Articles

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.

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).

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).