By Debbie Andalo
Guardian
January 27, 2005
The UN today backed a call from Oxfam to develop an accreditation system for aid agencies working in the tsunami disaster region. Oxfam made the proposal following its claim that some aid agencies were hampering relief efforts because their staff lacked appropriate skills and were failing to consult local communities about the help they needed.
The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), based in Geneva, agreed it was a good idea to introduce an accreditation system for aid agencies and other non-governmental organisations working in disaster areas. The OCHA, which helps to coordinate humanitarian relief efforts between international aid agencies and national governments, said anything that improves such coordination was welcome.
A spokeswoman said: "Why not have a system if it improves the coordination so long as it doesn't hinder the delivery of assistance." The office agreed with comments made by Oxfam that some small organisations and individuals working alone in the tsunami region lacked experience of disaster relief.
But the spokeswoman said: "In any major emergency or natural disaster there are a lot of small charitable groups or NGOs who arrive with no experience, but who want to help. Sometimes they are more of a burden than a help but we have to see where we can fit them in. We do our best to get these people on board. It is not a criticism of them because these people are full of goodwill."
The Disasters Emergency Committee, the charity umbrella organisation that manages national relief appeals and distributes the money to its charity members, said the Oxfam report raised important concerns. Brendan Gormley, the DEC chief executive, said: "Effective delivery of aid is, of course, vitally important, and Oxfam's stress on local consultation has proven essential in past emergencies." But he said the specific criticisms made by Oxfam about the relief effort were better dealt with by the individual members of the DEC.
Oxfam's comments about the competence of some of the relief agencies in the tsunami disaster zone appear in its report called Learning the Lessons of the Tsunami: One Month On.
