4. International humanitarian assistance

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There is nothing new about the problems and difficulties caused by the arrival of large quantities of humanitarian aid when a large-scale disaster has occurred, particularly if procedures and basic principles are not followed. Governments and humanitarian agencies alike have recognized and analyzed the results from past disasters.

 

4.1. Principles and standards

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The international community (donors, international cooperation agencies and NGOs) have worked hard to agree on and disseminate principles, standards and technical guidance and to document good and bad practices to orient humanitarian assistance and donations. Following is a summary of some of these initiatives.

  • The Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief (approved in 1995) was a first step in defining and clarifying a number of ethical principles in humanitarian work.
  • The SPHERE standards (launched in 1997 by a group of humanitarian NGOs and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement) is another solid inter-agency effort to define norms to improve efficiency and coordination in humanitarian response. The SPHERE standards detail the minimum standards in disaster response (health, water, shelter, etc) that people affected by disasters have a right to expect from humanitarian assistance.

 

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4.2. Requesting what is right, avoiding what is wrong

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Post-disaster assistance will always be more effective when certain basic principles are kept in mind, so that the process will favor, not delay, a quick response and recovery for the affected population.

  • The objective of a good donation is that it responds to real needs, as expressed by the recipient.
  • The affected country should also inform donors of what is not needed or wanted. This is just as important as specifying what is needed.
  • Emergency aid should complement, not duplicate, steps taken by the affected country.
  • Whenever possible, cash donations are preferable. This enables goods and services to be purchased locally and saves time and logistical resources associated with storage and transportation.
  • Successful assistance programs take into account that international attention wanes as needs and shortages become more pressing.
  • There should always be a close communication between donors and recipients, communication will be much more effective if channels exist before the emergency.
  • Some materials need precise specifications. When donating used medical equipment, new equipment, tents, and vaccines, it is necessary to obtain and to provide detailed documentation for these items.
  • Become familiar with and use a humanitarian supply management system (such as LSS/SUMA), which promotes transparency and effective management of donations.

 

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4.3. Partnerships for in-kind donations

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The arrival of large quantities of donations in a country affected by a disaster or emergency presents a major challenge for humanitarian actors when it comes to organizing and managing this aid—which can be relevant and important to meeting needs or can constitute an additional burden.

The technical and logistical challenges involved are compounded when the donations are inappropriate, sent in haste and not in line with the real needs of the affected population. (Following the 2001 earthquakes in El Salvador, an estimated 37% of the medicines received as donations proved to be inappropriate, in spite of a list of needs provided by the Salvadoran government).

 

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4.4. Funding disaster preparedness, risk reduction and humanitarian aid

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In a perfect world, a disaster-affected country would be able to cover the cost of the immediate response to the health impact of an emergency or crisis, and indeed we have witnessed this happening in a number of countries in which there is either a well-organized culture of preparedness and planning or where the emergency situation remains within the scope of what was foreseen. There are, however, cases where the sheer magnitude of the event surpasses the coping capacity of even the most developed or well-prepared countries to mount an adequate response to the immediate health needs (without even taking into consideration the long-term challenges related to rehabilitation and reconstruction). The most notable recent examples of the imperative need for international humanitarian aid are the earthquake in Haiti (2010) and the tsunami in South Asia (2004).

 

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