Non-Governmental
Agencies (NGOs), Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs), and International
Organizations (IOs)*
Read: HA Multiservice Procedures for Humanitarian Assistance
Operations: FM 100-23-1
By definition, NGOs and PVOs must be non-profit,
receive at least some of their funding from private sources, and work in
international aid.
Some NGOs and PVOs (with the ICRC a notable
exception) will cross borders without the approval of the host nations, and may
be critical of atrocities. Many
NGOs are involved in helping the people of developing nations before disasters
occur, which is often helpful in enabling relief efforts during emergencies. They are also often willing to make long term commitments to communities,
helping them rebuild. Some of the
better known NGOs, PVOs and IOs are:
| American Council for Voluntary
International Action (INTERACTION)
|
The American Council for Voluntary
International Action (INTERACTION) is a broadly based coalition of 152
American PVOs that work in international development, refugee assistance,
public policy, and education of Americans about third world nations. Since
1984, INTERACTION has also played a significant role in disaster
preparedness and response to disasters. It exists to complement and
enhance the effectiveness of its member organizations and the private and
voluntary agency as a whole. A grant from OFDA has helped this
organization establish a professional forum for cooperation, joint
planning, and exchange of information when a disaster occurs. However, it
is unlikely that INTERACTION will operate within the country in need of
assistance. Its work is executed in the US and is organized to maintain an
effective liaison with USAID/OFDA. It acts as a coordinator at the staff
level in meeting within the country in need. |
| American Friends of Action
International Contre La Faire (AICF) |
American Friends of Action International
Contre La Faire (AICF) promote development efforts and provide
emergency assistance in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. AICF focuses on
primary health care, potable water, environmental sanitation, and
agricultural based, income-generating projects. Its most basic commitment
is to enhance local capacities at both community and central levels. |
| American Red Cross
|
The American Red Cross is a network of local
Red Cross organizations provide prompt assistance in emergencies,
including food, shelter, and first aid. The national Red Cross coordinates
efforts with a variety of government, medical, and charity organizations
to provide comprehensive disaster relief. |
| Catholic Relief Services
|
Catholic Relief Services provides
direct aid to the poor, and tries to involve them in their own
development. In emergencies,
it is often focused on providing trucks or other transportation to deliver
food to people. It also provides non-food items such as blankets, cooking
utensils, and seeds. It operates relief, welfare, and self-help programs
in 74 countries to assist refugees, war victims, and other needy people.
CRS emphasizes the distribution of food and clothing and the provision of
primary health care. Its capability to provide technical assistance and
social services has steadily increased in recent years. |
| Cooperative
for American Relief Everywhere (CARE)
|
Cooperative
for American Relief Everywhere (CARE), founded after World War II to
enable Americans to help the people of Europe and Asia. Provides relief to
tens of millions worldwide every year, including logistics, food aid, and
camp management in humanitarian emergencies. |
| Doctors
Without Borders |
Doctors
Without Borders is the
world's largest independent international medical relief agency, provides
aid to victims of armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made
disasters. Medicins Saris Frontiers (MSF) provides medical assistance to
victims of disasters, accidents, and wars. The US organization is closely
associated with its counterparts in Belgium, Holland, Spain, and France.
Medical relief teams respond to more than 700 missions yearly to areas of
conflict, refugee camps, national disaster sites, and areas lacking
adequate health care facilities. Its particular area of expertise is
emergency medicine, vaccinations, and basic hygiene services. |
| The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) |
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a unique
NGO, since it alone is mandated by international law, namely the Geneva
Code of 1949.
It has both the right and the duty to intervene across borders in
both national and international conflicts.
The ICRC maintains neutrality in all instances, enabling it to
carry out its mission unarmed in war zones. They therefore will refuse any participation that could be
interpreted as partial to one side, including transportation from one
side’s vehicles. They therefore
maintain their own transportation (including airlift), communication, and
logistics.
Unfortunately, this has not helped them in recent years—the
neutrality agreements were refused in the Iran-Iraq war, as well as in
civil wars in Afghanistan and Sudan, and ICRC workers were murdered in
Chechnya. The ICRC monitors
the treatment of Prisoners of War, and brokers relief assistance during
war. |
| The International Medical Corps
(IMC) |
The International Medical Corps (IMC) provides health care and establishes health training programs in
developing countries and distressed areas worldwide. IMC specializes in
areas where few other relief organizations operate. IMC's goal is to
promote self sufficiency through health education and training. Its
particular areas of expertise are immunizations and primary health care. |
| International Rescue Committee
(IRC) |
Founded
in 1933, the International Rescue Committee provides relief,
protection, and resettlement services for victims of complex emergencies.
The IRC assists refugees and internally displaced victims of war and civil
strife. Services range from emergency relief and assistance programs to
refugee resettlement in the United States. IRC monitors human services,
delivery, and refugee processing for US resettlement. IRC can provide
emergency medical support, public health, and small-scale water and
sanitation capabilities. |
| Irish Concern |
Irish Concern is one of the foreign
NGOs that receives funding from USAID/OFDA. Its primary area of expertise
is supplementary and therapeutic feeding and sanitation. |
| Lutheran World Relief |
Lutheran World Relief, Incorporated (LWR)
provides financial, material, and personnel support, usually through
counterpart church-related agencies in the areas of disaster relief,
refugee assistance, and social and economic development. LWR is also a
provider of health care. |
| Oxford (UK) Committee for Famine
Relief
|
Oxford (UK) Committee for Famine Relief: An international group of 11 autonomous Oxfam NGOs focused on eradicating
poverty. Provides food, water
and sanitation in humanitarian emergencies. |
| Save
the Children |
Save
the Children gives emergency relief assistance to children and families, coordinating with
other NGOs. Also focuses on education, rehabilitation, and development of
infrastructure to improve longterm food supply. |
| Save the Children
Federation/United Kingdom (SCF/UK) |
Save the Children Federation/United Kingdom
(SCF/UK) programs are guided by a set of principles, which include
identifying project goals and implementing projects, transferring
necessary skills, encouraging self-help, and using available resources.
This organization is more relief oriented than its US counterpart. It
concentrates on providing supplementary feeding, seeds and tools, and
general infrastructure. |
| United Nations Department of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNDHA) |
The United Nations Department of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNDHA) was established by the secretary-general
early in 1992 with a mission to coordinate international HA efforts. UNDHA
is intended to mobilize and coordinate international disaster relief,
promote disaster mitigation (through the provision of advisory services
and technical assistance), and promote awareness, information exchange,
and the transfer of knowledge on disaster-related matters. UNDHA is
responsible for maintaining contact with disaster management entities and
emergency services worldwide and mobilizing specialized resources. The
appointed UNDHA emergency coordinator has a crucial role in providing
leadership to the UN team at the country level. UNDHA also coordinates
with locally represented NGOs, PVOs, and IOs, as required. The emergency
coordinator convenes the UN disaster management team (DMT) at country
level, seeking unity of effort among all relief agencies. |
| United Nations Development
Program |
United Nations Development Program: A
high probability exists that UNDP representatives will be in country prior
to the crisis. UNDP promotes the incorporation of disaster mitigation in
development planning and funds technical assistance for all aspects of
disaster management. A UNDP senior member is the coordinator for UN
agencies, much as an ambassador is the coordinator for all US agencies in
a country during a humanitarian crisis. The UNDP also provides
administrative assistance support to the UNDHA coordinator and to the
UNDMT. |
| United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) |
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is an organization also involved in long-range programs. It provides
technical advice in reducing vulnerability and helps in the rehabilitation
of agriculture, livestock, and fisheries. The organization emphasizes
local food production. It also monitors food production, exports, and
imports and forecasts any requirements for exceptional food assistance. |
| United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees |
United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees: Responsibility for coordinating the response of the UN
system to a refugee emergency normally rests with the UNHCR. In certain
cases, the secretary-general may make special arrangements. Upon request
of the secretary-general, UNHCR provides assistance to internally
displaced persons. Governments are responsible for the security and safety
of, assistance to, and law and order among refugees on their territory.
UNHCR provides material assistance to refugees at the request of
governments. |
| United Nations International
Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) |
The United Nations International Children's
Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is a relief-oriented organization. It attends
to the well-being of children and pregnant and lactating mothers,
especially child health, nutrition, and water. The activities of this
organization may include social programs, child feeding (in collaboration
with WFP), potable water, sanitation, and direct health intervention (in
coordination with the World Health Organization [WHO]). UNICEF provides
material assistance, related management, logistical support and technical
assistance. |
| Volunteers for Technical Assistance (VITA)
|
Volunteers for Technical Assistance (VITA) provides
the use of communications technologies in emergencies, including a low-earth orbiting satellite, a series of independent
short-wave packet radio systems, and an electronic message delivery system that uses existing telephone
networks. |
| World Food Program (WFP) |
The World Food Program (WFP) is the operational relief-oriented UN
organization. It provides general food rations, feeding programs, and
supplemental feeding activities to support rehabilitation, reconstruction,
and risk-reducing development programs. Targeted food aid is directed
toward special segments of the population. WFP mobilizes and coordinates
the delivery of food aid from bilateral and other sources. |
| World Health Organization (WHO) |
The World Health Organization (WHO) is an organization involved
more in long-range programs. It provides advice and assistance in all
aspects of preventive and curative health care. This assistance includes
the preparedness of health services for rapid response to disasters. |
| World
Relief |
World
Relief provides assistance through local churches in both natural
disasters and complex emergencies. |
| World Vision
|
World Vision provides food and other
assistance such as blankets, clothing, and seeds, in emergencies. World
Vision Relief and Development, Incorporated (WVRD or World Vision)
provides cash, gifts in-kind, services in-kind, and technical resources
for large-scale relief/rehabilitation, and development projects in over 90
countries throughout the world. Development programs include child
survival, vitamin A distribution, prosthetics/handicap child development,
and AIDS rehabilitation prevention and education. |
What can you provide to NGOs, either as part of a UN
peacekeeping force, a multinational effort, or simply the U.S. military?
While NGOs can serve many valuable roles, as outlined
above, they are often reliant on the military, or the UN and its agencies, for
assistance in such areas as security, transportation to the field or remote
sites, communications, and sustaining logistical support for their own
personnel. The military provides
tremendous assets in crises, including:
· Speed: able to rapidly
deploy many resources
· Security
· Transportation: an
unparalleled variety and number of land, air, and naval craft
· Command, control, and
communication: well-organized, defined chain of command and leadership
· Logistics: able to
maintain supply lines in all environments
· Specialty Units,
including
o Deployable Field
Hospitals, mobile surgical teams, and rapid evacuation capability
o Preventive medicine
teams and field laboratories—able to perform rapid epidemiologic assessments,
vector control, field and water sanitation, and disease surveillance
o Engineers, to repair or
build key infrastructural elements
o Civil Affairs, to
assist with establishing order and necessary infrastructure
On a case-by-case basis, military authorities may provide some of this
support to the NGOs. Further guidance can be found in Multiservice Procedures for Humanitarian Assistance
Operations: FM 100-23-1.
*Reprinted from: Operational Medicine 2001, Health
Care in Military Settings, NAVMED P-5139, May 1, 2001, Bureau
of Medicine and Surgery, Department of the Navy, 2300 E Street NW, Washington,
D.C., 20372-5300 |
