Missing Pieces? Assessing the Impact of Humanitarian Reform in Pakistan

With regard to the scale and speed of the response, Oxfam’s analysis
reveals that late and insufficient donor contributions prevented
humanitarian agencies from responding on a scale that would have met
the actual needs of affected communities. Oxfam, for example, had to
dramatically revise its initial response plan after failing to receive
sufficient donor funding, and was thereby forced to exclude 30,000
families (or more than 200,000 people) from receiving emergency water,
sanitation and non-food items during the first three months of the
response. Using various operational examples, this paper demonstrates
that an overall lack of early funding for the Pakistan crisis resulted in
fewer people receiving emergency assistance, and for a limited range of
needs. An eventual increase of donor funds to the Pakistan
Humanitarian Response Plan and other emergency activities reflected a
gradual acknowledgement on the part of donors of the scale of
humanitarian needs created by Pakistan’s displacement crisis.