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Relief refers to the provision of essential, appropriate and
timely humanitarian assistance to those affected by a disaster,
based on an initial rapid assessment of needs and designed
to contribute effectively and speedily to their early recovery.
It consists of the delivery of a specific quantity and quality
of goods to a quantified group of beneficiaries, according
to selection criteria that identify actual needs and the groups
that are least able to provide them for themselves.
The Red
Cross or Red Crescent National Societies through their
presence in the communities are the front line providers of
relief. The International Federation
brings all its resources together to ensure relief is provided
as rapidly as possible.
Relief can be sub-divided into three categories:
- Food:
Food supplies are frequently part of the Red
Cross/Red Crescent response to emergencies. However, it
is essential in each situation to first establish that
food supply is a correct response and then that the composition
is defined and described after an adequate comprehensive
survey. In every instance it is necessary to ensure that
food donations are culturally and nutritionally appropriate
for the affected population and that the costs of their
purchase, transportation, storage and distribution is
kept to a minimum.
Food assistance will not be needed where disasters have
no major effect on food stocks or crops, or where the
effect is very localised, and when people are able to
draw on their own savings or food reserves. There are
three main types of food assistance for the most common
situations:
- Short-term assistance.
The need for short-term food relief, rapidly followed
by rehabilitation and development activities, is
typical of many “sudden” disasters,
including floods, earthquakes, high winds, fires,
pest attacks, short-term civil disturbances etc.
Food stocks can be destroyed, normal food supply
and marketing systems disrupted, and crops damaged
or lost. The aid might be required for only a few
days – which is the case with many earthquakes
– or up to the next harvest, when subsistence
farmers and agricultural labourers have totally
lost food stocks and crops;
- Deferred assistance.
Assistance deferred – until just before the
next harvest, for example – will be the case
following events which have damaged but not totally
destroyed crops or food stocks, as in many floods,
storms and localised droughts;
- Long-term assistance.
Here, assistance is provided over a long period
and combines both relief and self-reliance development
activities. Over time, the balance shifts progressively
away from relief. This type of assistance applies
to emergencies due to successive crop failures and
most situations involving refugees or displaced
people.
The balance between relief and more
productive applications of food assistance, and the rate
at which the balance can be shifted towards the latter,
depends on many factors. These include the initial health
and nutritional condition of the people, the possibilities
for growing food or engaging in other income generating
activities, government policies, security situation etc.
For more information please consult the International
Federation food security and nutrition policy
- Shelter:
Shelter is a critical determinant for survival
in the initial stages of a disaster. Beyond survival,
shelter is necessary for security and personal safety,
protection from the elements and resistance to ill health
and disease. Shelter assistance is provided to individual
households for the repair or construction of dwellings
or the settlement of displaced households within existing
accommodation or communities. When it is not possible
to provide individual shelter, collective shelter is provided
in suitable large public buildings or structures, such
as warehouses, halls or barracks, or in temporary planned
or self-settled camps.
- Non-food
items: When people have lost everything in
a disaster, they require basic and culturally appropriate
goods and supplies to maintain their health, privacy and
dignity, to meet their personal hygiene needs, to prepare
and eat food and to achieve necessary levels of thermal
comfort. These might include clothing, blankets, bedding,
stoves and kitchen sets, water containers and hygiene
products.
Cash and voucher programmes:
Although the type of emergency assistance
required after a disaster is often fairly easy to identify
(for instance, earthquake, flood and hurricane victims
almost always need emergency shelter), how it is delivered
to the intended beneficiaries can make a huge difference
to their level of vulnerability, by allowing them to gain
more control of their lives and improving their survival
chances. Large-scale emergency response often relies heavily
on the channelling of emergency aid from outside the affected
area, requiring significant logistics, infrastructure
and human resources. Sometimes this can increase vulnerability
by stifling local coping mechanisms (for example, by fostering
dependency) and undermining local markets. In some cases,
urgently needed relief items can be bought locally and
do not have to be brought in from outside.
In certain circumstances, therefore,
a more appropriate, efficient and effective way of delivering
emergency aid might be to distribute vouchers (to be exchanged
for a limited range of essential items) or even cash to
victims of disasters, where local markets are able to
provide the required items. This method of assistance
has the advantages of being
- relatively inexpensive to implement
(hence more money can go directly to the beneficiaries);
- more flexible for the beneficiaries,
since they can choose what to spend the money on;
- supportive of the local economy.
In practice, voucher or cash programmes
can have drawbacks. The distribution of cash presents
security risks for both the distributing agency and the
recipient. Such programmes are most secure where recipients
have a bank account (not always the case in many countries).
In addition, the cash or voucher must be given to the
right person in the family to ensure it is used for essential
purchases. The control of family resources is a social,
cultural, religious and gender issue, which needs to be
taken into account in the planning of voucher or cash
programmes. Voucher programmes usually take a certain
amount of time to set up administratively, making them
of limited use at the beginning of the emergency phase.
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Disaster management
