How to create an aidworkers briefing kit

Reliefweb is one of the main repositories of aid news. One of the lesser-known features of Reliefweb is briefing kit creator, an handy pre-mission informationtool.

The briefing kit creates your own overview of a humanitarian situation in a particular country or emergency operation, and puts it all in a single PDF file. You can select the information on basis of the country, the type of information (appeals, assessments, field reports,...), the source of the data (NGOs, government,...), the sector (agriculture, food, refugees,...).

The data includes situation reports, press releases, maps and other information, which can be generated and downloaded on the spot, or can be made in the background, and emailed to you after it is generated.

Here is a video explaining it all:



And of course, while you are on mission, continue to check Humanitarian News. With a simple search you'll get the latest articles on your interested subjects from over 600 different hand-selected information sources. You can even create your own RSS feed based on your search criteria.

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Humanitarian aid and the power of the media

During major humanitarian crises, 13 British charities often raise money jointly under an umbrella organisation called the Disasters Emergencies Committee (DEC), with appeals shown on all the major television networks.

But the DEC had its fingers burned when the BBC and Sky decline to cooperate on its last appeal for the Gaza conflict, fearing the media's involvement would compromise their political neutrality as news organisations, a story we reported previously on The Road.

The consequence of the BBC's Gaza decision seems to have a deeper impact then we anticipated: it was a precedent of how the media could "make or break" a humanitarian appeal effort. The Gaza media incident spilled over into the current humanitarian catastrophes in Sri Lanka and Pakistan as now DEC is still contemplating whether or not to launch appeals for Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

"The issue is whether the broadcasters will support an appeal and my impression is that they won't, for perceived reasons of (aid) access in either case, and for perceived reasons of political complexity in either case." (Full)

So, let me get this straight: because the media decide not to provide coverage for an appeal, a humanitarian organisation decides NOT to launch an appeal? Eh? Would that make DEC's decision not to appeal for Sri Lanka and Pakistan as revolting as the BBC's decision not to provide media coverage for the appeal? Are soon humanitarian organisations 'picking and choosing' which operations to support, based on 'the possible support by the media'?

Current balance: Humanitarian organisations' resources already stretched because of the current economic crisis, are left close to depleted. Not because the need was not there - Pakistan's war in Swat Valley uprooted close to 3 million people - but because of lack of support and attention from the media.

The phenomenon is known amongst aidworkers as "The CNN Effect": If an emergency gets the spotlight on CNN, humanitarian wheels start rolling. If it is not featured on CNN, the emergency is forgotten and hushed in a corner. You might just as well not start an emergency operation if you feel you won't be able to fundraise for it, right?

Which turns the Rupert Murdochs and Ted Turners of this world the Gods deciding between life and death for thousands.

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The Red Cross is 150 years young.

A counselor listens to a rape victim at an ICRC-supported "listening house" one of numerous such sanctuaries near the fighting in the DRC where victims can receive medical support and emotional support.

On 24 June 1859, during the War of Italian Unification, Franco-Sardinian forces clashed with Austrian troops near the small town of Solferino in northern Italy. More than nine thousand wounded took refuge in the village of Castiglione, lying dispersed and unattended.

On that day, a gentleman by the name of Henry Dunant, a citizen of Geneva, Switzerland, was travelling in the area. He was shaken by the human suffering, resulting from the war. He mobilized a small army himself. An army of local volunteers, mostly women to care for the wounded, wash and dress their wounds, and to provide shelter and basic food.

In 1862 he published a book entitled "A Memory of Solferino", in which he described the battle and the wounded of the Chiesa Maggiore, concluding with a question:

"Would it not be possible, in time of peace and quiet, to form relief societies for the purpose of having care given to the wounded in wartime by zealous, devoted and thoroughly qualified volunteers?"

That question would set the basic principle of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which is now to the largest humanitarian network in the world.

Dunant also asked the military authorities of various countries another basic question:

..whether they could formulate "(...) some international principle, sanctioned by a convention and inviolate in character, which, once agreed upon and ratified, might constitute the basis for societies for the relief of the wounded in the different European countries?".

This second question was the basis for The Geneva Conventions.

2009 marks 150th anniversary of the battle of Solferino and the 60th anniversary of the four Geneva Conventions. To put these anniversaries into the spotlight, the Red Cross Movement has launched a campaign, Our World. Your Move, to remind everyone of our individual responsibility to lessen human suffering.

The photography exhibition "Our World at War," scheduled to tour 41 countries, is one of the events of this campaign. Life magazine features several of the pictures.

Picture courtesy Ron Haviv (ICRC - VII)

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Rumble: Knowing when to duck

A report released by the UN last month documented 490 attacks on UN offices, convoys, and premises between July 2007 and June this year, resulting in the deaths of 26 staff.

At least 63 NGO (non-governmental organizations) aid workers were murdered during the same period. (Full)

WFP released this video showing the security challenges aid workers face:



More on The Road about aid workers

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News: Situation worsens for Somali children

Few foreign governments have shown much interest in trying to end Somalia’s woes. Diplomats charged with trying to do so are frustrated and depressed.

Meanwhile the suffering is mounting. The UN reckons 3.2m Somalis now survive on food aid. (Full)



More posts on The Road about Somalia, Africa and WFP

Video courtesy Worldfocus

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News: 1 million people fled Somalia in 2008 alone

Over 1 million people fled Somalia in 2008. 2.6 million Somalis - 35% of the population - now need humanitarian assistance, while one in six children under the age of five is malnourished. (Full)

More on The Road about Somalia, aid work and Somalia and humanitarian issues

Discovered via Humanitarian Relief and AidBlogs

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News: Humanitarian airlift to China

The boys and girls from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) have been busy the past weeks.

There were several airlifts of relief goods into Myanmar, and since a week, relief agencies requested for the shipment of humanitarian goods to China, in support of the earthquake disaster.

Yesterday and last night, an Airbus 310 from Skycargo (Emirates Airlines) was loaded with relief goods from the Italian Civil Protection. Contrary to the normal practices, the plane was parked on the civilian side of Brindisi airport, so all goods had to be trucked to other side of the airport. All stuff is fixed on special pallets before being weighed and loaded onto the plane.

The cargo consisted of family tents and a full field hospital from the Italian Civil Protection, one of the agencies that stores their goods at the UNHRD depots in Brindisi.

The loading crew was ready at 2 am and the plane took off a few hours later. Next stop: China earthquake zone.

Pictures courtesy Lucien Jaggi (WFP/UNHRD)

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News: Humanitarian airlift to Myanmar

I am back in Brindisi.

I am sure you have seen the news of humanitarian relief goods being flown into Myanmar to assist with the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. I bet all of that footage was on the Myanmar side...
Those first relief flights actually all originated from here, from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Brindisi.

Here are some pictures from the first relief flights into Myanmar on May 10th. This particular flight had cargo from OCHA and Irish Aid, containing water purification units, moskito nets, blankets, kitchen sets, tarpaulins and water storage containers.

View the picture slide show of this airlift.



Pictures courtesy Fulvio Pirato (UNHRD/WFP)

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News: From Cyclone Sidr to Cyclone Nargis - an aidworker's perspective

An aidworker from Oxfam explains how the immediate effect of the cyclone devastation is only the beginning of misery for those affected.

Those on the ground (in Myanmar) are estimating that at least 100,000 people were killed by the storm. The numbers are devastating, each one of them painfully reminding me what a difference an investment into disaster preparedness and early warning systems — like those that have been implemented in Bangladesh — could have made for the families in Myanmar.

Surface water that people are used to drinking is likely to be contaminated not only by dead bodies and livestock carcasses, but also human and animal waste spread by floodwaters and overflowing latrines. The weather forecast for this week predicts more heavy rain, and even a new storm approaching the cyclone-affected area. With people’s resistance to disease already weakened after days of living in overcrowded conditions without food and proper roofs over their heads, the children and elderly are likely to be among the worst affected.

Even once the floodwaters recede, they will leave behind a fertile breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes — bringing with them deadly threats like malaria and dengue fever (dengue season in Myanmar runs from May to October, the country had a major outbreak only last year). And I haven’t even begun to think about the psychological and emotional trauma that the storm has left behind. (Full)

Picture courtesy New York Times.

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News: Myanmar - begging to aid or forcing to aid?

From the UN press briefing in Geneva on May 13:

The UN Secretary-General registered his deep concern —and immense frustration— at the unacceptably slow response to the grave humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. They were at a critical point, and unless more aid got into the country —very quickly— the people faced an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dwarf today’s crisis. The Secretary_General called, in the most strenuous terms, on the Government of Myanmar to put its people’s lives first. It must do all that it could to prevent this disaster from becoming even more serious.

From the same briefing:

Rupert Colville of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, responding to a question on the fact that it was strange that the Human Rights Council would be holding a Special Session on the global food crisis, but not on the current situation in Myanmar, said (..) there had been discussion to some extent on the possibility of talking about Myanmar, but the Council had a very full programme, including the Universal Periodic Review, so it was a pretty packed schedule at the moment and it would be difficult to fit (the issue of Myanmar human rights) in.

What do we read in this? Is the international community "begging to aid"? But not "forcing to aid" by stating more explicitely that a regime denying its citizens the "right to sufficient and effective aid" is a violation of human rights? Up to what level is this morally and ethically acceptable?

Picture courtesy AP (New York Times)

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Picture of the day: Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar

Almost a week after Cyclone Nargis inundated Myanmar’s densely settled coast, wiped out villages and left untold tens of thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless, the first two United Nations flights carrying relief supplies arrived in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, on Thursday. (Full)

More "Pictures of the Day" on the Road.

Picture courtesy Andy Newman (New York Times)

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News: Sudan - From the 1994 famine to five years of Darfur. What is the solution?

This photo by Kevin Carter won the “Pulitzer Prize” in 1994 and became a symbol of the Sudan famine at the time. The picture depicts stricken girl crawling towards an United Nations camp, located a kilometer away. The vulture is waiting for the child to die so that it can eat her.
This picture shocked the whole world. No one -including the photographer- knows what happened to the child.

Here is the story behind the picture:

In 1993 Carter headed north of the border with [his colleague] Silva to photograph the rebel movement in famine-stricken Sudan. To make the trip, Carter had taken a leave from the Weekly Mail and borrowed money for the air fare. Immediately after their plane ) touched down in the village of Ayod, Carter began snapping photos of famine victims. Seeking relief from the sight of masses of people starving to death, he wandered into the open bush. He heard a soft, high-pitched whimpering and saw a tiny girl trying to make her way to the feeding center. As he crouched to photograph her, a vulture landed in view. Careful not to disturb the bird, he positioned himself for the best possible image. He would later say he waited about 20 minutes, hoping the vulture would spread its wings. It did not, and after he took his photographs, he chased the bird away and watched as the little girl resumed her struggle. Afterward he sat under a tree, lit a cigarette, talked to God and cried. "He was depressed afterward," Silva recalls. "He kept saying he wanted to hug his daughter." (Full story)

Three months later Kevin Carter committed suicide.

This was Sudan in 1994. We are now 2008. Five years into Sudan's Darfur conflict. The humanitarian situation is just as desperate. Maybe with less famine, but with just as much despair, as I wrote in several posts about Darfur over the past year.

Many, including celebrities like George Clooney (watch his video diary), Mia Farrow (Pictures and video), Angelina Jolie (Articles), Steven Spielberg (Article) and others have done efforts to raise the awareness over the problems in Darfur.

There are groupings like the "Save Darfur Coalition", an alliance of over 180 advocacy and humanitarian organizations representing 130 million people, and the Darfur Genocide movement. Amesty International created Eyes on Darfur.

Numerous fundraising websites (like The Darfur Wall), campaigning, video advocacy and education , awareness sites and Online Info Centers were created.

Musicians made songs like Living Darfur. And there is even a game (Darfur is Dying) created to advocate the Darfur issues.

Public pressure was raised against the countries in alliance with the Sudan government, focusing lately on China and its hosting of the Olympics.

Athletes, normal citizens, students, food lovers and bloggers on a global and a local level united to raise awareness and increase pressure on the Sudanese government.

You can buy items online through Yahoo! to show your support and you can even see how each US legislator scores on his or her support for Darfur.

Many governments responded with pressure on Sudan and several UN resolutions condemned the Darfur genocide (Overview).

The African Union sent troops, and UN Peacekeepers were deployed, eventually merging into one, called UNAMID.

And still, despite all of this, peace talks have failed to get off the ground, the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission will not be fully deployed for months to come, and two-thirds of Darfur's population is dependent on the world's largest aid operation.

"The situation is not better than it was five years ago," says Auriol Miller, head of Oxfam in Sudan. "We would still say the situation is getting worse. Humanitarian workers are being targeted and attacked (see this post) in a way that has got increasingly worse over the last few years."

A BBC reporter recently wrote:

"When I last visited the remote, arid region in November, destitute refugees lined up at the Abu Shouk camp, desperate to tell their stories so the world could find out what had happened to them.

They spoke of toddlers being burnt alive in villages as men on horseback razed their houses to the ground; of women being raped as they fled their homes looking for safety in the early stages of the conflict.

At night, people said they still found it hard to sleep - terrified of being killed while in their beds. (Full)

So, if everything else fails, what helps? What is the solution for Darfur? What is the solution for Sudan?


More posts on The Road, about Darfur and Sudan.

Pictures courtesy Worldfamousphotos.com and WFP.
What set me thinking: Iqbal Latif

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Rumble: Water for the Toposa in South Sudan

Meet the Toposa people. These traditional herdsmen live in a remote area on the shared borders of Uganda, Kenya and Sudan. Their tribe is called "Karamojong" in Uganda, "Turkana" in Kenya (an area stretching from the Rift Valley to Lokichoggio) and "Toposa" in Sudan (from Lokichoggio to Narus and Kapoeta, in the eastern Juba).

They live the life as it once was. Clothing is optional in their "country". If they have a cloth, serves the whole village, used when travelling outside the community.

Their life is centered in function of their cattle. Their cattle is their life. Traditional diet is cow blood mixed with a sort of cassava.

The family and tribe has a patriarchical system: Toposa men take decisions on behalf of the family or tribes in meetings where women and children are kept at a distance while the men discuss the people’s affairs. Tradition has it that important matters are decided in the early hours of the morning before sunrise.



Last year, the Toposa in South Sudan faced drought, cutting not only their water supplies, but also their food production. Only delivering food aid was not enough, so we started trucking in water with the food.
It was clear that a more permanent solution was to be found, to provide them with water, a rare item in the Toposaland.



This solution was to dig a bor hole, where they could pump water from an underground well. We trucked in the mechanical pump, and connected it to a small plastic storage tank. A low cost, low tech but also low maintenance solution.




Aid with a permanent impact...

This post was written as follow-up to a previous one: World Water Day: One billion people without clean water.

Pictures courtesy Constance Lewanika (WFP), with a special thanks to Cyprien Hiniolwa.

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News: The cost of saving the planet: US$190 billion.

What would it cost to wipe out world poverty, guarantee universal health care, stabilise population growth and roll back the ravages of global warming?

About $190 billion a year, or the equivalent of a third of U.S. annual military expenditure, says Lester Brown, a prominent environmental economist, in his new book.

"Once you accept that climate change, population growth, spreading water shortages, rising food prices are threats to our security, it changes your whole way of thinking about how you use public resources."

From eradicating adult illiteracy to restoring fisheries and stabilising water tables, the head of the Earth Policy Institute think tank in Washington calculates the cost of saving civilisation in a new edition of his best-selling "Plan B". (Full)

Thanks to "E" for the link. Picture courtesy Michael Huggins (WFP).
Source: International Aid Workers Today.

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News: Mozambique Cyclone Jokwe Flooding

Mozambique continues to suffer from excessive rain fall this season. Last month, it was Cyclone Ivan, last week it was Cyclone Jokwe.

It looks like the prediction we made early January unfortunately came true. In an earlier post, I showed pictures of the flooding from January.

Here is a pictorial update from the relief operation on the ground, by Joakim Kembro, one of our colleagues who just returned from Caia in Mozambique.

This is why we do this work:




Moving food relief by barges and by air:





Anyone who thinks we live and work in poshy offices, think again...:




Actual food distributions:




Nice sunsets are an added bonus:



Click on the collage for the slide show:


Pictures courtesy Joakim Kembro

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News: Cyclone Ivan in Madagascar

Cyclone Ivan hit the Northeastern coast of Madagascar Feb 17, as a category 3 cyclone with winds measuring up to 200km/hour. The storm was followed by considerable rainfall, causing quite some flooding. (Latest news)

The picture shows flooded rice fields in Alaotra Mangoro, near Lac Alaotra, the main region for rice production in Madagascar. 14,200 hectares are flooded in this region.

Click on the collage for a slide show of the pictures:


Pictures courtesy Maherisoa Rakotonirainy and Nicolas Babu (WFP). Thanks for the link, Kirsi!

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News: Bangladesh Not Recovered from Cyclone Sidr

Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh on November 15 last year, causing massive flooding in the world's 7th most populated country. After the initial response, this emergency disappeared from the world's TV screens, as emergencies often do. And they should not. The effects of natural disasters like the flooding of this size are far more profound than merely the dead to be burried, the homeless to be sheltered, and the sick to be cured.

A massive amount of farmland was flooded (553,000 hectares to be exact) by the surge waters and rains, a large part of the rice crop was destroyed. Rice being Bangladesh's staple food, the "real emergency effects" start to surfice now through the food shortages. Rice prices have shot up. Aid agencies are bringing in over half a million ton of rice.

But this time, I don't want to talk much about these massive aid operations. I wanted to show you one thing that I found while browsing on the topic of Cyclone Sidr: how one individual tried to make a difference, with the tools he has at his disposal, answering the question people often as us, aid workers: "How can *I* make a difference?" Well, here is an example how one can:

An article about Sidr's relief efforts I found in Globalvoices, pointed me to Vlogger Shawn's Uncultured Project. Shawn is a 26 year old former graduate student from the University of Notre Dame. After a presentation about the "This generation's home work to end poverty", he was inspired to go to Bangladesh for a self-funded project to see what difference HE could make in helping some of the world's worst off under the motto: "Are we doing enough to make a the world a better place?" Here is his video story:

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News: Floods At Start of Southern Africa's Rainy Season

Floods in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia are affecting at least 16,000 people, possibly of thousands more. We are only at the start of Southern Africa's rainy season, which typically lasts from November to April. This year, as happened in 2007, floods are occurring earlier than usual in some countries. Let's hope we are not heading for a new regional emergency as happened one year ago. (full report and news article)

Picture (2007 Mozambique floods) courtesy BBC. Source: The Other World News

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News: 2007 One of the "Deadliest Years" for UN staff

At least 42 United Nations staff members were killed on duty in 2007, with the killing of 17 staff members in Algiers on 11 December capping off one of the deadliest years ever. (full post)
And that is just UN staff. There must be at least that many for the other humanitarian organisations.
Even only this week, there was a USaid staff member killed in Sudan, and an ACF staff murdered in Burundi.

Picture courtesy BBC World. Source: The Other World News

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The Driver's License

During my security briefing in Khartoum prior to my deployment into South Sudan, I was reminded that international staff are not supposed to drive and therefore no local driving licence is required. “Local drivers speak the local language. They know the local driving customs and terrain. They know where to run for help if need be.” This is what I was told. “Fair enough, something less to worry about,” I thought.

A few days later, I arrive in my new Southern Sudan duty station and receive a warm welcome from one of our local drivers…. For the rest of the week, I end up without any drivers. I am the only one in the office who knows how to drive. The nice chap who picked me up from the airstrip seemed to have disappeared and all other drivers are on field missions. I assume the policy “to always use a driver” was more of a “general guideline”. “Maybe I should start thinking of a driving licence. Just in case…”, I think.

It is a thought that recurs when one of the young drivers comes back from his walk-about. I ask him why he had disappeared for a week without permission:
- “Nothing special.” he tells me, “A chap wanted to marry my younger sister, but couldn’t afford the dowry of 35 cows we’d negotiated. So, he decided to kidnap my sister. My family and I chased them up. We –euh—‘renegotiated’ the dowry and they’ll soon be married,” he concludes, nodding with a satisfied smile.
- “So, do you have more unmarried sisters?” I ask.
- “Three more” he says.
- “Good for you. That is a lot of cows!”, I compliment him
As I walk away, I am thinking to myself: “I really, really need to get me a driving licence!”.

The next time I visit the regional capital, Juba, I fill in the application for a local driving license.
- “Not a problem, sir!” says our Juba head driver. “You only need to pass an eye test!”
He takes me to a place which looks nowhere like a hospital or even a place where they practice medicine... He explains this is where eye tests are carried out. A middle-aged lady takes me to an empty room. Our head driver and the lady exchange a few words in the local language. She fills in a form, stamps it and gives me the receipt.
- “Let’s go, sir!”, the head driver announces abruptly.
- “How about my eye test?” I protest.
- “It’s all done, sir! She looked into your eyes and didn’t see anything wrong.”

A few days later, I am the proud owner of a legal Sudanese driver’s license. Now I can drive legally, while my drivers are out chasing their future brothers-in-laws.. Procedures are followed, my eyes are fine and life is good.


Story by Enrico Pausilli. Edited by “E” and Peter Casier
Pictures courtesy Ulrik Pedersen

Continue reading The Road to the Horizon's Ebook, jump to the Reader's Digest of The Road.

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