Category: International Cooperation

The US militarization of humanitarian aid

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President Obama announced last week an expanded U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The lion’s share of personnel assisting in the response comes from the U.S. military – an estimated 3,000 troops will be deployed to the region.

Many humanitarian actors are concerned about the militarization of aid in a variety of global contexts –  some note that the presence of militaries in humanitarian crises can make humanitarian aid actors seem to favor one side of a conflict. Doing so violates two of the basic principles of ethical humanitarian aid: neutrality and impartiality.  In general, aid agencies are supposed to help any civilian who needs it without regard for their ethnicity, religion, or the “side” they might support in a conflict, and most work hard to avoid even the appearance of favoring one side over another. Introducing a country’s military into a crisis can make it difficult for aid actors to appear neutral and impartial. In a worst case scenario, this can put aid workers’ lives at risk.

In the current West African Ebola outbreak, however, concerns about non-neutrality have been trumped by the need for immediate action. The AFRICOM deployment comes in response to a direct request for assistance from Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

There is no question that the United States military has logistics capabilities that far outstrip those of any humanitarian aid agency worldwide. But is AFRICOM in particular up to the task? This is the first, large-scale operation AFRICOM has undertaken with what might be called a purely humanitarian purpose.

The last time U.S. military forces engaged in a large-scale humanitarian operation in Africa was the Somalia intervention of the early 1990s. Originally intended to be an operation to help get food aid to Somali civilians, that operation, which began under President George H.W. Bush and continued under President Bill Clinton’s administration, quickly turned into a combat operation very unlike what its proponents had envisioned. American involvement in Somalia ended almost immediately after the “Black Hawk Down” incident of October 1993 in which 18 American military personnel were killed in Mogadishu.

[Read full Washington Post article] 

You can provide care for those affected by humanitarian crises

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Recently in Northern and Central Iraq, clashes between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), its allied militias, the government of Iraq and Kurdish regional government security forces have driven thousands of people from their homes. Since January 2014, an estimated 1.8 million people have been displaced by violence in Iraq. Their brutal circumstances are confounding, but their need for medical services, clean water, food and shelter are not very different from the privations of people affected by natural disasters.

Four thousand miles from Iraq, a protracted outbreak of the Ebola virus continues to wreak havoc across Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone. As of this writing there are more 5,335 and 2,622 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Widespread population loss has threatened fragile local economies and has left many children parentless — two of numerous factors that will have ramifications long after the disease is contained.

The humanitarian emergencies in West Africa and Northern Iraq are different, but the best way to help those who suffer is the same — through cash donations to reputable organizations working with communities on the ground. Even small financial donations combine to make a huge difference in the lives of people affected by disasters. As is the case after natural disasters, donors who make the most positive and enduring impacts give monetary support to relief organizations working in affected areas, initially and over time. Unlike unsolicited material donations — those not requested by organizations working in affected communities — monetary donations enable immediate support to communities.

As situations evolve quickly in complex humanitarian emergencies like these, cash allows relief organizations to respond to changing needs quickly; enabling them to deliver essential supplies that are fresh and familiar, a huge comfort in these tragic circumstances. Most important, monetary donations empower those in the hardest hit regions to rebuild their communities, as those impacted will need support for years after the crises ease and the world’s attention turns elsewhere.

[Juanita Rilling, Director of the United States Agency for International Development’s Center for International Disaster Information, writing in Huffington Post] 

Murders of Ebola aid workers chills humanitarian efforts

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As details emerge about the brutal murders of at least eight Ebola aid workers and journalists whose bodies were found dumped in a latrine in a Guinean village, questions linger about whether the murders will have a chilling effect on the international relief effort.

“It is a danger and it’s going to have to be something that all [non-governmental organizations] pay attention to,” Ken Isaacs, vice president of programs and government relations for Samaritan’s Purse.

Though the murders are not the first example of violence against relief workers, they are the first reported fatalities, and a strong sign of a dangerous trend in some of West Africa’s most Ebola-ravaged communities.

“There’s a lot of superstition and a lot of fear and a lot of confusion,” Isaacs said of the Ebola outbreak. “A lot of the people in Guinea and Sierra Leone and Liberia see … where the relief workers and relief vehicles go, is where Ebola shows up.”

Doctors Without Borders echoed Isaacs sentiments and called for better education of those in Ebola-affected areas. “It is evident that fear and misunderstanding of Ebola can breed mistrust of health facilities and staff. Community education and mobilization efforts must be intensified in Ebola-affected regions, and trust should be built with the communities,” Doctors Without Borders said in a statement to FoxNews.com.

[Fox News]

Third convoy of Russian humanitarian aid unloaded in eastern Ukraine

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The third convoy of Russian humanitarian aid for eastern Ukraine has arrived in the war-torn city of Donetsk. The convoy of around 200 vehicles is carrying some 2,000 tons of cereals, canned food, generators, medicine, warm clothes, and bottled water. The trucks have started unloading the aid in two of the city’s storehouses.

“We need humanitarian aid badly as there is almost no food in the shops. People aren’t receiving their pensions. Children are hungry. It’s high time,” a local resident, Vitaly, told RT. “People are suffering now. We don’t have any products. Thank you, Russia,” he added.

After unloading humanitarian aid the trucks returned to Russia. The first column has already crossed the Russian border.

Previously, on September 13, and on August 22, Russia delivered humanitarian aid to Lugansk in eastern Ukraine. All in all over 4,000 tons of aid has reached the crisis-stricken city.

I have never met a political child

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Around the globe, conflict is escalating at a frightening rate. Those left most vulnerable are the children.

Here in the U.S., we have an escalating humanitarian crisis at our border with Mexico. Increasing numbers of women and children from various Central American countries are fleeing violence and insecurity. Every day, more and more mothers are putting their lives – and the lives of their children – on the line by crossing the Rio Grande seeking refuge in the U.S.

At the Save the Children / Catholic Charities Child-Friendly Space at Sacred Health Community Center in McAllen, Texas, families make a quick stop to get food, clothes and items for personal hygiene. I sat with these women and listened to their stories. I wanted to know why they were running away from their homes, and why they would risk their family’s life on an uncertain future. I heard stories about poverty, extreme violence and other atrocities these families endured every day in their home communities. One mother simply told me, “I ran to protect my babies. I had no other choice.”

As I write this, Save the Children is responding to a number of humanitarian emergencies around the world, many of which have stemmed from armed conflict or political issues.

In any crisis, children are always the most vulnerable, and their voices are rarely heard. We know children don’t choose sides when it comes to political conflict or religious debate. Eglantyne Jebb, the founder of Save the Children, said this: “I have never met a political child.”

Here’s what I need to say: Debates about immigration and other issues will–and should–continue. But in the midst of often-heated and lengthy political battles, we cannot allow children to be caught in the cross fire.

[Joaquin Duato, Worldwide Chairman of Pharmaceuticals for Johnson and Johnson, writing in Huffington Post]

Grassroots support and assistance for Kashmiri flood victims

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Deadly flooding occurs regularly across India, but the recent flooding in Jammu and Kashmir is the region’s worst in 50 years. Commentators there have compared this disaster to Hurricane Katrina, for its devastation of a famously picturesque city Srinagar and also for its emotional backdrop where trust between the populace and the central government is so low that some relief deliveries have dissolved into open confrontation.

Following the lackluster reaction from the state government to the heavy flooding in the region of Jammu and Kashmir –affecting 1.9 million– and the Indian government’s tacit refusal to solicit help from the United Nations, disaster relief has consisted chiefly of concerted efforts from organizations within India, coupled with fellowships being formed worldwide.

Civilian response to the flood relief is unparalleled: despite being caught off-guard and irrefutably unprepared for the cataclysm. Citizens have been attempting to fill the gap of the state government and serving as the primary caregivers of their own people. The disparate entities and individuals coalescing to revive Srinagar predict a long road ahead for this steadily unfolding disaster. As of today, the National Disaster Response Force has rescued 50,860 people from floods and 12 camps have been arranged.

Marriage halls, mandirs and mosques have been converted into provisional community kitchens, welcoming throngs of uprooted people. Locals house strangers, doctors volunteer in smaller makeshift dispensaries, and volunteer rescue teams continue to wade through waters to deliver food.

Raheel Khursheed  of Twitter India utilized Twitter to send SOS distress messages, culling information about supplies needed, and coordinating rescue operations. Time zones away, a group of expatriates work to create awareness and coordinate the relief efforts underway on the ground.

Change.org campaigns and pleas for international aid are being circulated through social network channels, tax-exempt nonprofit organizations are being devised, and expatriates are returning home to lend their expertise and FCRA approved organizations surface to accept funds from abroad.

[Read full Forbes article] 

Russia to send third humanitarian convoy to Ukraine

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Russia is ready to send a third batch of humanitarian aid to Ukraine`s southeastern regions within days, its emergency situations ministry said Wednesday.

“We are ready to continue this (relief) effort. By the end of the week we will be able to continue the effort if certain decisions are made,” Deputy Emergency Situations Ministerm Vladimir Stepanov said, adding that such work must continue by all means.

“The campaign to collect humanitarian aid is being carried out across the nation, with the aim of helping Ukrainians get prepared for the winter,” he said.

Stepanov also urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to play a more active role in the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Xinhua reported.

The second batch of humanitarian aid arrived last Saturday in Ukraine`s eastern city of Lugansk, following the first convoy carrying 2,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid August 22.

[india.com]

Obama commits 3,000 troops to West Africa to fight Ebola

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As the worst-ever Ebola epidemic rages on in Africa, President Barack Obama announced that the US will ramp up efforts to combat the virus as part of “the largest international response in the history of the CDC.”

In an address from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta, Obama said that the US is willing to take the lead on international efforts to combat the virus, CNN reported. Ebola “is a global threat, and it demands a truly global response,” Obama said.

The announcement came amid increasing criticism that the international community has not responded quickly and boldly enough to what has become the worst Ebola outbreak in history.

So far, more than 2,400 people have died this year from Ebola — more than the combined total of all previous outbreaks since the first recorded in 1976 — and the epidemic has spread to five African nations, including Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, and Senegal.

To work to turn the outbreak around, the White House has committed more than $175 million to this “top national security priority.” The focus of the funds is stopping spread in West Africa. The US will send more than 3,000 troops to the most affected areas, and set up a joint operation in Monrovia, Liberia — the hardest hit of the five regions — to coordinate the relief efforts.

In addition, the plan will boost the number of health workers in the region. The US pledged to build as many as 17 additional Ebola treatment units — with a total of about 1,700 beds — and to help recruit medical personnel to staff them. The Department of Defense also plans to establish a site where up to 500 health care providers can be trained each week. USAID will support a program of distributing kits with sanitizers and medical supplies to some 400,000 of the most vulnerable households in Liberia.

US government to provide humanitarian relief to Kashmir flood victims

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The United States has offered humanitarian aid to the flood-affected people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The US intends to provide USD 250,000 to select nongovernmental organizations through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in response to the needs of the people affected by the disaster.

The organizations, which include Save the Children India, Care India, and Plan India, will use these funds to provide emergency relief, including temporary shelter and non-food relief supplies, to thousands of families in remote villages severely affected by the floods.

Thousands of people are thought to be stranded in Indian-administered Kashmir nearly two weeks after devastating floods there.

At least 200 people have died, with many missing, and there are mounting fears of disease spreading as criticism grows of the Indian government’s response.

West African health centers can’t keep up with Ebola outbreak

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The number of new Ebola cases is growing faster than the ability of health officials to handle them, the head of the World Health Organization said Friday.

“In the three hardest hit countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the number of new cases is moving far faster than the capacity to manage them in the Ebola-specific treatment centers,” said Margaret Chan, the WHO director-general. “Today, there is not one single bed available for the treatment of an Ebola patient in the entire country of Liberia.”

At least 2,400 people have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where the outbreak has been concentrated, Chan said. Cases have also been reported in nearby Nigeria and Senegal.

This is considered the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history. The World Health Organization said Monday the rapid spread of the virus in Liberia shows no sign of slowing. “The number of new cases is increasing exponentially,” the WHO said, calling the situation a “dire emergency with … unprecedented dimensions of human suffering.”

This week, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced it will donate $50 million to help fight the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

To help ease some of the burden on West Africa’s already overtaxed medical system, the United States announced Tuesday it will send $10 million in additional funds. That’s in addition to the $100 million Washington has already sent to help fight the outbreak. USAID also announced it will make $75 million in extra funds available.

[CNN]