Decolonizing Humanitarian Response and Health Emergency Management: Lessons from the Eastern Mediterranean Region (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED This paper examines the decolonization of humanitarian work, emphasizing the importance of developing regionalized emergency management systems, with a particular focus on the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). It introduces the notions of colonization and decolonization within the context of health emergencies and humanitarian interventions. Additionally, the paper outlines key priorities to advance decolonization and regionalization, promoting a model centered on localized, culturally responsive emergency responses, while examining the current efforts of emergency health management systems in the EMR. The article concludes that decolonizing humanitarian and emergency health responses in the EMR requires systemic shifts in power, policy, and practice, centering local actors, fostering regional resilience, and challenging the dominance of traditional international aid structures. Rather than excluding international partners, decolonization redefines their roles to support, not overshadow, local leadership. By investing in local capacity and committing to locally led, effective partnerships, the region can establish a more just, effective, and sustainable humanitarian system that is not merely donor-driven aid. Crucially, regional alliances and national funding mechanisms must underpin this transformation by strengthening locally led development and supporting the generation of local evidence that informs and shapes the health governance.