Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Ethics

Overview
The Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Ethics was formed in October 2016 to promote discussion, debate and analysis, develop practical tools, and provide consultation focused on ethical and policy issues involving disasters, humanitarian crises and complex emergencies. The Center is a program of the GE2P2 Global Foundation [see below].

Among the Center’s initial objectives are to:
::   develop and support a multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral community of actors from academia, international agencies, NGOs, foundations, and others involved in disaster response and humanitarian action
::    engage this community in developing evidence, analysis, policy, guidelines, training materials, etc. on disaster and humanitarian ethics and policy
::    pursue grants and other financial support, and respond to RFPs and other project opportunities, associated with these thematic areas
::    provide consultation and other services and resources in support of disaster response and humanitarian action

Leadership
Donal O’Mathuna, PhD – a Fellow of the GE2P2 Global Foundation and a Member of its Board of Directors – is leading the new Center as its Founding Director, and responsible for building the team which will conduct the Center’s research and analytical work, and provide consultative services to international agencies, governments, INGOs, civil society organizations and donors involved in disasters and humanitarian action.

Dr. O’Mathuna is Associate Professor in ethics at the School of Nursing & Human Sciences, Dublin City University, Ireland and at the College of Nursing, The Ohio State University. His main areas of research interest include ethics and evidence-based practice, and the ethical issues that arise for healthcare practitioners, researchers and organizations during disasters and in providing humanitarian response. He chaired the COST Action IS1201 on Disaster Bioethics, a network of academic, agency and NGO members addressing disaster ethics under the EU Framework Programme – Horizon 2020.

Organizational Context/Affiliations
The Center is a program of the GE2P2 Global Foundation, which provides governance, administrative and fiduciary services. The Foundation’s mission is and mission is to advance ethical and scientific rigor in research and evidence generation for governance, policy and practice in health, human rights action, humanitarian response, heritage stewardship, education and sustainable development – serving governments, international agencies, INGOs, civil society organizations (CSOs), commercial entities, consortia and alliances.

Team
The Center will engage the broad disaster response and humanitarian action community in conducting its work. The Center’s core team is drawn from the community of elected Fellows and Associates of the GE2P2 Global Foundation, who contribute to strategy, research, governance and programs.

Fellows and Associates include field practitioners, scientists, academic researchers, ethicists, domain and cultural context experts, scholars in the social and bio sciences and the humanities, knowledge management/big data/ICT experts, and others. Fellows and Associates may be independent or be functioning in government, academic, agency, NGO, or commercial contexts.

Academic Affiliations
The Center enjoys a primary academic affiliation with the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU School of Medicine, New York.  Additional academic affiliations, including with institutions in global south contexts, are planned and in exploration.

Contact
Dónal O'Mathúna, PhD
Founding Director
Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Ethics
GE2P2 Global Foundation

Associate Professor
School of Nursing and Human Sciences
Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland

College of Nursing, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Irish office: +353 (0)1 700 7808
US phone: +1 614 735 2575
email: donal.omathuna@dcu.ie