This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development-professionals-network/2013/jan/17/prepositioning-emergency-relief-work
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| How pre-positioning can make emergency relief more effective | How pre-positioning can make emergency relief more effective |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| This time three years ago, in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated Haiti, you might not have had time to read an article like this. Perhaps you were busy trying to charter a plane to fly relief supplies into Port-au-Prince. Maybe you were embroiled in fraught negotiations with suppliers whose prices had escalated in response to the sudden spike in demand. Even if you were able to get goods into Haiti, you may have found yourself casting around for the manpower or transport required to get supplies idling on a makeshift airstrip to where they were needed. | |
| Few development professionals involved in such scenarios back in January 2010 will need persuading of the principle that pre-positioning locally procured relief items in areas vulnerable to natural disaster can save lives. Buying and storing supplies locally brings economic benefits to communities, builds resilience, and means emergency assistance can be delivered at maximum speed and minimum cost. Yet whether lessons have been learned from the Haiti tragedy – not to mention other natural disasters, such as the drought in the Sahel region or the Pakistan floods – is a moot point. | Few development professionals involved in such scenarios back in January 2010 will need persuading of the principle that pre-positioning locally procured relief items in areas vulnerable to natural disaster can save lives. Buying and storing supplies locally brings economic benefits to communities, builds resilience, and means emergency assistance can be delivered at maximum speed and minimum cost. Yet whether lessons have been learned from the Haiti tragedy – not to mention other natural disasters, such as the drought in the Sahel region or the Pakistan floods – is a moot point. |
| "There's always plenty of money after the event," says Simon Lucas, chief executive of Reltex, a plastic sheeting company that has a Nairobi-based factory employing 300 locals. "As soon as we see the TV adverts of a child in distress or somebody clinging to a tree, everyone puts money in – governments, corporations, and public alike. But at that stage the money has come in too late, because as soon as we have a huge demand, the price goes up." | "There's always plenty of money after the event," says Simon Lucas, chief executive of Reltex, a plastic sheeting company that has a Nairobi-based factory employing 300 locals. "As soon as we see the TV adverts of a child in distress or somebody clinging to a tree, everyone puts money in – governments, corporations, and public alike. But at that stage the money has come in too late, because as soon as we have a huge demand, the price goes up." |
| The deepening of the Sahel crisis has prompted aid agencies to make this point with increasing urgency over the past year. And certainly the cost of being forewarned but not forearmed is almost invariably substantial. The price of a $12 (£7) tarpaulin can rise to as much as $90 once it becomes necessary to hire cargo planes, which means aid agencies haemorrhage money and suppliers lose commercial credibility. | The deepening of the Sahel crisis has prompted aid agencies to make this point with increasing urgency over the past year. And certainly the cost of being forewarned but not forearmed is almost invariably substantial. The price of a $12 (£7) tarpaulin can rise to as much as $90 once it becomes necessary to hire cargo planes, which means aid agencies haemorrhage money and suppliers lose commercial credibility. |
| "There's nothing worse," says Lucas, "than having to go to the Red Cross and say: 'I'm sorry, I know there's a huge tsunami, but we're going to have to put the price up.' It just looks like profiteering. But it's not, it's due to bad practice – not having enough pre-positioned stocks." | "There's nothing worse," says Lucas, "than having to go to the Red Cross and say: 'I'm sorry, I know there's a huge tsunami, but we're going to have to put the price up.' It just looks like profiteering. But it's not, it's due to bad practice – not having enough pre-positioned stocks." |
| The outlook is not unrelentingly bleak, however. The principle of strategic stockpiling has been gathering momentum since the turn of the century, when the UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) – a global pre-positioning network with hubs in Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, Europe and Latin America – was first established. | The outlook is not unrelentingly bleak, however. The principle of strategic stockpiling has been gathering momentum since the turn of the century, when the UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) – a global pre-positioning network with hubs in Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, Europe and Latin America – was first established. |
| The Red Cross has brought into the approach, as have smaller organisations such as AmeriCares, a US non-profit that has used pre-positioning grants to help flood survivors in Pakistan, the Philippines, Colombia, India and Indonesia. And then there's Advance Aid, which – by acting as an intermediary between the aid industry and African suppliers – has made tackling local emergencies with locally sourced aid its raison d'etre. | The Red Cross has brought into the approach, as have smaller organisations such as AmeriCares, a US non-profit that has used pre-positioning grants to help flood survivors in Pakistan, the Philippines, Colombia, India and Indonesia. And then there's Advance Aid, which – by acting as an intermediary between the aid industry and African suppliers – has made tackling local emergencies with locally sourced aid its raison d'etre. |
| "I would argue that there is a very good pre-positioning system in place, but we just don't know whether it works or not," says Nicholas Rutherford, event director of AidEx, the annual conference for humanitarian and development aid professionals. "The reality is that pre-positioning has received a lot of money and emphasis, and materials are in place at various strategic hubs around the world, but it's not been put to the test because, since [Haiti], we've not had a major crisis to test whether the system works." | "I would argue that there is a very good pre-positioning system in place, but we just don't know whether it works or not," says Nicholas Rutherford, event director of AidEx, the annual conference for humanitarian and development aid professionals. "The reality is that pre-positioning has received a lot of money and emphasis, and materials are in place at various strategic hubs around the world, but it's not been put to the test because, since [Haiti], we've not had a major crisis to test whether the system works." |
| Yet, in the prevailing economic climate, there will inevitably be financial hurdles to overcome if pre-positioning is to be more widely adopted. | Yet, in the prevailing economic climate, there will inevitably be financial hurdles to overcome if pre-positioning is to be more widely adopted. |
| "The problem is that charities have absolutely no money, so manufacturers are putting goods in at their own cost, off their own balance sheet," explains Lucas. "This makes it very challenging for companies in China, India, Pakistan and Africa. What you're basically asking them to do is to put stock in a location that's alien to them for a disaster that you never know is going to happen. It's unfundable by the traditional banking systems." | "The problem is that charities have absolutely no money, so manufacturers are putting goods in at their own cost, off their own balance sheet," explains Lucas. "This makes it very challenging for companies in China, India, Pakistan and Africa. What you're basically asking them to do is to put stock in a location that's alien to them for a disaster that you never know is going to happen. It's unfundable by the traditional banking systems." |
| To change that – or to encourage the alternative possibility of increased private sector funding – the science behind pre-positioning may need to be better understood and articulated. As things stand, the idea that natural disasters can be anticipated is often taken for granted by development practitioners, with little thought given to varying states of knowledge across different scientific fields. | To change that – or to encourage the alternative possibility of increased private sector funding – the science behind pre-positioning may need to be better understood and articulated. As things stand, the idea that natural disasters can be anticipated is often taken for granted by development practitioners, with little thought given to varying states of knowledge across different scientific fields. |
| No doubt this has much to do with cash-strapped aid organisations lacking the resources to invest in relevant training or expertise. But potential investors will wish to evaluate the merits of pre-positioning more thoroughly, which means better communication between the development and scientific communities is essential. | No doubt this has much to do with cash-strapped aid organisations lacking the resources to invest in relevant training or expertise. But potential investors will wish to evaluate the merits of pre-positioning more thoroughly, which means better communication between the development and scientific communities is essential. |
| "There have been limited opportunities for the direct engagement of scientists in humanitarian and development work on a regular basis," says Emma Visman, futures group manager of the Humanitarian Futures Programme at Kings College London. | "There have been limited opportunities for the direct engagement of scientists in humanitarian and development work on a regular basis," says Emma Visman, futures group manager of the Humanitarian Futures Programme at Kings College London. |
| "There's a lot of interest in it, but people haven't necessarily recognised that it requires sustained investment. And there's no place where people can have a systematic discussion about how to make better use of science. It's very patchy – there are some really interesting pilot initiatives going on, but it doesn't seem to have been integrated systematically within planning at any level yet." | "There's a lot of interest in it, but people haven't necessarily recognised that it requires sustained investment. And there's no place where people can have a systematic discussion about how to make better use of science. It's very patchy – there are some really interesting pilot initiatives going on, but it doesn't seem to have been integrated systematically within planning at any level yet." |
| Much of the available evidence suggests it should be. In the summer of 2008, for instance, a partnership between the Red Cross and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society enabled humanitarian workers to interpret technical data predicting extreme rainfall in parts of west Africa (pdf). In response, relief items were pre-positioned in Senegal, Cameroon and Ghana. The strategy was ultimately undermined by the late arrival and inadequate supply of stock, but events proved the underlying principles to be sound. | Much of the available evidence suggests it should be. In the summer of 2008, for instance, a partnership between the Red Cross and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society enabled humanitarian workers to interpret technical data predicting extreme rainfall in parts of west Africa (pdf). In response, relief items were pre-positioned in Senegal, Cameroon and Ghana. The strategy was ultimately undermined by the late arrival and inadequate supply of stock, but events proved the underlying principles to be sound. |
| So how can the development community build upon such experiences? "A huge amount of money needs to be made available upfront for pre-positioned goods," says Lucas. "It's about focusing on spending more money before the disaster, rather than the wasteful amount that goes on logistics, personnel and transportation afterwards. A mad scramble at the last minute completely blocks up the supply chain, causing congestion at ports as well as transport and distribution problems." | So how can the development community build upon such experiences? "A huge amount of money needs to be made available upfront for pre-positioned goods," says Lucas. "It's about focusing on spending more money before the disaster, rather than the wasteful amount that goes on logistics, personnel and transportation afterwards. A mad scramble at the last minute completely blocks up the supply chain, causing congestion at ports as well as transport and distribution problems." |
| One need only look at Haiti to appreciate how problems of this nature can contribute to tragedy. | One need only look at Haiti to appreciate how problems of this nature can contribute to tragedy. |
| This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To get more articles like this direct to your inbox, sign up free to become a member of the Global Development Professionals Network | This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To get more articles like this direct to your inbox, sign up free to become a member of the Global Development Professionals Network |
Previous version
1
Next version