Humanitarian Access; Not So Much

Published August 13, 2009 @ 08:09AM PT

Humanitarian access is a rather straightforward concept - really nothing more than the ability of aid agencies to reach those most in need. Which, needless to say, is a good thing.

Unless, of course, you're a somewhat deranged dictator (hello, Bobby Mugabe), or a run-of-the-mill repressive regime (say Sudan, or Ethiopia), or a bunch of sociopathic insurgents (here's looking at you, Taliban and Al Shabaab).

To be fair, it's rather easy to believe that life-saving aid is, well, optional when you're not the one relying on such aid. No one has ever accused dictators or insurgents of an over-abundance of empathy. As the man once said: sois mon frère ou je te tue.

So, without further ado:

- In the not-so-surprising category: "Zimbabwe: Mugabe threatens to ban NGOs again".

- Speaking of repressive regimes, Sudan not only expelled and disbanded sixteen NGOs in March, but also happily extorted money along the way.

- Now, in an impressive effort to one-up its neighbor, Ethiopia just suspended the work of forty-two (mostly local) NGOs. [N.B. The article mentions MSF, but in fact MSF is still operating in the country.]

- Meanwhile, Pakistan has made a valiant effort to claim the title of "country with the least humanitarian access" - IRIN reports that aid work in the country is "hard hit by insecurity", as agencies scale back operations in both the Northwest Frontier Province and Balochistan.

- Yet anything Pakistan can do, Afghanistan can do better - according to Voice of America, sixty percent of Afghanistan is insecure for aid workers.

- Of course, nothing quite beats Somalia, where last year more aid workers were killed than anywhere else. Just recently, Action Against Hunger announced that it might cease operations in Somalia following the kidnapping and release of four of its staff.

- Then again, a lack of funds is just as debilitating as any crazed armed group. The World Food Program has announced that it might have to cut back its humanitarian air service in Chad, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea if it doesn't raise more funds. The humanitarian air service is often the only way for aid workers to reach remote locations in war-torn (or semi-almost-war-torn) countries.

[Photo of Taliban from open.salon.com/blog/ohdannyboy]

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Author

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.