International Humanitarian Aid Webinar

We will be holding an online panel discussion on the International Humanitarian Aid system on December 16 at 10:00 a.m. New York time.In times of conflict and natural disaster, all people have a right to humanitarian assistance, particularly the most vulnerable and those living in extreme poverty. Yet too often, the way that assistance is delivered bypasses those very people – and in some cases even exacerbates the problems it is designed to address.In Haiti, after the 2010 earthquake, in the midst of one of the largest outpourings of international humanitarian assistance in history, some of the most vulnerable communities in Port-au-Prince received no humanitarian aid. In the words of Haitian writer Dany Laferrière, despite all that international support, “[W]hat saved the city is the energy of the poorest. Thanks to them, Port-au-Prince remained alive.”In 2012, in Maban county in South Sudan, another well-funded international response with an active presence on the ground led only to inefficient actions and alarmingly high mortality rates in refugee camps built for the purpose of keeping people safe. As Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported in an analysis of several refugee situations, in times of crisis “[refugee] Status was the principal determinant of assistance, rather than need or vulnerability.”And in 2014, as the conflict in Syria brings more and more shocking stories of human suffering to the world’s attention each day, with a report from the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP) quoting recipients of humanitarian assistance calling aid distribution “humiliating,” accusing agencies of a lack of transparency and unresponsiveness, not explaining “what seem to be arbitrary decisions.”With the World Humanitarian Summit scheduled to convene in Istanbul in 2016, the time is right to assess the humanitarian aid system, to ask how humanitarian aid can better reach those who most need it.

You are invited to join this discussion.

On December 16, 2014, ATD Fourth World will host an online panel discussion exploring the problems with international humanitarian aid. What is wrong with international humanitarian aid? How does this impact the most vulnerable people? What sort of reforms would be necessary to fix it?To register, visit: http://bit.ly/brokenaid

Participants:

Moderator: Elizabeth Gibbons

Elizabeth is currently a Visiting Scientist and Senior Fellow at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. Elizabeth Gibbons enjoyed a lengthy career in the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). During her career, she worked in social development and humanitarian affairs with postings in Togo, Kenya and Zimbabwe, and served as head of UNICEF’s offices in Haiti and in Guatemala. She also served as strategic regional advisor to UNICEF’s Haiti operations, following the devastating earthquake of 2010, and held several positions in UNICEF’s New York Headquarters, including Acting Director,  Emergency Operations; Chief, Global Policy and Deputy Director,  Division of Policy and Practice.  A graduate of Smith College and Columbia University, Elizabeth D. Gibbons is the author of Sanctions in Haiti:  Human Rights and Democracy under Assault, and a contributing author to several other books.

Diana Skelton

Diana is Deputy Director General of ATD Fourth World International.  As part of ATD’s full-time Volunteer Corps since 1986, she has lived and worked in low-income neighborhoods in New York and Madagascar. Since 2008 she has been based at ATD’s international center in France. From there, her work brings her around the world to consult with people living in extreme poverty and visit local ATD Fourth World teams. Author in 2004 of How Poverty Separates Parents and Children and in 2014 of Artisans of Peace Overcoming Poverty. 

Michael Delaney

Michael has led Oxfam America’s humanitarian response to all emergencies during the past 13 years, including the 2004 tsunami, earthquakes in Pakistan and El Salvador, Hurricane Mitch in Central America, food crises and conflicts in West Africa, Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and emergencies in Ethiopia and Sudan. He also works with Oxfam International (OI) to manage and direct the organization’s global resources for all aspects of emergency response in more than 120 countries. OI is the international confederation of 14 Oxfam organizations, of which Oxfam America is a member. Prior to being named director of humanitarian response, Delaney was Oxfam America's regional manager for Latin America and the Caribbean, responsible for overseeing the organization’s development projects in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Before joining Oxfam America in 1990, he spent five years in Central America and Mexico working with refugee populations and promoting grassroots development initiatives in war-torn El Salvador. He also coordinated disaster relief efforts following the devastating 1986 earthquake in San Salvador as part of this role. Delaney has been interviewed by a number of outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, and NPR.

Dayna Brown

Dayna is the Director of The Listening Program at CDA. She began her career in international development as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya over 20 years ago, and has managed humanitarian, peacebuilding and development programs for Mercy Corps, Habitat for Humanity and the US government. Dayna has lived and worked in Indonesia, Kenya, Kosovo, and Tanzania, and has undertaken short-term assignments in many other countries. She is co-author, along with Mary B. Anderson and Isabella Jean, of Time to Listen: Hearing from People on the Receiving End of International Aid.   Brown received a Master of Arts degree in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University in 1998, and has a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Texas Christian University. She is also the proud, busy mother of two young daughters.

Sean Healy

Sean is currently a Humanitarian Adviser for Médecins Sans Frontières United Kingdom, in which capacity he conducts research and analysis into humanitarian issues. In a 12-year career in humanitarianism, he has worked with MSF and the Australian Red Cross, in both headquarters and field, including Burundi, Kashmir, Balochistan, Lao PDR and Tibet SAR. His current work focuses on a number of themes, including displacement and population movement, emergency response in the humanitarian system, negotiated humanitarian access in conflict zones, and the development of field operational leadership. He was the co-author, with Sandrine Tiller, of the MSF’s report, Where is Everyone?, which critiqued inadequate responses to emergencies in a number of contexts.