Opening remarks of the Duty of Care pavilion at AIDEX 2025

Considering these intersections of escalated risks to aid worker safety and decreased budgets for organisations delivering aid or international development programming; how can we support the safety and security of staff in the face of a funding crisis? How does the funding crisis impact staff safety and security? What ways can organisations innovate to support the holistic integration of safety and security for their staff amidst a funding crisis? The panel discussion brings together experts from across the sector to discuss innovations, capacity sharing and building, research and insights on ways organisations can stay resilient amid a humanitarian crisis nexus.

In this session, Protect Humanitarians present the Community of Practice on staff care, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for humanitarian personnel, currently being developed and supported through Protect Humanitarians. This community of practice brings together a wide range of humanitarian organisations, academic partners, experts, and survivors of violence; serving as a technical and learning hub for issues related to staff care and MHPSS for frontline humanitarian staff.

This session explores localisation as it is increasingly driven by external pressures: from shrinking international aid budgets and deteriorating access, to donor demands for efficiency. Drawing from recent trends and case studies, this seminar will examine how localisation efforts may inadvertently result in the transfer of risk and how organisations can localise responsibly.

In today’s humanitarian landscape, aid organisations face escalating physical, digital, and legal risks - while operating under increasing financial strain. Amid crises, insecurity, and staff burnout, the principle of Duty of Care remains non-negotiable. But how can NGOs sustain this responsibility when resources dwindle? This panel, hosted by Ambrelia, a specialist in NGO insurance brokerage, will explore how fit-for-purpose insurance mechanisms can serve as strategic tools for safeguarding people, missions, and reputations.

Technology is only as useful and cost effective when leveraged with creative processes and innovative systems within organisations. This session will explore how organisations can effectively utilise low-cost/free technologies and tools to support humanitarian safety and security in the wake of limited resources.

Reflections on the recent Mauchline v. CADUS legal proceedings in Berlin.

Many of the services that enable context appropriate Duty of Care, such as emergency medical response, legal advice, and risk insurance, are primarily delivered by private actors. In fact, security functions in the aid sector already rely on commercial providers more than most humanitarian sectors. Yet these relationships are often ad hoc, expensive, or poorly understood on both sides. This session focuses on how smarter, more coordinated approaches can ensure all aid workers, regardless of employer size, benefit from robust, fit-for-purpose Duty of Care mechanisms.

The workshop addresses how escalating risks and shrinking budgets can undermine an organisation’s Duty of Care and uses systems thinking to explore more sustainable, collaborative ways to protect staff safety and wellbeing - even when resources are limited. By shifting the focus from reactive fixes to underlying systems, this session empowers participants to explore the root causes of persistent safety challenges and identify low-cost, high-impact actions that can improve safety outcomes across departments and roles.

This workshop looks at how non specialist staff can provide first response psychological care to staff members who are struggling. Following an overview of the philosophy and theory of mental health first aid (MHFA), participants will explore a MHFA sample training in managing a panic attack, a common and alarming manifestation of psychological distress that can be safely handled by mental health first responders.

Despite decades of commitments, women remain underrepresented in global security efforts. When women lead, missions are stronger, trust runs deeper, and peace lasts longer. As one of the largest SRH service providers in humanitarian settings globally, MSI’s gender-responsive and conflict-sensitive approach to duty of care focuses on our clients, staff, and the communities in which we operate. This session exploring two case studies from MSI's holistic and locally-led duty of care package, Papua New Guinea and Myanmar, on how they have built positive security cultures that protect our colleagues and our programmes.

This session will explore how learning and development for risk management can be strategically adapted and deployed as a cost-effective tool to strengthen field teams, uphold duty of care, and mitigate rising mental health challenges particularly in a context of increasing localisation without matched investment in support structures.