The Humanitarian Networks & Partnerships Week (HNPW) will take place from 6-10 February 2017 at the International Conference Centre (CIGC) in Geneva. The HNPW is hosted by the Swiss Government and co-chaired by DFID and OCHA. The full agenda of the week can be found here.
One of the topics to be discussed during the week will be Unsolicited Bilateral Donations (UBDs). UBDs will be the focus of a meeting on Tuesday 7 February 2017 at 9:00, in Room 17. This event will be organised by our colleagues supporting the work of the Pacific Emergency Preparedness Logistics Cluster, Florent Chane and Anna Young. In preparation for the discussion on UBDs, we interviewed Anna Young, Regional Emergency Preparedness Officer with the WFP Regional Bureau in Bangkok
What are UBDs?
Unsolicited Bilateral Donations (UBDs), also called Gifts in Kind (GIK) and unsolicited material donations, are goods that are spontaneously donated by individuals, businesses, communities and other public groups after a disaster, without being requested by responding organisations or by those affected. More often than not they are non-emergency household goods. UBDs are sent with great intentions to help in responding to an emergency. The problem is that they usually do more harm than good.
What do individuals, businesses, groups and governments usually send as UBDs?
In the Tropical Cyclone Winston Response in Fiji in early 2016, donations included all sorts of items: foodstuffs, assorted clothes, shoes of all varieties and sizes, chairs and tables, school books and desks, ropes, building materials, toys, tarpaulins, canvas, kitchenware, rescue equipment, wheel chairs, beds and blankets, towels, linen of all sizes, surgical clothes, stationery, tools for building and farming, sports gear and sportswear, chainsaws and brush cutters, electrical appliances, water pumps and generators, tents of many varieties, bicycles for children and adults, first aid kits, carpets and rugs. In total Fiji received enough UBDs to fill 33 Olympic swimming pools. In other emergencies, responding organizations have seen chandeliers, formal gowns, wigs, ‘short shorts’, dog costumes, Mother’s Day cards, frozen chicken, talking Bibles, a shipping container of broken bicycles, breakfast pastries and a live pig. You name it, it comes!
Why are UBDs not useful in emergencies?
Though sent with the best of intentions, UBDs usually slow down emergency operations and do more harm than good. Careful assessments are done by responding organisations to ascertain the needs of survivors in emergencies, and UBDs almost never meet these needs. They usually arrive unannounced and without requisite paperwork. Once arrived, they clog the supply chain and take considerable resources, time and effort in trying to manage, distribute or in some cases disposing of them. In Vanuatu during Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015 approximately 50% of food items were expired and had to be destroyed at the cost of the government by the time they could be accessed UBDs can also negatively impact economies affected by an emergency, because they introduce into the local market free items, which local vendors could have provided, thus denying the local economy an important boost post-disaster. They are also often culturally inappropriate or even harmful. In extreme cases, we have seen pork in halal- or kosher-observant areas, and even slimming bars in undernourished areas. Expired medicines, food, infant formula and potentially hazardous materials including paint, bleach and ammonia have also been donated without request.
Why is financial support to relief organisations more useful in an emergency? Isn’t donated money used to buy the same things that public donors send?
Cash is best for a number of reasons. Emergency responses evolve quickly and monetary contributions allow relief agencies to purchase exactly what is needed as identified by local, provincial and national government authorities and aid agencies on the ground. Cash donations support local economies by buying needed items from local vendors who may have been affected by the disaster. It also allows aid workers to ensure that goods are culturally, nutritionally and environmentally appropriate.
Will financial help not get wasted on salaries and administrative costs?
All relief agencies need to deduct a percentage to cover salaries, operating and administration costs in order to undertake their work. The amount that is deducted depends on the nature of the work of the organisation. For instance an organization that sends medical teams into a response is likely to have much higher operating costs than one that does logistics and relies on partners to do more of the on-the-ground response. So looking at what an organization achieves with its funding gives a better picture of its work than looking at financial information alone.
How can people find out more about how to help when a disaster strikes?
If people want to find out how to help when an emergency strikes the best way is to check which agencies that are working in that response in order to donate to current appeals. In addition CIDI (Centre for International Disaster Information) http://www.cidi.org/ has links to how to donate in responses. Similarly most NGO consortiums such as ACFID (in Australia) https://acfid.asn.au/get-involved/contribute-appeal and NDRF (in New Zealand) http://www.ndrf.org.nz/emergencies/current-emergencies/ have guidance on how to donate. Based on these thoughts how can we better message to prevent UBDs coming and manage them should they arrive? These are a couple of the question I am looking forward to discussing with colleagues and partners at the Humanitarian Networks & Partnerships Week!
Based on these thoughts how can we better message to prevent UBDs coming and manage them should they arrive?
These are a couple of the question I am looking forward to discussing with colleagues and partners at the Humanitarian Networks & Partnerships Week!
Example of UBDs arrived in Vanuatu after Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015
Credit: Vanuatu NDMO