Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality - Chapter 21 - Humanitarianism and pandemics

We are back from an extended summer break! 

Every two weeks I am going to feature one of the chapters of our Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality which was published in spring 2024.
This week we are taking a closer look at Chapter 21 - Humanitarianism and pandemics - contributed by Tulani Francis L. Matenga and Lwendo Moonzwe Davis.

From the introduction 
In this chapter, we start by briefly highlighting some of the world’s most devastating pandemics and discuss the consequences of humanitarian actions in these pandemics, which at times have been negative. We then examine humanitarianism in relation to HIV/AIDS, the disproportionally negative impact that the HIV/AIDS pandemic has had in Sub-Saharan Africa, the challenges the region faces regarding this pandemic, and the long-term negative impacts the pandemic has had, specifically in relation to treatment and other diseases. Next, we review the current COVID-19 pandemic and the ways in which it has also exposed global inequalities. We then explore global power dynamics and structural inequalities in relation to pandemics and the humanitarian response. We conclude the chapter by discussing the importance of partnerships, and specifically equitable partnerships in humanitarian efforts aimed at combating pandemics.

Note on contributors 
Tulani Francis L. Matenga is a junior research fellow at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia. 
He holds a Master’s in Public Health–Health Promotion and Education from the University of Zambia. His research cuts across several disciplines including HIV/ AIDS, maternal and child health, health promotion, and community resilience, and power dynamics in health care. He is currently pursuing his PhD at the University of Zambia in the department of health promotion and education.

Lwendo Moonzwe Davis is a research and evaluation specialist with training in sociology, public health, and women’s studies. She holds a PhD in Sociology and Master’s in Public Health from the University of Connecticut. 
She has public health and mixed‑method research expertise, and her technical background includes experience in behavioral communication change, culturally based intervention design, family planning, food security, human rights, maternal and child health, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, and women’s empowerment.

Overviews are already available for the following chapters: 
Introduction: humanitarianism and inequality – a re-orientation

Humanitarianism and colonialism

Humanitarianism and the global Cold War, 1945–1991

Humanitarianism and the new wars: humanitarianism, security, and securitisation

Humanitarianism, development and peace: a southern perspective

Localisation and the humanitarian sector

Human rights and humanitarianism

Humanitarian organisations: behemoths and butterflies

Faith actors in humanitarianism: dynamics and inequalities

Diaspora assistance  

Political solidarity movements and humanitarianism: lessons from Catalonia, Spain (1975–2020)

Subversive humanitarianism

Citizen’s groups and grassroots humanitarianism

Humanitarianism and the military

Race, racialisation, and coloniality in the humanitarian aid sector

Humanitarian organisations as gendered organisations

Sexuality and humanitarianism: colonial ‘hauntings’

Class matters in humanitarianism

Humanitarianism and disability 

Media representations of humanitarianism

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