The origins of many Northern development NGOs lie in providing emergency relief in disasters. There have been distinct generations of NGOs founded around various crises, starting with the relief for millions of refugees and displaced people in Europe after World War II. Since the earliest days of humanitarian action, as it is now known, NGOs have recognised that simply handing out emergency aid in a crisis is an inadequate response. It tackles the symptoms but not the underlying causes. As a result, many of these NGOs have looked beyond the immediate disasters and moved towards development as their main concern.
This edition of ontrac explores the issues NGOs face as they engage in humanitarian action, drawing on case studies from different regions of the world. Miguel Ángel Prieto traces the emergence of the Spanish development NGO sector, which has been based on an ‘intermediary’ NGO model. Responding to humanitarian emergencies has thus been a relatively new trend in recent years. Catalina Gómez of the CABILICA Fund reflects on the experiences which Central American NGOs faced in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch. In particular, she highlights the ways in which the emergency period changed these NGOs and brought new challenges to them as organisations. Vicky Brehm presents the Malawi NGO Consortium model and the way in which it responded to the food crisis in Malawi in 2002.
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ONTRAC 27. Picking up the Pieces? Humanitarian Action and Development in Transition
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ONTRAC 27. Picking up the Pieces? Humanitarian Action and Development in Transition. Chinese
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ONTRAC 27. Picking up the Pieces? Humanitarian Action and Development in Transition. French
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ONTRAC 27. Picking up the Pieces? Humanitarian Action and Development in Transition. Portugese
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ONTRAC 27. Picking up the Pieces? Humanitarian Action and Development in Transition. Russian
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ONTRAC 27. Picking up the Pieces? Humanitarian Action and Development in Transition. Spanish
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