Browse Sphere’s resources

An interactive online workshop for students to introduce them to Sphere humanitarian principles and standards.

PowerPoint presentation includes notes for lecturers and trainers.

The Minimum Economic Recovery Standards, or the MERS, are internationally recognised standards aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and quality of economic aid for markets in crisis.

 

What does this mean? Watch this 3-minute video to find out.

 

Visit the SEEP Network’s Vimeo channel for more videos: https://vimeo.com/theseepnetwork

The Minimum Economic Recovery Standards, or the MERS, are internationally recognised standards aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and quality of economic aid for markets in crisis.

 

But what exactly does this mean? Watch this 3-minute video to find out.

 

Visit the SEEP Network’s Vimeo channel for more videos: https://vimeo.com/theseepnetwork

An online self-study course to develop a good conceptual understanding of the steps involved in market assessments and basic skills in how to apply this understanding in real-life settings.

 

This 3.5 hour online course is designed to provide future humanitarian market assessment team members with a solid understanding of the theory and steps of market assessments so that they can join assessment teams prepared with a basic understanding of what they will be doing and why. Learners will be guided through the common steps within market assessments, using a fictional emergency scenario as a basis. This course is relevant to most types of emergency market assessment, including EMMA, RAM, MAG, the 48-Hour Tool, the WFP VAM and PCMA.

 

This course is aimed at humanitarian workers with an understanding of market assessments. After completing the course participants will have gained a solid understanding of the theory and steps of market assessments.

 

Visit the Cash Learning Hub (free Kaya login required) for more learning resources: https://kayaconnect.org/course/view.php?id=491

This “white paper” analyses some of the changes in the Sphere Handbook 2011 edition and provides insights into questions trainers are often asked concerning differences between this and previous editions. Jim Good is a partner with InterWorks, LLC, and a long-time Sphere contributor and trainer.

Sphere full members include Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs), NGO networks or members of the Red Cross / Red Crescent Movement.

Sphere individual members are persons with a strong commitment for furthering the vision of Sphere.

The Sphere Handbook and the other Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP) initiatives offer guidance on the COVID-19 response. They establish what needs to be in place for affected populations to survive and recover with dignity.

• define disability, impairment and root causes;
• identify the models of disability, from charity to the human rights-based model;
• define the categories of impairments;
• explain the challenges faced by older people and people with disabilities in humanitarian contexts, and factors increasing their vulnerability;
• define older age and the perceptions of ageing and attitudes towards older people; and
• improve attitudes towards people with disabilities.

• define “accountability to affected people” and identify steps that can be taken to improve accountability to affected people;
• explain “taking account”, “giving account” and “being held to account”;
• identify why it is important to be accountable to affected people; and
• explain what accountability to affected people means in practice, related to real-life actions across the programme cycle.

Cardurile de Activitate ale Manualului Sphere sprijină activitățile de învățare pentru atelierele și cursurile Sphere. Fiecare card reprezintă un element din manualul Sphere sau are legătură cu acesta, cum ar fi un standard, un angajament, o activitate din ciclul programului, un partener sau o temă.

Cardurile pot fi, de asemenea, utilizate pentru a sprijini instruirea online folosind platforme precum Miro, Jamboard sau deckhive

Această resursă este disponibilă în prezent în engleză, portugheză, indoneziană și română. Dacă doriți să creați o versiune tradusă/localizată, vă rugăm să contactați biroul Sphere.

Sphere produced a series of posters illustrating the core principles embedded in the Humanitarian Charter. The cartoons help disseminate information and raise awareness on the basic rights of affected populations.

Sphere produced a series of posters illustrating the core principles embedded in the Humanitarian Charter. The cartoons help disseminate information and raise awareness on the basic rights of affected populations.

Sphere produced a series of posters and matching postcards illustrating the core principles embedded in the Humanitarian Charter. The cartoons help disseminate information and raise awareness on the basic rights of affected populations.

Sphere partner Aktion Deutschland Hilft translated into German a series of Sphere posters illustrating the core principles embedded in the Humanitarian Charter. The posters help disseminate information and raise awareness on the basic rights of affected populations.

Sphere produced a series of posters illustrating the core principles embedded in the Humanitarian Charter. The cartoons help disseminate information and raise awareness on the basic rights of affected populations.

Made for all humanitarians, this video focuses on the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action – Standards to Work Across Sectors for preventing and responding to the protection risks children face. By taking a holistic and multi-sectoral approach, we can achieve our collective responsibility to uphold the Centrality of Protection, and build stronger, more effective programmes that improve outcomes for every child.

Visit the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action’s YouTube channel for this and other great training videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheAllianceCPHA

Learn about the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPMS) and how they can be applied in practice. Updated in 2021, this is a free, self-guided online course. It offers more than 10 learning modules introducing the CPMS, its principles and specific child protection standards. On finishing the core components, you may download and/or print a certificate of completion.

O Curso de Formação Esfera (edição de 2018) é um companheiro essencial não só para os formadores experientes Esfera, mas também para os líderes de oficinas menos experientes e até para os autodidactas. O curso é a principal ferramenta de apoio para conferencistas, consultores de aprendizagem e formadores de campo que facilitam a formação Esfera de qualquer tipo. Contém materiais no valor de cinco dias, e a sua natureza modular significa que pode ser utilizado na sua totalidade, reformulado para seminários mais curtos, ou introduzido em iniciativas mais amplas, tais como programas de graus humanitários.

This resource is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Portuguese. In addition, there is a contextualised version for those responding to the Syria crisis (Arabic only) here.

Health Clusters and partners are often facing challenges in humanitarian settings. COVID-19 has intensified pressures and worsened resource constraints forcing difficult decisions on how and what assistance to provide. The tool provides insights on key ethical concepts, some simple steps and key questions to ask when supporting staff who are facing ethical dilemmas and must make difficult decisions based on competing needs and scarce resources. The tool helps link the role of frontline health care workers, health cluster partners and the health cluster as a whole to collaboratively face challenges. It also provides a case study from Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh and links to other key resources.

Humanitarian Standards Leadership: This newly released report, commissioned by the Humanitarian Standards Partnership explores leading, growing and upholding international humanitarian standards within the complex humanitarian ecosystem.

Through in depth interviews with international humanitarian standards leaders, the study delves into the challenging question of how we maintain humanitarian standards as relevant in 2025 (and beyond), continue to grow uptake and engagement with them, and continue to support leadership, a leadership buffeted during a tumultuous year in the world of humanitarian action.

Please read, share and engage with the report and HSP, as further discussion and debate steers the direction of humanitarian standards leadership into a new future better placed and able to respond.

Le Guide détaillé « Qu’y a-t-il de nouveau » (What is New In-depth Guide) vise à informer quiconque souhaite saisir en détails les différences entre les deux dernières éditions 2011 et 2018 du manuel. Il présente les forces motrices de la révision, ainsi que les thèmes qui sont apparus lors des consultations. Le guide propose également une analyse par chapitre qui met en exergue les changements opérés dans les standards, dans le manuel dans son ensemble et les conséquences en termes d’utilisation des standards en contexte.

• the Sphere Approach to humanitarian response;
• The usefulness of the Sphere Handbook to prepare, manage and coordinate humanitarian relief efforts;
• the benefits of using the Sphere Handbook to fulfil a commitment to quality and accountability; and
• the first steps to advocating for Sphere within your network.

Learn how to promote Sphere within your network, and how this benefits the people affected by crisis and disaster that you serve.
By the end of the module, you will be able to explain:
• The Sphere Approach to humanitarian response.
• The usefulness of the Sphere Handbook to prepare, manage and coordinate humanitarian relief efforts.
• The benefits of using the Sphere Handbook to fulfil a commitment to quality and accountability.
• The first steps to advocating for Sphere within your network.

• describe the Sphere Approach to humanitarian assistance;
• summarise the contents of the Sphere Handbook;
• apply minimum standards, indicators and guidance notes to challenges encountered by humanitarians;
• reflect on how to use the Handbook to better assist people affected by crises; and
• list sources of additional information to help you use the Handbook.

A short guide aimed to help trainers to take advantage of the film “Humanitarian standards in context: Bringing the Sphere Handbook to life”. The film depicts the contribution Sphere standards make to improving quality and accountability in humanitarian response and features examples of humanitarian agencies around the world working with the Sphere Handbook.

The Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPMS) set out common principles and critical actions to keep children safe from abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence — and to holistically support their well-being. They provide important guidance and standards for all humanitarians, including through the standards to work across sectors.

Visit the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action’s YouTube channel for this and other great training videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheAllianceCPHA

This PowerPoint presentation introduces the Core Humanitarian Standard 2024.

The CHS sets out nine commitments to ensure that organisations support people and communities affected by crisis and vulnerability in ways that respect their rights and dignity.

The CHS builds on Humanitarian Principles and the Humanitarian Charter, and may be used in conjunction with Sphere and Humanitarian Standards Partnership standards.

The presentation ends with a Group Exercise, in which participants identify challenges in meeting the commitments as well as ways to overcome them.

This presentation updates module 6 of the Sphere Training Pack.

This course will help you understand and apply the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS), and in doing so ensure that organisations support people and communities affected by crisis and vulnerability in ways that respect their rights and dignity and promote their primary role in finding solutions to the crises they face.

This course is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

This introductory e-course is for anyone currently working with and for children in humanitarian settings, as well as all child protection workers who want to prepare themselves for a potential humanitarian crisis.

The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability(CHS) emerged in 2014 from an extensive consultation process. It contains excellent guidance, further detailed in its 2015 Guidance Notes and Indicators.
The CHS is currently under revision. This paper seeks to contribute to that revision.

Kartu Aktivitas Buku Pegangan Sphere mendukung kegiatan pembelajaran untuk pelatihan dan lokakarya terkait Sphere. Setiap kartu mewakili elemen dari, atau terkait dengan, Buku Panduan Sphere seperti standar, komitmen, kegiatan siklus program, mitra atau tema.

Saat ini kartu aktivitas tersedia dalam Bahasa Inggris, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Portugis dan Bahasa Rumania. Jika Anda ingin membuat versi terjemahan/lokal, silahkan hubungi Kantor Sphere.

The LEGS Core Training Refresher Course reviews the LEGS approach. This course will support your understanding in how to use LEGS in assessment and response identification as well as how to use the LEGS approach in response planning.

• learn about gender issues in planning and implementing livestock-based emergency responses;
• get insights into gender analysis; and
• discover some practical tools to support these processes.

This user-friendly version of the Sphere Handbook 2011 edition was created in Bolivia and is available only in Spanish. It was developed to introduce the Handbook to affected populations and is mainly intended for local authorities, community leaders and local NGOs in rural areas. As a user-friendly version, it employs well known and easy to understand language while remaining faithful to the Handbook. This tool can also be used by trainers and humanitarian professionals working with affected populations.

La versión amigable que se presenta a continuación resume los aspectos más importantes del del Manual Esfera y espera ser un aporte para promover su difusión y aplicación, más allá de la comunidad de actores humanitarios nacionales e internacionales que forman parte de la Red Esfera Perú.

El Manual Esfera Amigable es una versión gráfica y resumida del Manual Esfera: Carta humanitaria y normas mínimas para la respuesta humanitaria. Nació en 2008 con Save the Children y ha sido actualizado en base a las versiones 2011 y 2018 del Manual Esfera.

Su objetivo es facilitar a las y los trabajadores humanitarios una guía clara y accesible que resalta los mensajes clave de los capítulos esenciales y técnicos, con explicaciones sencillas y recursos visuales.

La segunda edición, adaptada a la versión 2018 y promovida por Save the Children y ChildFund Bolivia, se utiliza en actividades de sensibilización, difusión y capacitación en varios departamentos del país. Con el aval de la Red Esfera en Bolivia, busca fortalecer la calidad y la rendición de cuentas en la respuesta humanitaria, contribuyendo a proteger la dignidad y los derechos de las personas afectadas en crisis, conflictos y emergencias.

This guide, developed in collaboration with the Nature-based Solutions in Humanitarian Contexts Working Group, provides practical guidance for using the Sphere minimum standards when implementing nature-based solutions (NbS) that addresses societal challenges in humanitarian action, including disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation.

The guide is currently available in English and Spanish. If you would like to translate or print copies of the guide, please contact the Sphere office.

The guide was designed to meet high accessibility standards and this downloadable PDF has been remediated for accessibility and tested according to ISO Standard 14289-1 (PDF/UA) using the Matterhorn Protocol.

The guide was authored by Jenn Hoffman and Dr. Sarah Henly-Shepard on behalf of Sphere, FEBA (an initiative of IUCN), PEDRR, EHAN and IFRC.

• explain the connections between climate change and humanitarian crises;
• describe what Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are and the role they play in humanitarian action;
• use the Sphere Unpacked Guide: Nature-based Solutions for Climate Resilience in Humanitarian Action; and
• identify ways to integrate NbS into your own work to improve outcomes for human well-being and environmental protection.

This guide provides a framework with practical steps and considerations for how to contextualise Sphere standards. It is based on real-world examples gathered by the authors.

The guide also examines different factors – enablers and challenges – which should be considered when contextualising standards.

The QAS in Action guide aims to support a holistic and contextualised application of Quality, Accountability, and Safeguarding (QAS) from a people-centered perspective, rather than organisational.

It is designed for anyone dedicated to supporting communities’ life with dignity in a transparent and safe manner. It will benefit specifically aid actors working locally, in communities’ living areas.

The guide is available in English only.

Sphere 2020 sets about to transform Sphere from a project into a vigorous, deeply connected network of practitioners and organisations which will act as a global catalyst for humanitarian quality and accountability.

This annual report represents the first year of Sphere’s operations as an independent organisation. Since 2016, the Sphere Project has transitioned from a time-limited initiative to more fully develop its global role as a convening platform for quality and accountability in the humanitarian sector. At the same time, Sphere launched the global consultation process to prepare the fourth edition of the Sphere Handbook, integrating evidence and global practice into the minimum standards guiding humanitarian action.

This report present Sphere’s activities throughout 2018.
It is only available in English.

Over the course of 2019, Sphere continued to promote quality and accountability across the humanitarian sector. The brochure includes a financial overview as well as a poster to print out.

In the midst of a pandemic, 2020 was a challenge for many organisations. Sphere stepped up its efforts to convene and share expertise and further promote the application of humanitarian standards, through our global community.

During 2021, Sphere continued to work with, for and through its network of members, focal points, trainers, donors and practitioners. Highlights include two new HSP partners; the first Sphere MOOC attended by over 900 people; new members and focal points; a major ToT programme in Mozambique; and many new resources including new products and new translations.

During 2022, Sphere continued to work with, for and through its growing network of focal points, members, trainers, donors and practitioners. Major activities included a Programme for Ukraine and Eastern Europe in response to the conflict in Ukraine, a new regional partner for Africa (AHSN), a new HSP partner (SEADS standards), the first HSP website, and the first French Sphere MOOC.

For the first time in a few years, this annual report includes several pages of updates from our focal point network.

During 2023, Sphere continued to work with, for and through its growing network of focal points, members, trainers, donors and practitioners. Major activities included completion of a Programme for Ukraine and Eastern Europe in response to the conflict in Ukraine, a new regional partner for South-Eastern Europe (DPPI-SEE), a new hosting arrangement for the MERS, and the launch of Nature-based Solutions guidance.

For the second time in as many years, this annual report includes several pages of updates from our focal point network.

During 2024, Sphere continued to work with, for and through its growing network of focal points, members, trainers, donors and practitioners. Notable achievements include the Spanish MOOC (Massive Online Open Course), completion of the AI Safety Label scoping project, a new HSP board game, a new Theory of Change, a new online course Nature-based Solutions for Humanitarians, and a major project in Türkiye including the 2nd ever Global Focal Point Forum.

Once again this annual report includes several pages of updates from our focal point network. For the first time, the report includes environmental reporting – of carbon emissions from travel.

Community-led responses and community contributions are key in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such responses harness local capacity when outside support is unavailable. They ensure that responses are inclusive, reinforce the dignity of the people and use the skills and capacities of community members. This also meets the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), which applies to every response.

A community-centred approach by humanitarian actors is critical to reducing the spread of infectious diseases. It builds trust between service providers and those affected. This enables interventions to be co-owned by the affected communities and therefore more contextually appropriate, relevant and effective. Numerous lessons from the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been successfully applied in the response to COVID-19. The need for trust and co-ownership is particularly critical in such a complex operating environment, characterised by displacement, inequity and widening social division.

There are tools from the humanitarian sector that can directly support responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sphere standards define the minimum response all crisis-affected people have a right to expect. People are affected in different ways and some may be stigmatised. Responses in South Asia show how to include everyone, respond to their different needs and respect their dignity.

The COVID-19 lockdown and isolation measures aim to protect people from transmission of the disease Yet, they have devastating consequences on people’s livelihoods, especially in the context of complex emergencies where governance is fragile, health systems are weak and populations displaced. Humanitarian standards demand that we ensure the people we support are not negatively affected. This requires consultation with affected communities, adaptation and constant monitoring of interventions.

When food distribution was rolled out across Manila during the COVID-19 lockdown, it missed 78% of households which had people with disabilities. A rapid, targeted survey highlighted their particular needs and the importance of a client-responsive approach to achieving humanitarian standards.

How can the application of Sphere standards help ensure that no one is left behind?

Border closures, travel restrictions and quarantine during the COVID-19 crisis has prevented humanitarian agencies from reaching many people who need support. A WhatsApp business line was successfully piloted by the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) in Peru to facilitate remote community engagement.

How can we listen and answer to communities when we cannot be physically close to them? How can commitments on community engagement, participation and feedback in Sphere standards be fulfilled under quarantine conditions?

Globally, there are more than 25 million refugees, 84% of whom are being hosted by low or middle-income nations with weak health systems. This condition of mobility challenges the way humanitarian agencies work. The fundamental drivers of migration will not disappear anytime soon. Examples from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela point to some of the adjustments that are required.

Many people have suffered serious illness or died of COVID-19, isolated from loved ones, a situation that runs counter to the ethical belief that people have the right to a dignified death. Palliative care – the prevention and relief of suffering and distress associated with life-limiting illness – is slowly gaining recognition as an important part of the healthcare continuum, alongside life-saving treatment in humanitarian response. A new Sphere standard now includes palliative care. The current pandemic is providing an opportunity to put palliative care on the humanitarian agenda. It’s time for all humanitarian actors to document, share and learn from their stories of caring for people affected by COVID-19.

Globally, there are more than 20 million refugees, most of whom are being hosted by nations with weak health systems. This example from Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh shows how palliative care has been prioritised and integrated into the healthcare response even when resources have been scarce.

How can the humanitarian standard on palliative care be applied in the context of a refugee camp during the COVID-19 pandemic?

This document is one of a series on how to integrate key elements of Sphere’s people-centred approach into the humanitarian programme cycle. These guides indicate the relevant parts of the Sphere Handbook at different moments of the humanitarian programme cycle and should therefore be used together with the Handbook. The primary audiences for “Sphere for Assessments” are managers, assessment staff, trainers and coordinators, as well as donors. It may also be useful for a wider range of staff in any agency dealing with humanitarian response.

Sphere for Monitoring and Evaluation is for all humanitarian practitioners from the assessment to the evaluation phase; for people carrying out monitoring activities and evaluations, be they internal or external. It also addresses the learning processes that should ensue from monitoring and evaluation exercises. The guide is based on the conviction that Sphere provides useful benchmarks for the whole programme cycle, which can be especially valuable to organisations that do not have internal targets or standard operating procedures. Sphere also adds value through its emphasis on a rights-based and participatory approach.

For the first time since the creation of the network, Sphere’s Focal Points gathered from across four continents for a global meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. The Global Sphere Focal Points Forum, which took place on 7-9 November, was organized in collaboration with Sphere’s regional partner Community World Service Asia (CWSA). Download the event report for a full account of the proceedings.

Guidelines for translation, production, printing, distribution and dissemination of the Sphere Handbook 2018 edition.

Sphere encourages trusted organizations from its network to coordinate the translation of each new edition of the Handbook into their local language, and to arrange for publishing, printing, launch, promotion, distribution and dissemination of the translated version in their country or region.

If you are interested to be the translation coordinator for your local language, then this guide is written for you, and we look forward to working with you.

Turning humanitarian principles into action. In April 2016, we asked people to tell us more about how they are using the Sphere Handbook. This is what we learned.

Yemen is today’s largest humanitarian crisis. The Yemeni Family Care Association staff applies the Sphere standards in their response to ensure the quality of humanitarian assistance and make themselves accountable to the communities served. Find out how they do so through this video.

This resource, available in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic, explains why it is important to use Sphere standards throughout the humanitarian programme cycle, and how to do so. The document starts with a section on how to use humanitarian standards in your context. This is followed by standalone but complementary chapters for Assessment, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.

Do you want to know how to put Sphere standards and principles into practice? Do you already include Sphere in your humanitarian work but want to know how to use it better? Do you already know Sphere but want to discover how it is applied in different crises and scenarios? Are you new to humanitarian work, and so have little or no knowledge of Sphere? Are you interested in finding out more about Sphere?

If your answer to any of these questions is ”yes”, then you will benefit from taking this course.

This course is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

Microtraining delivers short bursts of content for learners to study at their convenience. Sphere posts microlearning opportunities on social media feeds.

This training resource contains links to Sphere’s recent microlearning opportunities on LinkedIn, and PowerPoint files so trainers can translate, reformulate or repurpose the content.

The materials are available in various languages (currently English, French and Turkish) in a single download. If you appreciate this content, please download this resource every couple of months to get the latest materials.

This training guide is designed for Sphere trainers and focal points to support them when facilitating Sphere training for managerial and operational personnel of National Disaster Management Authorities (NDMAs). This guide is available in English, French and Arabic.

A complete NDMA training pack is available in Spanish only, which includes a detailed guide for trainers and supporting materials including PowerPoint slides, whiteboard templates, polls, and handouts for practical exercises. Three alternative sessions plans are suggested.

The Sphere online training package includes materials and guidance for facilitating over 25 interactive online learning activities. It also contains guidance on how to run effective online Sphere workshops and courses, including pre-training preparations and post-training actions.

This training package is designed for Sphere trainers by Sphere trainers.

It is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

This poster can be printed out in A1 o similar formats to disseminate information about Sphere and its principles. It is available in English only.

This report covers activities carried out by the Sphere Project between 1 January and 31 December 2015 and includes related governance, financial and administrative summaries. It also includes highlights of the important work being done by the global community of humanitarian practitioners using Sphere to expand commitments and capacities to deliver quality and accountability in humanitarian response.

This report covers activities carried out by the Sphere Project between 1 January and 31 December 2016 and includes related governance, financial and administrative summaries. It also includes highlights of the important work being done by the global community of humanitarian practitioners using Sphere to expand commitments and capacities to deliver quality and accountability in humanitarian response.

The Short Workshop Pack contains facilitation guides for various Sphere workshops: 2-hours, half-day, 1-day and 3-day in-person workshops; and 1×3-hour and 2×2-hours guides for online workshops to accompany the How to Use the Sphere Handbook self-paced online course.

This pack includes Shelter scenario-based activities developed in response to the conflict in Ukraine, which can be easily adapted to other contexts. We recommend that users of this pack also download the full Sphere Training Pack, which contains facilitation materials for at least 5 days of Sphere training.

These guides are mostly available in English only. The 2×2-hours online guide is also available in Ukrainian.

This Nepali-language video explains how to apply the Sphere standards in camp settings. Produced by IOM Nepal with support from the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the video intends to guide the concerned authorities to ensure the basic living standards of displaced populations living in camps.

This Discussion Paper sets out to understand and describe opportunities for adapting international humanitarian standards to a regional, national or local level in preparing for, or responding to a disaster. It is based on a series of consultations with Sphere country focal points and a literature review, and presents a number of brief case studies to illustrate the main findings and recommendations. It concludes with a set of suggestions for advocates and Sphere focal points to take forward work with NDMAs.

With this strategy, Sphere aims to reinforce its leadership role in promoting the global relevance, importance and consistent application of humanitarian standards for accountability to affected communities, through a global Sphere community of purpose and practice.

This is a one-pager overview of the Sphere strategy 2021-2025.
The full version of the strategy is available at this link.

Developed by InterWorks, this package for trainers supports a 4-day workshop covering the entire Sphere Handbook 2011 edition. It provides insights into many of the typical problems found in the sectors of WASH, Food Security & Nutrition, Shelter & Settlement and Health, illustrating each of the relevant standards.

This version of the Sphere training pack was developed by the Sphere community to strengthen the capacity of humanitarian staff working in and around Syria. It seeks to help them professionalise and improve the effectiveness, quality and accountability of the response.

A training module on the Core Humanitarian Standard and its usage in conjunction with the Sphere Handbook.

The Syria training pack is a set of Arabic-language materials that contain guidance on how best to apply the Sphere standards in response to the country’s conflict. The pack is based on the 2018 training pack update and includes all the latest additions to the Sphere standards, but it also features additional case studies and multimedia content gathered in and around Syria.

The content was developed by experienced Sphere trainers Aya Yagan, Hamza Hamwie, Mohammad Abo Nabout, Rami Rajjoub and Mamdouh Tello.

The Sphere training package (base edition) is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Portuguese.

The Sphere Training Package (2018 edition) is designed for facilitators of in-person courses and workshops, and it is also useful for private study. It contains five days’ worth of materials, and its modular nature means it can be used in its entirety, reformulated for shorter workshops, or injected into broader initiatives such as humanitarian degree programmes.



Click “Download now” for the low-bandwidth version where videos play from YouTube. Click here to download the full version which includes embedded videos (1.2GB, via a Dropbox link).



This resource is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese and Indonesian. In addition, there is a contextualised version for those responding to the Syria crisis (Arabic only) here.

The Sphere Training Package (2018 edition) is designed for facilitators of in-person courses and workshops, and it is also useful for private study. It contains five days’ worth of materials, and its modular nature means it can be used in its entirety, reformulated for shorter workshops, or injected into broader initiatives such as humanitarian degree programmes.



Download the Indonesian version here: https://s.id/sphere_id



This resource is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese and Indonesian. In addition, there is a contextualised version for those responding to the Syria crisis (Arabic only) here.

This resource supports an interactive activity for workshops or courses. It can easily be adapted for in-person or online learning. The learning objective is that learners fully understand the difference between standards and targets. This is critically important for all users of Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP) handbooks but is often not well understood.

This resource is available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia and Arabic, but the activity can be run in any language because the main content is a set of 12 cartoons which contain no writing.

Watch this video if you’re looking for a quick and lively introduction to LEGS: what it is, where it came from and who it’s for.

The latest revision of the Sphere Handbook was the most far-reaching consultative process in Sphere’s history. As the process of finalising the publication reached its final stages, an after-action review was then commissioned to compile and draw out key learnings from the experience of putting together the new Handbook content. This public report (available in English only) is a synthesis of the main review.

The Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), managed by Sphere, the CHS Alliance and Groupe URD, is integrated in the 2018 edition of the Sphere Handbook. Its inclusion reaffirms the Handbook’s rights-based approach and alignment with international law.

Available in English, français, Español and عربى.

The Friendly Sphere Handbook is a shortened and illustrated version of the 2018 Sphere Handbook. It presents the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in clear, straightforward language, making them easier to understand and use in practice.

Designed for practitioners, community members, volunteers, and anyone new to Sphere, the Friendly Handbook helps readers grasp the essential principles of quality, accountability, and dignity that underpin humanitarian action.

For a detailed explanation of the guidance and full sector standards, please refer to the interactive Sphere Handbook.

The Friendly Sphere Handbook is a shortened and illustrated version of the 2018 Sphere Handbook. It offers a clear, user-friendly overview of the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards, helping readers understand and apply them in real-world humanitarian work.

This is the first Friendly Sphere Handbook to be published in Burmese. This version makes it easier for Burmese-speaking practitioners, community members, and volunteers to engage with the guidance.

For a detailed explanation of the guidance and full sector standards, please refer to the interactive Sphere Handbook.

This brochure presents the work and members of the Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP). The aims of the Partnership are to improve the quality and accountability of humanitarian action across all sectors and to promote a harmonised approach to support users in the application of standards.

Updated in 2021 to include the CCCM cluster and the CHS Alliance as new members.

From shaping humanitarian standards to building global partnerships, Sphere plays a key role in advancing quality and accountability in crisis response. Sphere’s new brochure highlights our evolution, major milestones, and vision for the future. 

The main objective of this activity is for participants to reinforce their familiarity with the structure and content of the Sphere handbook. The activity is a quiz where the course participants work in teams to devise questions for each other.

The Emergency training toolkit is designed to support introductory-level training workshops carried out during an emergency response. It includes a number of resources designed by Sphere trainers to quickly bring aid workers and local officials up to speed on Sphere principles and standards. Materials are presented in a mixture of English, French and Spanish (within the same download).

The Emergency training toolkit is designed to support introductory-level training workshops carried out during an emergency response. It includes a number of resources designed by Sphere trainers to quickly bring aid workers and local officials up to speed on Sphere principles and standards. Materials are presented in a mixture of English, French and Spanish (within the same download).

“The Sphere Story” is a three-part video documentary on the origins, dissemination and impact of Sphere humanitarian principles and standards. It explores the drivers, the challenges in developing a common vision, and the impact that people experienced already in the early days, all from the perspective of the actors themselves. It is based on interviews with 11 people who played crucial roles at different stages of Sphere’s development.

Part 1: Mavericks
Part 2: Groundbreakers
Part 3: Game changers

“The Sphere Story” is a three-part video documentary on the origins, dissemination and impact of Sphere humanitarian principles and standards. It explores the drivers, the challenges in developing a common vision, and the impact that people experienced already in the early days, all from the perspective of the actors themselves. It is based on interviews with 11 people who played crucial roles at different stages of Sphere’s development.

Part 1: Mavericks
Part 2: Groundbreakers
Part 3: Game changers

“The Sphere Story” is a three-part video documentary on the origins, dissemination and impact of Sphere humanitarian principles and standards. It explores the drivers, the challenges in developing a common vision, and the impact that people experienced already in the early days, all from the perspective of the actors themselves. It is based on interviews with 11 people who played crucial roles at different stages of Sphere’s development.

Part 1: Mavericks
Part 2: Groundbreakers
Part 3: Game changers

A training resource covering virtually all aspects of the use of Sphere humanitarian standards as well as the Core Humanitarian Standard. This training pack supports training interventions from a 90-minute presentation or lecture to an in-depth 8-day workshop.

This short guide offers hands-on guidance to practitioners looking to consider environmental issues in their humanitarian programmes by compiling references in the Sphere Handbook.

This guide is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

This resource supports humanitarian practitioners implementing Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities while keeping a standard-based approach in mind. This publication is the second of Sphere’s ‘thematic sheets’, a series of short guides that compile references to a particular topic in the Sphere Handbook and offer additional guidance in that area.



This guide is available in English and Spanish.

A guide for Sphere focal points and humanitarian advocates

This Sphere thematic sheet (TS) explains how global humanitarian quality and accountability standards are relevant to national disaster responses. Its key learnings and messages are intended to help Sphere focal points and advocacy staff engaging with representatives of national disaster management authorities (NDMAs) on Sphere and other Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP) standards.

This guide is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

The aim of this session is to ensure participants are able to implement projects using the Sphere Standards hand-book in the field

A edição 2018 do Manual Esfera explicitamente incluiu, pela primeira vez, referências específicas a cenários urbanos. Este guia, a edição 2020 de Usando as Normas Esfera em Cenários Urbanos, amplia esse trabalho. Todos os elementos do Código de Conduta, da Carta Humanitária, dos Princípios de Proteção e da Norma Humanitária Essencial (NHE) são aplicáveis aos contextos urbanos.

This guide is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Portuguese.

Part 1 is available here.

This comprehensive online course delves into the Health Section of the Sphere Handbook. It is designed to equip you with essential knowledge and skills in humanitarian health response. Through a series of eleven engaging sessions, the course covers critical topics such as healthcare delivery, disease prevention, mental health support, and nutrition in crisis settings.

This training package is designed for trainers to guide them through delivery of a 3-day workshop. The training package may also be used for private study.

By the end of the workshop, participants should have increased their understanding of how to: plan humanitarian action in urban contexts; apply Sphere standards to urban contexts; identify differences and similarities between humanitarian response in urban and other contexts; apply a people-centred, rights-based approach to needs and capacities analyses; and apply systems thinking to context analyses.

This package is currently available in English only.

Applying humanitarian standards in urban situations has been a challenge for a long time. This guide provides practical guidance on how to do so and seeks to understand how best to integrate the requirements of urban contexts into the 2018 edition of the Sphere Handbook.

This guide is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

This guide was updated in 2020. The new edition (Part 2) is available here.

The 2018 edition of the Sphere Handbook includes explicit guidance for using the standards in urban settings. This guide concentrates on Sphere’s four technical chapters, and additional tools and approaches for urban response are provided, including for context analysis; assessments; profiling and targeting; area-based approaches; and cash and markets.

This guide is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Portuguese.

Part 1 is available here.

Sphere’s focal point in Brazil, the Fraternidade-Federação Humanitária Internacional (FFHI), is active in several shelters in Roraima state hosting migrants escaping dire economic conditions in neighbouring Venezuela.

While sourcing a sufficient quantity of safe water to meet their drinking and domestic needs (Water supply standard 2.1) may be easier in this urban setting than in a desert, it is not without its challenges.

Read the full article in Spanish, English or Portuguese.

What are humanitarian standards? How are they developed and updated? Why are they so important to people affected by disaster and crisis?
This video produced by the members of the Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP) aims to answer these questions in a simple and effective manner. It allows everyone to familiarise with the seven standard initiatives which compose the Partnership.

This training material is designed to support a presentation (for example, as part of a Handbook launch event), seminar, webinar or workshop.

These training materials are designed to support a presentation (for example, as part of a Handbook launch event), seminar, webinar or workshop. The session will last between 35 minutes for a short presentation up to half a day for an in-depth workshop including an activity.

Participants will discover the changes in the 2018 Sphere Handbook through a sequence of slides. To tell the full story of the 2018 edition, Sphere’s evolution as an organisation, factors which influenced the revision, and the revision process itself are also covered.

A set of questions for guided plenary discussions are included for interactive formats. An optional activity based on indicators and collective outcomes is included for in-person workshops.

This whiteboard video presents the innovations in the Sphere Handbook 2018.

The What is New In-depth Guide is aimed at anyone looking to gain a thorough understanding of the differences between the 2011 and 2018 editions of the Sphere Handbook. It introduces the drivers of the revision, as well as the themes which emerged during the consultations. It also includes a chapter-by-chapter analysis, highlighting the shifts in standards, the Handbook as a whole, and implications for using the standards in context.

This report, produced by a team of student consultants from the London School of Economics (LSE), examines the main opportunities and challenges for engaging with National Disaster Management Authorities (NDMAs) and looks at how best to enable and support NDMAs to adopt international standards and principles in their national emergency response.

This is a user-friendly version of Guía de Implementación de Mecanismos de Retroalimentación y Queja en Programas de Oxfam en la Región de Latinoamérica y el Caribe (Guideline for the Implementation of Feedback and Complaint Mechanisms in Oxfam Programs in Latin America and the Carribbean) (June 2020), written by Martin Villarroel García and Magdalena Medrano Velasco.

User-friendly version written and coordinated by: Dalia Acosta
Layout and design: D.I Annelis Milagros Noriega Guerra
Collaboration (Diverse Plans chapter): Margrieth Nazarit Cortés and Angela Mazariegos Rodas.

Oxfam thanks the country offices and colleagues in the region for their support in creating this
proposal. This product received financial support from Oxfam Belgium.
© Oxfam, 2020

Цей пакет містить посібники для фасилітації 2х2-годинних онлайн-семінарів, які супроводжують самостійний онлайн-курс «Як користуватися Посібником Сфери».

Путівник доступний українською та англійською мовами.

This resource is available in Ukrainian and English. The English version of this training pack is included in the Sphere Short Workshop Pack 2023.

Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response: The Application of Sphere Standards is a free video-based online course offered by The Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response (CCOUC) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Organized in five lessons, the course systematically explains the main contents and practice of Sphere, including an introduction to the Sphere organisation; the origins and core beliefs of Sphere; the Humanitarian Charter; Protection Principles; the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS); and the technical chapters as presented in the 2018 edition of the Sphere Handbook.