Humanitarian Aid resources. HOW YOU CAN HELP. Emergencies - Helping People back from the brink. Humanitarian Aid. 'Disaster after the disaster': Unwanted donations. MOUNT LAUREL, N.J.
(AP) — Superstorm Sandy has brought out generosity far and wide in the biggest U.S. relief effort for the American Red Cross and other groups since Hurricane Katrina swamped the Gulf Coast in 2005. And while the response is heartwarming, some of that is also helping create a "second disaster after the disaster," in the words of one expert. It's a common quandary after natural disasters displace lots of people and destroy homes and possessions. Relief groups need very specific things, along with cash and organization. Instead, they get vases and vacuum cleaners, or interference from well-intentioned volunteers who think they're helping but are just hindering efforts. "It's really been a lot of stuff really affecting the disaster site," said James McGowan, the associate director of partnerships at the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, who made the "second disaster" analogy.
View gallery "They have a lot of everything; they need food. Don’t send second-hand goods. 30/11/2013 at 7:00 pm As Irish aid agencies’ emergency response teams work to assist victims of the typhoon in the Philippines, Dóchas is asking members of the public to give money, rather than send goods to the Philippines.
The call came as Dóchas announced that donations from the Irish public to relief efforts in the Philippines had reached a total of €4 million. “Every donation is making a difference to people in desperate need. The people of Ireland have once again shown their generosity in the face of human suffering,” said Hans Zomer, Director of Dóchas. “However, with over 14 million people affected, 1.2 million housed damaged or destroyed, and more than 3 million men, women and children displaced and in need of aid, the humanitarian situation in areas devastated by the typhoon is still catastrophic. Volunteers stack up donations at a Red Cross relief station in Teresopolis, Brazil on January 19, 2011. Also read these excellent articles:
Analysis and Background. Humanitarian Aid & Accountability. Agencies. HIV and emergencies - the data quandary. Men fell to back of line in a food distribution queue in Haiti MSM unable to access food rations in Haiti Targeted services critical for MARPs during emergencies Hard to quantify vulnerability to HIV Little funding for HIV in emergency settings KATHMANDU, 7 August 2013 (IRIN) - More information about groups vulnerable to HIV infection during emergencies - including those labelled “most at-risk populations” (MARPs) - is needed to improve humanitarian HIV programming, experts say.
“In tense situations where everyone is watching everyone else to see what other people get their hands on, social stigma and stratification are intensified and MARPs may experience heightened versions of whatever forces were marginalizing them to begin with,” Gary Jones, security and humanitarian adviser for the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), told IRIN. MARPs include men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers and their clients, and people who inject drugs (IDUs). Treatment access Risk multiplies. Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Management. Disability and Development.