LONDON (AlertNet) - Soon after the quake that devastated Haiti's capital in January, the Lancet medical journal accused humanitarian organisations of "jostling for position, each claiming that they are doing the most for earthquake survivors".
It described the situation on the ground as "chaotic, devastating, and anything but coordinated". Once again, the aid community was being slammed for a fragmented response driven more by competition than the needs of those hit by the crisis.
The criticism echoed an evaluation of the response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which highlighted how high levels of media interest encouraged poor coordination and "an opportunistic approach among the agencies".
That report urged aid groups to strengthen their emergency response capacity and boost their impact by working more closely together.
Some five years on, 15 UK-based aid groups have clubbed together to answer those criticisms and get faster, better help to survivors in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster or rapidly worsening conflict situations.
The Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies (CBHA), launched in March, brings together some of the largest international aid groups - including Oxfam, Christian Aid, Save the Children and World Vision - which account for around half of the major non-governmental organisations (NGOs) delivering relief in emergencies.
"We want to respond quicker, we want to respond more effectively," explained CBHA's interim director Sarah Moss, who is also humanitarian manager at Christian Aid, in an interview with AlertNet.
"We understand that (emergency response) is an area that may be growing over the next few years but in an environment of restricted or reducing finances available specifically to NGOs."
RAPID ACCESS TO CASH
Funded by Britain's Department for International Development for two years to the tune of £8 million ($11.5 million), the alliance will allocate money to its member agencies within 48 hours of a disaster for relief activities within the first month. The system has yet to be tested but a Bangladesh cyclone or similar emergency could see it swing into action.
The funds will go to those best-placed to meet particular needs, with the aim of frontloading the response in the critical early phase and avoiding duplication.
CBHA board member Gareth Owen, who is emergencies director for Save the Children in London, said the new system will allow people like him to get on with their life-saving work when it most matters without having to worry about who will pay.
"In an emergency you don't know actually what you're going to do on day one, you just know that you've got to go and do it, and you're likely to have to do it on a bigger scale than before, and you need to know you have some resources behind that so you can act quickly."
Owen said the CBHA initiative grew from a recognition that NGOs needed to create a more streamlined structure to interact with donors after disasters, mirroring the systems set up by the United Nations and the international Red Cross movement.
In recent years, NGOs have found it harder to access funds rapidly from government donors who must deal with a growing number of demands for cash while under pressure to reduce their administrative capacity.
In 2006, the United Nations created a $500 million humanitarian fund called the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support more timely and reliable aid for people affected by natural disasters and conflicts, and to channel money to neglected emergencies.
While this has been effective in funding the early response efforts of U.N. agencies, other aid groups have found it slow and difficult to access.
"We are all supportive of U.N. reforms," said Moss. "But we also recognise it's not working as best it could right now, and it's going to take time."
Owen said the ultimate aim of the British grouping is to create an NGO Emergency Response Fund (NERF) at international level, which would allow donors to write out one cheque for non-U.N. agencies and leave it to the aid groups to decide how to use the money.
Other donors have already shown an interest, including the Australian and U.S. governments and some foundations, he said.
SHIFT TO COLLABORATION
A consortium like the CBHA has only become possible because aid groups have finally realised that acting independently does not always produce the best results, according to Owen.
"Five years ago, we'd never have been able to do this," he said. "We've seen an inexorable shift in that direction where we have to work more and more together, we have to be more organised."
Around £4 million will be available to fund emergency response activities in the next two years. This is a tiny amount, but once the CBHA has proved the model works, the hope is it can be scaled up.
Moss believes the fund will help reduce unhealthy competition for cash. "By having a fund...that everybody has a right to utilise, and it's done on a fair and equitable basis, it encourages people to work together for the same aim rather than against each other," she said.
Owen hopes the CBHA will help reassert the humanitarian principle in emergency response - putting those affected by disasters at the centre - over the more corporate aspects of the aid business.
This is essential at a time when climate change and other factors are expected to increase the humanitarian workload, the two NGO officials argued.
"We are trying to...take our own agency hat off in a context and do the right thing for the people. And what we mean by that...is who is best placed today to act today against the most urgent priority," Owen explained.
The new system does not mean some agencies will no longer respond to certain emergencies but that staff and relief supplies will be deployed more strategically to achieve the biggest impact at the beginning.
Another major aim of the consortium is to strengthen leadership in the aid community - something Owen said was sorely lacking right after the Haiti quake. This will be done through training programmes and practical placements around the world.
Ultimately, the CBHA hopes to bring about a transformation of emergency response, so that it becomes more sensitive to early warning and moves beyond the negative tendencies of competition and duplication.
That can only be achieved by building trust between aid groups and adopting a longer-term approach, Owen said.
"We're very good as humanitarians at identifying problems, we're slow at biting the bullet and going after the solution that is necessary," he explained. "It's because we live in a here-and-now environment...but a lot of our issues need a ten-year horizon."
For more information, see these FAQs on the CBHA.
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