Dear all,
Probably many HIFA and CHIFA members feel as useless as I do to help colleagues and others in Ukraine. In Britain we have the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group of UK humanitarian aid organizations which co-ordinates and launches collective appeals to raise funds for emergency aid to people in humanitarian crises around the world. The DEC is a member of the global Emergency Appeals Alliance of European countries, Japan and Canada, all at https://www.emergency-appeals-alliance.org/members/
In my view, while for international development work small may be beautiful, for emergency humanitarian input big is likely to be best because it is those NGOs which have built up experience and capacity for this work over decades that know what problems they can expect to encounter in delivering aid in a war zone, while the larger ones have either their own people there or work with and through tried and trusted partner organisations in recipient countries.
Best wishes
Stewart Britten
HIFA profile: Stewart Britten is advisor to the British NGO, HealthProm, on its project to reduce maternal and child deaths in Northern Afghanistan. He has worked for the reduction of institutionalisation of babies and small children in Russia by introduction of parent support programmes.
stewart.britten AT zen.co.uk
