When crises happen, people’s first impulse is often to want to offer help, and there are many humanitarian organisations, both private and governmental, that step in. Many do stellar work. At the same time, humanitarian aid has come under fire for at times being ineffective, leading to duplication and waste and not reaching all victims.

Former UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs Jan Egeland put it bluntly: “You have no right to descend on someone in their moment of crisis and do on-the-job training” because the poor and dispossessed should have “at least one basic right left to them: to be protected from incompetence”.

In an effort to remedy this situation, a Master of Arts in Humanitarian Action, which can be followed on a part-time or full-time basis, is being offered for the third consecutive year by the University’s Department of International Relations.

The MA offers a multi-disciplinary perspective, including medical, legal, anthropological, ethical, media and forced migration angles. It will strive to marry practice with analysis. Lectures will be given by more than 40 guest lecturers and speakers from Malta and abroad.

To find out more visit www.um.edu.mt/arts/int-relations/courses/ma-humanitarianaction or e-mail humanitarianaction-ir.arts@um.edu.mt.