Spotlight on: Get up and NGO

The work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is founded on humanitarian principles that few people would want to question. Although public faith in many other public organisations has declined in the past few decades, a recent report by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations says that charities are still trusted and respected.1 NGOs are perceived as efficient, in touch with the needs of the populations they serve, and necessary to fill voids in state services. This image attracts many medical students who wish to work in health services in developing countries. However, the same organisations have been the target of criticism--described both as “an unruly mélange”2 and “badly out of control… [characterised by] gross naivety and amateurism.”3

NGOs encompass a huge diversity of organisations, but tend to have two features in common--they are mainly independent of governments or inter-governmental agencies, such as the United Nations, and principally have humanitarian rather than commercial interests. They have usually evolved from one of three historical traditions--religious, Dunantist, and Wilsonian.