‘Capacity building’ is often defined in a way which implies that international organisations/agencies are ‘investing’ and national organisations are ‘developing’. In an effort to recognise the added value that national organisations can offer to their international counterparts, the capacity-building discourse…
The Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC)[1] highlighted the disparity between the stated policies of international humanitarian actors and the operational realities in terms of direct execution, engagement with local capacity and community participation. It showed that when the aid system is…
The tsunami which hit Aceh in December 2004 and the earthquake which struck near the Java city of Yogyakarta in May 2006 were not just tragedies and opportunities to display solidarity. For Indonesians with knowledge of English and technical capacity…
Since 1997 the number of major acts of violence (killings, kidnappings and armed attacks resulting in serious injury) committed against aid workers has nearly doubled. A recent study by the Center on International Cooperation (CIC) and the Humanitarian Policy Group…
Protection is one of the components of the new UN-led cluster approach in emergency environments.[1] Can the protection cluster mobilise the international community to protect civilians in areas where states are either unwilling or unable to do so? A pilot…
For decades an increasing percentage of official development assistance (ODA) has been spent on humanitarian assistance: from around 3% in the 1970s to between 10% and 14% today. In 2005, an estimated $18 billion was raised by the international community…
The principles of charitable giving and compassion enshrined in Islamic teaching through the Qur’an and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad still carry tremendous weight. The redistribution of wealth in the form of charitable giving is an obligation on every believer.…
The true value of clusters lies in their ability to boost operational capacity and effectiveness, rather than in their procedural aspects. Misunderstanding about this fundamental nature of clusters has led in some cases to a proliferation of meetings, overemphasis on…
The earthquake killed at least 73,338 including 18,000 schoolchildren. Over 128,000 people were injured and 3.3 million displaced. Over 600,000 houses, 6,400 km of road network, 6,298 education facilities, 350 health facilities, 3,994 water supply systems and 949 government buildings…
During two recent emergencies, the October 2005 earthquake in the North-West Frontier Province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the June/July 2007 floods in Balochistan and Sindh provinces, the cluster approach was activated, both in the capital city of Islamabad and at…