards and to the Sphere Project in particular was highlighted at...

Together with a significant group of humanitarian actors, Ecuador's National Secretariat for Risk Management has created a Sphere coordination group in Ecuador in an effort to strengthen the application of Sphere...

Sphere Focal Points met 15-16 September 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand at a forum organized by Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS-P/A) in collaboration with the Sphere Project secretariat. The forum's goal...

The Sphere Project, People In Aid and HAP International have invited humanitarian agencies to financially support a joint deployment aimed at bringing increased quality and accountability to the humanitarian...

On Sunday 18 September, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit the Northern Indian State of Sikkim, killing nearly 100 people. Coordination efforts by relief agencies started right away. The next...

An inter-agency Sphere Training of Trainers course will take place in Nyanga, Zimbabwe from 20-28 November. It targets local participants who, thus prepared, will then constitute a national inter-agency...

Four of the best-known initiatives to improve quality and accountability in the humanitarian sector are working together to help bring about a more coherent humanitarian response in the Horn...

Four of the best-known initiatives to improve quality and accountability in the humanitarian sector have agreed to strengthen their collaboration. Meeting in Geneva on 20 July, top representatives of...

Nearly 11 million people are reported to be in need of humanitarian assistance in East Africa. Aid agencies in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya have reported alarming rates of...

With 13 language versions released at more than 50 events in 35 countries and seven additional versions in the making, the worldwide roll-out of the Sphere Handbook 2011 edition...

Winding up her deployment in Haiti, Sphere Project capacity-building coordinator Rosario Iraola has handed over responsibility for promoting Sphere's minimum standards to a newly created local working group. The...

Interview with Ton van Zutphen, former Sphere Board Chair Over the past three years, Ton van Zutphen has served as Chair of the Sphere Project's Board. In the following...

One year after devastating floods affected some 20 million people in Pakistan, research on the country's humanitarian sector shows that raising awareness about quality and accountability concepts, methods, language...

As the world faces an increasing number of large-scale disasters that make the need for quality and accountability in humanitarian response ever more pressing, the Sphere Project and Church...

Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian and German versions of the Sphere Handbook 2011 edition are to be released as of 23 June in some 17 countries around the world. From...

The Sphere Project Board received Plan International as a new Board member, elected Erik Johnson as its new Chair and committed to achieve greater coherence among quality and accountability...

Two sets of standards for addressing economic recovery and handling livestock in emergency situations have been accepted as companions to the Sphere Project's Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in...

The Sphere Handbook 2011 edition was launched in 15 events across India on 14 April. From New Delhi to Bangalore and from Mumbai to Kolkata, hundreds of humanitarian workers...

"The Sphere Standards have become the gold standard for humanitarian assistance," said the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos at the launch of the Sphere Handbook 2011 edition...

Two modules of training materials reflecting the 2011 edition of the Sphere Handbook are now available. A revised version of Module 1, "Introduction to Sphere", and a Module on...

About 50 aid workers are learning how to train their colleagues in the implementation of Sphere minimum standards in humanitarian response. "Participants at the first ever ‘training of trainers'course...

The Sphere Project announces that Martin Fisher and Lori Werner have joined its staff in Geneva, strengthening the areas of learning and training as well as communications. Martin Fisher...

A lot of creative energy was unleashed as 11 experienced trainers gathered in Geneva 26-27 January to brainstorm and discuss elements for a new learning strategy that takes into...

The Sphere Project, a leading initiative promoting quality and accountability in humanitarian work announces the launch of the 2011 edition of its Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in...

In the run-up to the launch of the 2011 edition of its Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response, the Sphere Project has strengthened the capacity of...