Charities have been criticised for oversimplifying aid delivery in Somalia to raise money. Should aid agencies better communicate nuanced messages about the relief effort? Tell us what you think
As the UN warns warns that famine is spreading across Somalia, putting up to 750,000 people at risk of death over the next four months, aid agencies are being criticised for misleading the public and "glossing over" the complex realities of delivering aid inside the war-torn country.
But how honest can aid agencies be? At a time of limited attention spans and tightened wallets, are simple messages necessary to spur public donations for the ongoing humanitarian response? We want to know what you think.
At the weekend, the international president of M�decins Sans Fronti�res (MSF), Dr Unni Karunakara, criticised aid organisations and the media for oversimplifying the complexities of delivering aid in Somalia.
"There is an unrealistic expectation being peddled that you give your �50 and suddenly those people are going to have food to eat. Well, no. We need that �50, yes; we will spend it with integrity. But people need to understand the reality of the challenges in delivering that aid. We don't have the right to hide it from people; we have a responsibility to engage the public with the truth," said Karunakara.
Ian Bray, a spokesman for Oxfam, responded: "We don't go around to people saying we have a magic wand, give us �5 and we will make Africa feed itself. We do say give us �5 and we won't use it to give you a history of Somalia, but we will use our expertise to save lives. This is what the bargain is we make with our donors. If you support us, we will do our level best to alleviate the distress for those people in most dire need."
Meanwhile, writing in the Globe and Mail, Thomas Keneally said perhaps "greater honesty about human blame is slowing the response" to the current crisis. "The vigour and enthusiasm that came into play in the west's reaction to the Ethiopian famines of the early 1980s has not yet appeared," he wrote, suggesting that reports emphasising the "man-made" character of the famine (versus the "natural" character of the drought) have actually contributed to the so-far meagre response to the many charity and UN appeals.
The UN has estimated that $2.5bn is needed for the humanitarian response both in Somalia and in the broader region. But funds have been slow to come in: as of this Monday, the response was still facing a shortfall of just under $1bn.
Karunakara's comments sparked discussion on Twitter. Below are a few tweets which show some of the responses to New York University's Bill Easterly as he promoted the article and got into a dialogue with Ian Bray:
@wanderingreader: @bill_easterly "Give us money & we'll feed Africa" is better for fundraising than "Give us money but we're still pretty much screwed"
@Davidalexl: @bill_easterly whilst aid organisations must be held to account, even if they are flawed doing something is better than doing nothing at all
@proinfrastruct: @bill_easterly Mailboxes full of letters from Aid charities claiming "boots on the ground". Donors need to ask for truth and demand proof.
@thejoeturner :@economeager @IanOxfam @bill_easterly does it matter as long as it is getting to someone that needs help?
@IanOxfam: @thejoeturner @bill_easterly difficult 2 know how many unreached 100s of 1000s big challenge 2 scale up fast enough
@thejoeturner: seems to me the main difference between @ianoxfam and @bill_easterly is over whether we can admit that "our best" isn't "good enough".
So what do you think? Are charities being honest enough about their work in Somalia? Should aid agencies be doing more to communicate nuanced messages about the relief effort? Or should they focus on what they do best ? raising and spending money?
Let us know what you think. And, as always, if you have any problems posting, or if you would prefer to comment anonymously, email us at development@guardian.co.uk and we'll add your thoughts.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/sep/06/talk-point-ngos-simple-aid-messages
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