Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Assistance; Final Research Report

Author(s)
Maxwell, D., et al.
Publication language
English
Pages
42pp
Date published
01 Jan 2008
Type
Research, reports and studies
Keywords
Accountability and Participation, Accountability to affected populations (AAP), Disaster preparedness, resilience and risk reduction
Organisations
Tufts University

Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Assistance documents perceptions of corruption in humanitarian operations through interviews with staff of several leading international humanitarian NGOs. The study was commissioned by Transparency International (TI) and conducted jointly by the Feinstein International Center, the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute in London, and TI.

The report finds that humanitarian agencies providing vital relief are aware of corruption risks and have developed a range of policies and practices to prevent it. However, the definition of corruption tends to remain narrowly focused on financial fraud, and the humanitarian community at large has not yet addressed this problem in a comprehensive manner. Humanitarian aid providers would benefit from wider and more systematic exchange on new approaches and best practices, including evaluating their effectiveness in mitigating corruption.