Smoke and mirrors: deficiencies in disaster funding

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7485.247

BMJ 2005;330:247-250 (29 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7485.247

Education and debate

Smoke and mirrors: deficiencies in disaster funding

Peter Walker, director¹, Ben Wisner, research fellow², Jennifer Leaning, professor of international health³, Larry Minear, director, humanitarianism and war project¹

¹ Feinstein International Famine Center, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Medford MA 02155, USA, ² Crisis States Programme, Development Studies Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science, London WC2A 2AE, ³ Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Correspondence to: P Walker peter.walker@tufts.edu

Disasters such as the recent tsunami, which derail developmentcan no longer be viewed as short term blips from which societyreadily recovers

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Introduction

The headline concern for the tsunami victims, living and dead,will be with us for a few weeks; by contrast, their need forassistance and reform will stretch over decades. Huge sums havebeen pledged in aid and a bold commitment made to build an IndianOcean tsunami warning system. But, if past is precedent, onlya fraction of recent pledges will materialise and the alreadyoverdue warning system will remain a pipe dream for the affectedcommunities. The headlines rightly applaud the compassionateoutpouring of the public around the world but fail to questionthe logic of promoting one-off giving from individuals ratherthan sustained involvement by governments. Disasters are partof normality, and if we are to have a longlasting effect weneed to rethink the way aid is delivered and invest in developmentto help minimise the effects of natural phenomena.

Record on delivering aid

The pledging of $5bn (£2.6bn, ${euro}$ 3.8bn) . . . [Full text of this article]

Monitoring donations

Meeting longer term needs

Disasters are increasing

Reforming disaster management

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