Raising standards in emergency relief: how useful are Sphere minimum standards for humanitarian assistance?

International humanitarian agencies have recently developed a set of standards governing the implementation of relief programmes.1 The Sphere standards were developed in response to concerns about the quality and impact of humanitarian assistance and are analogous to those set for healthcare services in developed countries. 2 3 Although the standards have been generally welcomed, concerns have been raised about their use. 4 5 One worry is that the main measures apply only to ideal situations in relief camps and that standardisation will prevent relief workers from adapting in more complex situations. Another fear is that politicians could use the standards to obscure their responsibilities to tackle the underlying causes of emergencies. Finally, the indicators could foster unrealistic expectations while ignoring constraints. This could lead to unjustified adverse publicity, liability, and reprisals. 6 7 In this article we describe the standards and assess their usefulness by considering the application of nutritional standards in the 1998 famine in Sudan.