International aid agencies pay the price for boom and bust - "akin to dancing on graves' : Wil Worley / The New Humanitarian
Article shared by Gloria Kodzwa
Further analysis on the tragedy associated with international agency funding, a case of Save the Children
Gloria
‘If they were strengthening local actors, they would never have grown so much in the first place.’
Click here for the article in the New Humanitarian
The World Food Programme and the International Committee of the Red Cross are among the bigger names where substantial cuts have reached the public eye. But less publicly, other organisations like the Norwegian Refugee Council have also slimmed down or are preparing for “restructuring”, and smaller organisations have also been hit.
This unstable public funding can spike in times of grave crisis, following a business model that one critic described as “akin to dancing on graves”. As aid funding has become scarcer, INGOs have found it hard to sustain the growth that previous crisis funding enabled.
This dynamic highlights a fundamental tension in the global humanitarian aid system: Emergencies require fast funding and quick scale-ups – incentivising donors to use their pre-existing arrangements, usually through UN agencies and INGOs. On the other hand, these practices, even when well intentioned, can entrench the domination of international organisations.
Further analysis on the tragedy associated with international agency funding, a case of Save the Children
Gloria
‘If they were strengthening local actors, they would never have grown so much in the first place.’
The staff cuts and financial turbulence at Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee follow years of aggressive growth by international NGOs (INGOs), even as government aid budgets have fallen. A global funding squeeze on humanitarian finances has rippled through the system, as multiple donors tighten their belts.
Click here for the article in the New Humanitarian
The World Food Programme and the International Committee of the Red Cross are among the bigger names where substantial cuts have reached the public eye. But less publicly, other organisations like the Norwegian Refugee Council have also slimmed down or are preparing for “restructuring”, and smaller organisations have also been hit.
This unstable public funding can spike in times of grave crisis, following a business model that one critic described as “akin to dancing on graves”. As aid funding has become scarcer, INGOs have found it hard to sustain the growth that previous crisis funding enabled.
This dynamic highlights a fundamental tension in the global humanitarian aid system: Emergencies require fast funding and quick scale-ups – incentivising donors to use their pre-existing arrangements, usually through UN agencies and INGOs. On the other hand, these practices, even when well intentioned, can entrench the domination of international organisations.
The overall volume of aid has continuously increased over the past years, reaching an all-time high USD 223.7 billion in 2023, according to a statement by OECD made in April. The aid industry has been booming, and most recipient organization, including UNICEF, have continued increase their overheads and created an unsustainable workforce. There is no harm in cutting down on staff who feed an outdated bureaucracy.
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