Emphasising the need of a humanitarian approach in disaster situations, a public lecture on “Standards for Humanitarian Response” was delivered at the Jamsetji Tata Centre for Disaster Management, Mumbai, India on Tuesday 23^rd of October 2007 by members from the Sphere Project Board and Office: Ton van Zutphen, Linda Poteat, Dr. Unnikrishnan, Hani Eskandar and Professor and Chairperson of Jamsetji Tata Centre for Disaster Management Janki Andharia.

The need to identify vulnerable groups in disaster affected population like women, children, disabled people, HIV/AIDS patients and to treat them with special care was highlighted during the lecture. It was stressed that “Dignity of people” is at the centre of the humanitarian act. People should not be looked at as victims but as survivors. This is enshrined in one of the principles of the Humanitarian Charter: the right of every disaster affected person to life with dignity.

Sphere Board members emphasized that the needs of calamity affected people should be met by the state. But there are instances where the state has failed miserably to do this. People in camps or refugee settlements are likely to contract diseases because of lack of hygiene. Water and sanitation are critical elements of survival in the initial stages of a disaster.