The Political Repercussions of Emergency Programs

Author(s)
Fawcett, J and Tanner, V.
Publication language
English
Pages
242pp
Date published
01 Apr 2000
Type
Research, reports and studies
Keywords
Conflict, violence & peace, Development & humanitarian aid, Funding and donors, Protection, human rights & security, System-wide performance
Countries
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Organisations
USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA)
The document presents a very complete case study that centers on the experience of OFDA in former Yugoslavia to show some of the nuts and bolts of the politicization of humanitarian aid. 
 
In order to document this unique experience, OFDA hired a Washington DC-based firm, Checchi and Company Consulting, to conduct a one-year review of its activities in the former Yugoslavia. The scope of work requested -he review team to conduct a case study that would:
  • Identify key phases and decision points in the former Yugoslavia crisis and options faced by BHRIOFDA and other key players in mitigating the crisis.
  • Elaborate on BHR/0FDA7s operational approaches in responding to the dangers ofthe crisis and relief efforts.
  • Examine the institutional role of BHRIOFDA in the overall network of providing relief to the former Yugoslavia.
  • Capture lessons learned and provide recommendations of benefit to BHRIOFDA when responding to future international relief efforts.
Specifically, the case-study was to examine OFDA's internal effectiveness, review US government inter-agency cooperation and OFDA's relationship with other institutions (e.g., American embassies, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, and so on), and situate OFDA's response within the wider framework of the international relief operation.