Increasingly, aid workers are providing humanitarian and development assistance in some of the most dangerous locations on Earth. Whether it’s Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and now Syria, working in a conflict zone provides a unique set of challenges, including risk to your safety and well-being.
If you work full-time for a large aid organization, chances are your employer takes the security of personnel very seriously and has extensive plans and measures in place to combat potential risks. But what if you are being hired as an independent contractor or are considering a job from a company that isn’t as experienced working in a hazardous location? How can you assess their safety measures to decide if the assignment is worth the risk?
Here are nine questions you should ask before accepting an assignment in a conflict zone.
About the author
Kate Warren@KateDWarren
Kate Warren is the Executive Vice President and Executive Editor of Devex, where she leads a global team of journalists, event producers, and communications and marketing professionals to drive conversations around the most pressing and urgent issues of our time, including climate, global health, food security, philanthropy, humanitarian crises, and foreign aid funding. Through live journalism — via in-person and virtual events — along with insider news, analysis, podcasts, content series, and special reports, Kate and her team ensure the most important ideas, voices, and debates reach an influencer audience to drive impact and make progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.
