The tsunami that hit Southern Asia and the northern regions of the Indian Ocean has prompted a movement of compassion and solidarity on an unprecedented scale at the international level. Governments, NGOs and the masses at large in rich, poor and middle-income countries alike are all contributing in various ways to help alleviate the sufferings of the affected peoples. However, putting up relief aid and ensuring that it reaches its target in due time is a truly complex issue that goes much beyond sympathy and humane consideration.

Emergency aid often has to work against many odds, namely, logistics problems, red tape as well as local and international politics. Assistance initiatives can be very good in intention, but extremely costly in terms of operations. International aid agencies have a huge task in hand to balance these tensions in times of crisis. Kaviraj Appadu, a Mauritian currently working for the Swedish International Development Agency has an extensive hands-on experience in international relief effort and gives us a hint of the various forces at work to move money, food, medicine, drinking water and shelter from one corner of the globe to another, where they are badly needed.

<B>Help from numerous channels</B>

“For the past twenty years, the international community has been addressing the issue of fragmentation and battle of influence among the different donors through the setting up of appropriate mechanisms for better coordination”, he says. The Organisation for Humanitarian Assistance, a United Nations (UN) body, has been created for that purpose.

Emergency relief is needed following a major natural disaster or as a result of displacement of civilians in times of military conflicts and civil war. The international community sees to it that the immediate livelihood needs of the affected people are met. International agencies must also make sure that sufficient efforts are being deployed to prevent outbreak of widespread diseases such as cholera and yellow fever that can cause as much, if not more, damage than the natural calamity or the war.

Help comes from numerous channels: the bilateral level, the multilateral level (normally under UN aegis), co-operation between NGOs in affected countries and donor countries and international solidarity between nations. Individuals, firms and many other types of organizations try to help in whatever ways they can.

<B>How to implement the effort

The government of Mauritius as well as many local private organizations responded quickly to the appeal for help. Solidarity initiatives have mushroomed in various quarters and the population is being invited to do their share of contribution through countless schemes. This does not always serve the purpose of urgent humanitarian assistance.

“All these initiatives are welcome. But one has to appreciate that there is a huge cost implication. People tend to react emotionally after a disaster. The transaction costs of managing several tiny and uncoordinated contributions are very high. The challenge is to channel all the solidarity effort through existing networks at the local and international levels”, the relief specialist observes.

The big question is to how to implement the aid effort. Kaviraj Appadu explains that, generally speaking, because the national structures in affected countries are weak, there is a growing need for involvement by UN agencies and the global NGO network.

Normally, following a disaster, the international relief agencies make an appeal for aid based on an assessment of the situation. The appeal is circulated to all donor countries that, in turn, decide on how much they are going to allocate out of the total requirements. Donors may or may not convene a meeting among themselves to discuss how to co-ordinate their contributions.

Kaviraj Appadu argues that there is a growing tendency by international bodies to conjure up relief operations in a much more developmental perspective. “They do provide immediate relief but, at the same time, there is an emphasis on rebuilding in the affected countries. They do not want to perpetuate some kind of dependency at the expense of national capacity development”, he asserts.

This new two-tiered structure of assistance highlights the importance of a proper use of money resources. Beneficiary countries usually lack the skills and infrastructure for such operations. Kaviraj Appadu believes the choice of funding channels for relief aid is extremely important to ensure that funds reach the beneficiaries.