Towards Better Humanitarian Donorship: 12 Lessons from DAC Peer Reviews

Humanitarian action – saving lives, alleviating suffering and maintaining human dignity during and in the aftermath of crises – remains a clear priority for DAC donors. Over USD 11.2 billion of public funds were disbursed as humanitarian aid in 20091 by the 24 members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), representing nearly 9% of the total allocation for official development assistance (ODA). Volumes are important, of course, but it is the quality and effectiveness of development assistance that the DAC peer reviews seek to assess and improve.

Humanitarian donors have had to learn and evolve as they face each of these challenges. The DAC peer reviews have noted many areas of improvement and innovation as donors – each with their own individual reality and comparative advantage – seek to implement the principles for Good Humanitarian Donorship as best they can. In the process, a broad set of 12 lessons, and a corresponding set of good practices, have come to light, and these are outlined in this publication. Donors are also learning that there are some areas – supporting co-ordination, promoting protection and standardised reporting, for example – where individual efforts are not enough, and they must work together to achieve results. The GHD group’s work towards overcoming these challenges will remain important, alongside the DAC’s continued support for efforts to promote better humanitarian donorship.