DEVELOPMENT: Appeal Launched for the “Forgotten Crises”

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Nov 19 2003 (IPS) - Donor countries must remember the “forgotten crises” when pledging humanitarian aid, senior aid and development leaders say.

With the Iraq crisis making headlines all over the world, European Union Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Poul Nielson and Executive Director of the World Food Programme James Morris expressed concern in Brussels Wednesday that donors had forgotten other wars and crises.

International donors pledged some 13 billion dollars in October to help the reconstruction process in Iraq. This included a donation of 812 million dollars from the European Union (EU). This compares to some 25 million dollars pledged by the EU for the crisis in Sudan for 2004.

Launching a joint 2004 humanitarian appeal by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) and the United Nations (UN), Morris urged donor countries to listen to the cries of – the silent crisis”.

The appeal called upon donor nations to provide more than 3 billion dollars in assistance to sustain the lives of more than 45 million civilians.

The Brussels event focused on aid for Tajikistan, Sudan and Uganda where civil wars have led to humanitarian crises.

Morris said the demand for emergency aid for high profile political crises in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq has been unprecedented. But he urged donors not to become lethargic over aid in lesser known parts of the world.

“Donor countries have grown a bit weary of the appeals, especially those struggling to meet domestic demands to cut their budget deficits at the same time,” Morris said. “The pressure for this funding has led to the creation of a ‘class system’ – the politically important crises are funded first and generously, the others are quietly relegated to the bottom and more or less forgotten.”

Morris pleaded for attention to the three new appeals launched. “Aside from the occasional sensationalistic piece about child soldiers or the slave trade, the three new appeals that we are launching here today in Brussels do not get a great deal of press,” he said.

“What is ironic is that investments now in humanitarian aid in Tajikistan, Sudan, and Uganda could actually have far greater impact and immediate reward than in some other crises,” he added.

Nielson echoed Morris’s view and urged donors to remember all crises.

The greatest challenges in these three countries are over access and security issues, which threaten the work of humanitarian groups such as the International Red Cross and Oxfam.

“If donors made the same commitment to the rest of the world as they have done in Iraq, we could solve the hunger problem,” Nielson said.

The new appeal is being called “Hear our Voices”.

The humanitarian appeal under what is known as the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) forms a part of the United Nation’s annual global appeal. It brings aid agencies together to jointly plan their activities for the year ahead.

Aid experts produce a common action plan, which is then presented to the international community and to donors.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU has been contributing some 150 million dollars a year to UN bodies involved in humanitarian aid.

The Brussels launch of the new appeal is part of a worldwide UN effort launched in various cities including New York, Washington, Geneva, Copenhagen, Dublin and Ottawa.