Humanitarian Aid

Introduction
Humanitarian aid is medical, financial, and other assistance primarily provided by non-profits and government agencies to save lives, preserve human dignity, and alleviate suffering experienced by crisis-affected people. [1] A crisis situation may be a human-caused conflict, a natural disaster, or other situation. Technical communication is used within the field in several ways, including, but not limited to, the following:
 * To relay critical information to individuals and communities affected by crises (example: information packets with resources for individuals who have lost their homes after a hurricane).
 * To present information regarding financials, efficacy, and anticipated need to policy makers, stakeholders, and the general public (example: public reports published online).
 * To fulfill various bureaucratic needs within and between agencies.

Technical Communication in Humanitarian Aid
Giving aid to individuals and communities in need has existed throughout human history. However, the modern Western concept and structure of humanitarian aid can be traced back to the 19th century when “technologies of the industrializing nations increased the human costs of conflict, and improvements in transport and communications technology made the world a smaller place." [2] Technical communication was originally used by the Red Cross and other agencies to recruit volunteers and for other bureacratic reasons, usually in the cases of human-created conflicts, such as war. [3] Today, the role of technical communication within the field of humanitarian aid continues to grow as climate-related disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, become more frequent. Individuals and communities rely on communication to find out what's happening, where to go for assistance, and who to call for aid. The Communicating With Disaster-Affected Communities (CDAC) Network "positions two-way communication with affected people at the heart of resilience-building, preparedness, and response." [4] Clear, effective communication can be a matter of life and death within these situations.

Core Principles
Some of the core theoretical principles of technical communication found within humanitarian aid that are of particular interest to communication researchers include: [5] Localization: Successful disaster-preparedness and response is possible through fine-grain localization that aims to address the lowest level decision-making and expertise within a community. Audience analysis: Accurate audience analysis is integral for fast, effective communication in a crisis situation. Collaboration: Not only is collaboration within the humanitarian agency necessary, it is also necessary to collaborate with the affected community when making technical communication artifacts. Plain language: Communication artifacts, whether being presented at a forum or distributed within a crisis-effected community, should be clear and easy to comprehend.

Challenges for Technical Communication Researchers
Technical communication in humanitarian organizations is an area of growing interest to researchers. However, researchers face many challenges, including [6]:
 * The audience for communication artifacts typically consists of vulnerable populations who can’t properly give consent to be involved in a study.
 * The audience often consists of individuals who can’t remain in one place for very long, such as refugees and migrants, making user feedback difficult to obtain.
 * It can come across as unethical to present yourself as a researcher, rather than a volunteer or translator, to people receiving humanitarian aid.

Factors Leading to Increased Need
Around the world, the need for humanitarian assistance is rising. In 2022, an estimated 1 in 29 people worldwide needed humanitarian aid. This is an increase from 2021, where 1 in 33 people needed aid, and 2020, where 1 in 45 people needed aid. [7] There are several factors causing this increased need [8]:
 * COVID-19: New COVID-19 variants and the slow rollout of vaccines in developing countries result in death, illness, disrupted health services, and school closures.
 * Climate change: Climate-related disasters, such as droughts, tropical storms, and floods, are becoming more frequent and result in displaced communities and food insecurity.
 * Conflict: Violent political conflicts result in civilian death and injuries, damage to infrastructure, and presents particular danger to women, children, and people with disabilities.