Beyond the knowledge-action gap: Challenges of implementing humanitarian policies in Ghana and Uganda

Abstract

The article deals with challenges of implementing humanitarian policies in Ghana and Uganda by unravelling the roles of various actors and their narratives. In Northern Uganda the discrepancy between articulations and implementations of a humanitarian policy on needs is explored. In Ghana the disconnection between enunciations and policy practices around the ‘right to return’ is studied. Although different, these cases provide complementary insights into policy implementation. Serious differences between agencies’ aims and their implementation outcomes are revealed. Both cases demonstrate that the voices of affected people are muted or ignored in the implementation of humanitarian policies. They highlight the importance of consultations and consensus-making processes, and the need for re-mapping the policies and practices of humanitarian aid.

Keywords:

• Ghana
• humanitarian practices
• policy narratives
• Uganda

Acknowledgements

We thank the editor, Michael Jones, and also the anonymous reviewers for their useful comments. Catriona Turner is thanked for the copy editing and Radmil Popovic for technical assistance.

Notes

1. Equal authorship.

2. This article is based on joint research in an interdisciplinary project titled Beyond the Knowledge-Action Gap. The objective of the study is to develop knowledge that contributes to poverty reduction and recovery in post-conflict situations. The empirical material is based on fieldwork in Ghana by Teta and in Uganda by Khasalamua.