The Elephant in the Room: Collaboration and Competition among Relief Organizations during High-Profile Disasters

 

Italo Subbarao, Matthew K. Wynia, and Frederick M. Burkle, Jr.

 

The Journal of Clinical Ethics 21, no. 4 (Winter 2010): 328-334.

 

      The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that assume the bulk of emergency care during large-scale disasters in the developing world must expend considerable time and resources to ensure donations to sustain their field operations. This long-standing dilemma for the humanitarian community can create a competitive environment that:

•     Compromises the delivery and quality of services,

•     Allows the effectiveness of operations to be compromised by a lack of cooperation and collaboration,

•     Disrupts the timely and accurate coordination and analysis of outcome measures that are crucial to successful response in the future, and

•     Undermines the long-term capacity of indigenous aid organizations.

This article addresses problems and potential solutions for improved coordination and long-term capacity-building of humanitarian aid.