PINERA, J-F. and BOSHER, L., 2011. Sphere and sustainability: a matter of time. The Journal of Humanitarian Assistance, January 2011.
The Sphere standards have been devised to ensure that people affected by disasters will receive an
adequate level of assistance; these standards are used across the world and apply both to natural and
complex emergencies. The latter tend to be lasting events that often create a displacement of the
population and it is argued that in such situations, where prolonged assistance is required, the Sphere
standards may be counterproductive. By using examples of water supply interventions, it is highlighted
that in some circumstances the Sphere standards for water quality may only be achieved with systems
too complex for the displaced population to operate and maintain on their own. The case of two waraffected
areas of Eastern Chad are presented to illustrate the importance of the temporal aspects of the
Sphere standards in complex emergencies, and raises important questions regarding the long-term
sustainability of adopting such standards for displaced populations.