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The humanitarian system around the world has reached its limits and is unable to reach those in need for aid in conflict zones around the globe such as Syria and the Central African Republic, according to a new report by Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (Alnap).
“The system has in many ways reached its limits. We need a combination of more resources, continued incremental improvements and radical thinking to make the system more flexible and adaptable,” the State of the Humanitarian System report said. The report is published every three years and examines the performance of different aid organizations around the world.
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How has the #humanitarian system performed over the past 3 years? Our #SOHS2015 report is now available! https://t.co/WXMtTRYkgV
— ALNAP (@ALNAP)
October 1, 201
John Mitchell, the director of Alnap, told The Guardian that the humanitarian system is “failing to protect people in conflict situations” and failing to give these people “appropriate assistance”.
“We’ve seen fewer emergencies in the last three years, but they have been more severe and conflict-related,” he warned. “I would much rather be waiting for aid in a typhoon hit country than I would in Central African Republic.”
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In Central African Republic, the report notes that humanitarian organizations scaled back activities in the country in the autumn of 2013 despite its increasing needs. A lack of interest from donors, as well as problems recruiting French-speaking staff to work in the region were blamed for the difficulties.
Children stand in a refugee camp as a cargo airplane of the World Food Programme (WFP) unloads cargo at the Airport of Mpoko in Bangui, Central African Republic. | Photo: EFE
The report said that a major issue with the humanitarian system is that all aid organizations were dealing with different conflicts and situations with the same fashion and strategy. “Despite humanitarian action taking place in an increasing variety of situations, the system is still applying a one-size-fits-all approach that currently doesn’t work. The system is not flexible enough to adapt to these contexts.”
Therefore the report said that two main characterizations should be taken into account when dealing with different conflicts or crisis: the capacity of the state where aid is needed and the type of the crisis itself.
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“One way to understand contexts is to look at them through the lens of the capacity of the affected state. Humanitarians responding in a country where the state is party to the conflict (Syria) should not have the same approach as in middle-income countries with a growing state capacity (Pakistan).”
Also, the report added, responding to a conflict in South Sudan is different to responding to a tsunami in Tuvalu.
Syria, CAR, S. Sudan, Ebola, Haiya - how was the #humanitarian response? #SOHS2015 http://t.co/EPklRXeqUJ pic.twitter.com/XXP2sHMoba
— ALNAP (@ALNAP)
October 2, 201
Meanwhile the report highlighted the lack of communication between aid organizations and the people affected by conflicts. In a poll conducted for the report, 44 percent of aid recipients surveyed were not consulted on their needs by aid agencies prior to the start of their programs.
The report comes a few months after the United Nations announced it had increased its annual appeal for international aid by 500 percent in a decade, with US$20 billion requested in 2015 to combat multiple crises.
