Too Many Inexperienced Agencies Complicate Relief Efforts
Too many organizations without adequate skills are working in affected areas, making relief effort more complicated.
One month after devastating quake-triggered tsunamis ravaged nations along the Indian Ocean rim, relief agencies have reported that too many organizations without adequate skills are working in affected areas, making relief effort more complicated.
"The vast majority of aid is working very well, but we need to get the balance right," said Brendan Cox, spokesman for U.K.-based Oxfam.
The Associated Press reported that in Sri Lanka, some newly built houses were constructed too close together, leading to potential sanitation problems, and the dwellings lacked the country's traditional kitchens, which are open to the elements.
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Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told The Associated Press today that in many emergencies it is common for small aid groups to turn up without notice, and that sometimes these groups do not have the necessary expertise and their efforts need to be coordinated with wider aid operations conducted by the United Nations and larger relief organizations.
Leading British charity Oxfam urged governments and the United Nations today to introduce accreditation for all agencies and to monitor their ability.
"The vast majority of aid is working very well, but we need to get the balance right," said Oxfam spokesman Brendan Cox. Cox declined to identify the inexperienced charities that Oxfam referred to, but did mention that they were taking the issue up with the bodies coordinating the relief effort: the U.N. and local governments.
On the other hand, while U.K.-based Christian Aid agreed that some inexperienced NGOs were working in tsunami-hit areas, the agency said their help was nevertheless valuable.
"There are inexperienced NGOs working in various areas," said Nick Guttmann, head of emergency at Christian Aid. "Anybody who can is out there trying to help, but they aren't very experienced, so they can't do anything on the large scale. But they definitely can give a lot of small scale help."
In addition to its comments on inexperienced charities, Oxfam said governments need to do more to tackle broader problems facing tsunami survivors, such as debt, trade barriers and conflict in the affected regions.
