International Assistance in Times of Humanitarian Crises

According to the United Nations, the number of people affected by humanitarian crises has nearly doubled over the past decade (1). The emergency situations developing countries have to deal with are numerous and ever intricate. And whether they be natural and climatic catastrophes, wars or migratory floods, they just keep on coming. Indeed, while the media might occasionally cover the situation in Syria or Haiti, many other crises, just as severe, go widely unreported – like the turmoil in South Sudan or Yemen, or any one of the 300 or so crises happening on average each year around the world. Such a context was calling for a serious discussion on international assistance and the nature of the interventions led by humanitarian agencies and development NGOs alike. Said discussion happened last January in Montreal, at the International Forum organized by CECI and WUSC.

Earthquakes, drought, armed conflicts… Today, whenever the media covers a serious crisis somewhere in the world, the work of those involved in international assistance is followed with great scrutiny. At times praised, it is also often criticized. International aid is indeed commonly accused of being wasteful, inadequate, too slow or lacking in coordination among its main actors.

Interference or Desertion?

One of the most problematic aspects of international assistance is the very duration of the intervention: too long an intervention could be tagged as interference and lead to a situation of dependency; too short, the departure could be rushed and the work botched.

Whenever there is a need for intervention, two very different types of organizations will cross paths and work alongside: humanitarian agencies and development NGOs.

“In order to differentiate them, one must look at two very simple indicators: their target, and the timing of their intervention.” – François Audet

According to François Audet, Director of the Canadian Research Institute on Humanitarian Crisis and Aid (OCCAH) and Associate Professor at the École des Sciences de la Gestion of the Université du Québec à Montréal, “emergency humanitarian action aims to act as quickly as possible after the start of the crisis”. He adds: “It targets individuals. The goal is to save lives, alleviate suffering and protect the civilian population. Development organizations, on the other hand, tend to come later after the onset of the crisis, and will target organizations, institutions and different levels of government for long-term collaboration.”

While in theory it is common to consider these two operational mechanisms as opposing visions, on the field, it is clear to see that the two types of intervention are not necessarily conflicting. In any case, according to the panellists invited to share their insights on what really goes on during a humanitarian crisis, they really shouldn’t be. On the contrary, they are insisting that emergency relief and development organizations should collaborate more closely, noting in passing that, for the affected communities, the difference is but a semantic one.

Integrating Humanitarian and Development Work

According to Eugene Orejas, General Director of the Center for Emergency Aid and Rehabilitation (CONCERN), a Filipino NGO and local partner of CECI, a certain level of coordination and proximity between the two types of interventions is actually essential. “The concept of development must be embedded into all humanitarian actions,” he claims.

“Long-term projects must be taken into consideration from the very beginning of the emergency interventions.” – Eugene Orejas

Founded in 1987 to help the communities affected by a typhoon, CONCERN started out bringing emergency relief only. But from earthquakes to volcano eruptions, they “realized that humanitarian action alone was not enough, and that people needed to be prepared before disaster struck”, Orejas explains. As a result, CONCERN broadened their mandate to include long-term actions. “How else could we make sure our interventions would have sustainable outcomes? We needed more than just humanitarian work.”

As a result, the NGO started helping the communities to identify the specific risks affecting their area and to develop an emergency response plan that could be applied in case of disaster (alert system, evacuation plan, etc.). In terms of mitigating risks, among other initiatives, the organization helped with the reforestation of some coastal regions, as well as with the restoration of mangroves (these serve as a barrier against heavy winds).

For CECI and CONCERN, the message is clear: “let the communities decide what they need the most”. – Eugene Orejas

A partner since 2010, CECI is assisting CONCERN in some emergency interventions, but they are foremost helping with prevention and capacity building projects: building an evacuation centre, training community leaders in catastrophe management, supporting a three-year plan in climatological agriculture (launched in 2016) allowing the affected communities to suffer fewer damages in case of disasters and to be able to quickly recover their livelihood (shorter and more resistant coconut plantations, relocation of fields, etc.), supporting micro-entrepreneurship for women, and more.

“This is where lies CECI’s strength,” explains Eugene Orejas. “By collaborating with a local partner that has built over the years a network reaching over 200 communities, they are able to support projects that are truly relevant to the local population. This is essential to respond to the actual needs of the people. After typhoon Haiyan came through, you should have seen all the new fishing boats we received from well-intentioned foreign organizations. The only problem is that the storm had destroyed the reef, and there were no longer any fish to catch nearby!”

In Times of Crisis, Caution and Adaptability

While recognizing that there is no unique response to a humanitarian crisis and that both the nature and duration of the intervention depend on the context, Oumar Diack believes that no matter the crisis, no action should ever be rushed. “If we don’t take the time to identify the actual targets and to consult with the population, we will not reach our objectives,” claims the Senegalese man who manages the development projects for the Fédération des Associations du Fouta pour le développement (FAFD), an NGO established in 1986 and working in the Saint-Louis and Matam regions.

“Once we gain a good understanding of the situation, we must be able to adjust our actions.” – Oumar Diack

With a presence in the region since 2009 through volunteers of the Uniterra program, CECI had decided, together with the FAFD, to launch in 2012 an agricultural development program geared towards corn crops. But the situation on the field, as observed by both organizations, forced them to rethink their priorities. “When we arrived with CECI to the very remote region of Ferlo, it seemed the population had been completely left out,” remembers Diack, noting that the most remote and marginalized areas were also too often forgotten by international aid.
Poor rainfall and some bad harvests during the past few years had left the region in a situation of food emergency. Families could not feed themselves on a daily basis, the livestock was dying, and the farmers were fleeing.

“We needed to bring immediate relief before we could launch any development project. Yet it was also essential to include in the emergency response actions with a long-term vision.” – Oumar Diack

After dedicating many weeks to collecting data and targeting vulnerable areas, the first twelve-month emergency humanitarian project was launched together by CECI and FAFD. Three more followed, with the objective of “strengthening resilience and improving food security for the most vulnerable populations in order to rebuild the food security chain”. In order to do so, CECI and their partner had to take several actions: handing out seeds with short life cycles, farming tools and food for the cattle; conducting training sessions on farming techniques; setting-up vegetable gardens for the women; shaft sinking and rehabilitating wells; establishing granaries for food safety; building awareness on nutrition; and more.

“In the areas affected by chronic drought, the first thing to do is to build resilience among the population, and only then can we start thinking about development projects,” explains the man from Senegal from his 25-plus years of experience. “But in order to get there, it is necessary to make some investments. Otherwise, the targeted population will not be able to take off the ground. Sometimes, financial partners will refuse to invest in things they don’t see as urgent. But to build a well when the closest point of access to water is 6 km away, or to install a wire fence in order to protect the seedlings of a new garden, that is relevant,” Diack insists.

A Necessary Partnership

From the perspective of the population and local organizations from developing countries, integrating the foundations for long-term development into emergency humanitarian actions is ever more a fundamental requisite – just like capacity-building initiatives.
The fact is that international assistance, which calls for an ever-increasing financial participation from States, cannot make it everywhere. Modern conflicts last longer, and natural disasters, with the influence of climate change and environmental degradation, will become more frequent and severe.
Last December, the UN asked for 22.2 billion dollars in order to fund its international assistance programs, to serve over 90 million people in precarious situations across the world this year.
It was the highest amount ever requested in the organization’s history.

(1) Between 2005 and 2015. Numbers from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

(2) Source ReliefWeb