Why has the flow of aid money and humanitarian relief been so slow to Pakistan to help its flood victims, versus the huge amounts of aid that went to Haiti after its earthquake? A number of news outlets have looked at that question, including the Christian Science Monitor, PRI’s The World, and NPR.

It’s the NGO’s annual State of the World’s Mothers report and it’s just out and available here from Save the Children. A cause being important and worthy, and a product about it, such as this report, coming from a well-regarded organization, doesn’t mean journalists and others will automatically give them attention. Advocates who want attention [...]

I got the following press release this morning from the International Crisis Group, which points out the continued, bloody existence of the Lord’s Resistance Army. As much as I respect the crisis group, the conclusions in its new report aren’t new at all. The LRA has been a regional menace for years. Think tanks and humanitarian groups [...]

Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Myanmar — there still are crises in these countries and others around the world requiring a slice of attention. Even as the urgency of Haiti clearly rises to the top of the agenda, as I’ve said before, the world must be able to multitask on humanitarian situations. Look to Thomson Reuters Foundation [...]

Here’s the link to a Haiti update from IRIN, the news service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. While the story on that links refers to one situation, the page has links to other reports as well.

I couldn’t find a live link to this USA Today story that was in Monday’s edition. So here it is:
Aid Frustration: ‘We’re racing against the clock’: Thousands waiting for food, water, medical care
By Marisol Bello and Donna Leinwand
PETIONVILLE, Haiti — Haitian physician Reginald Lubin wanted to help earthquake victims at a hospital in this suburb [...]

I mentioned in a previous post that NGOs should work and play well with the US military in Haiti relief operations because it has the capacity to do certain parts of the work, such as logistics. NGOs have reservations about this, as outlined in this 2006 article from Doctors Without Borders. Some concern is understandable, [...]

 This piece from the U.N. news service describes some of the challenges facing the relief effort in Haiti. - Carolyn

HAITI: Bottlenecks slow aid delivery
PORT-AU-PRINCE, 17 January 2010 (IRIN) - Haiti’s tiny international airport has been overwhelmed by the international response to the earthquake disaster, clogging up the emergency effort, according to aid workers.
 
“The airport in [...]

I  just saw a report on CBS news’ Sunday morning (the best-written news show on TV, incidentally) that said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had arrived in Port-au-Prince and asked Gen. Douglas Fraser, the commander of the US operation in Haiti, why supplies and personnel couldn’t be parachuted, or air dropped, into needy areas. Others also [...]

I highly recommend watching Wide Angle’s program, on PBS, about what has happened to the children of Myanmar since Cylcone Nargis hit. The people there, especially youngsters, are struggling mightily with little help from the government. This issue, and others involving Myanmar’s treatment of its people, need to stay on the U.S. radar. Granted, sanctions to pressure [...]