Project

Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform

SSHAP (the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform) focuses on the social dimensions of emergency responses related to health, conflict, or the environment by exploring the political economy, community engagement and cultural logics, social difference, and vulnerabilities of those emergencies.

Visit the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform website

SSHAP is a partnership between the Institute of Development Studies, Anthrologica, Gulu University, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Bukavu, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University of Juba. It is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Wellcome Trust.

The SSHAP vision is to encourage emergency responses which are effective, adaptive, contextually informed, sensitive to vulnerabilities and power relations, planned in consultation with affected communities and local institutions, and based on social and interdisciplinary science and evidence.

SSHAP’s global network of social scientists with regional and subject expertise is the driving force behind SSHAP’s work, rapidly providing insight, analysis and advice, tailored to demand and in accessible forms, to better design and implement the social and communication dimensions of emergency responses.

To achieve SSHAP’s aims, IDS and partners work to:

  • Further grow SSHAP’s network of experts and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration.
  • Provide knowledge and evidence on demand.
  • Build operational capacity.
  • Contribute to knowledge sharing through our networks and beyond.

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People

Recent work

Brief

Key Considerations: Child Engagement in the Context of Disease Outbreaks in Eastern and Southern Africa

SSHAP Briefing

Effective child engagement strategies are essential to optimise the response to disease outbreaks and minimise their impact while ensuring children's protection, well-being and resilience. When children understand disease outbreaks, they are better able to cope, contribute and recover. This...

Elena Reilly & 2 others

18 April 2024

Brief

Key Considerations: Social, Structural and Community Dynamics of Cholera Transmission and Mortality in Ethiopia

SSHAP Briefing

The current cholera outbreak in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia began in August 2022. As of April 2024, active outbreaks had been recorded in most regions of the country, including: Amhara; Dire Dawa; Harari; Oromia; Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR);...

9 April 2024

Brief

Information preparedness and community engagement for El Niño in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region

SSHAP Briefing

El Niño can be viewed as a multi-hazard event, and considerations for information needs cut across different populations and risks, including direct weather-related hazards, reduced agricultural production, greater food insecurity and malnutrition, increased transmission of infectious diseases...

23 November 2023