Category: Global Aid

Do donor countries live up to the rhetoric and give emergency aid only where needed, without strings attached, and regardless of security and foreign policy priorities? A new report released reviews the performance of 23 donors against their own guidelines and finds most wanting, coming under fire from winners and losers. The Humanitarian Response Index 2008 (HRI), compiled by the international non-profit organization DARA (Development Assistance Research Associates), found that millions of people do not receive the relief they vitally need, in part because donor countries do not adhere to their own “Good Humanitarian Donorship” (GHD) principles. Among those principles, established in 2003, are that: emergency aid should be impartial, not driven by political, economic or security agendas; should strengthen capacity to respond to future crises, including prevention; assess needs and target effectively; and link relief efforts with long-term development strategies.