Toronto Star: “Pakistan’s aid lesson”

20/09/2010

Toronto Star editorial exposes some lessons from Pakistan Relief efforts in Canada.

Published in the Toronto Star on Friday, September 17, 2010 (link here )

"By any standard, Canadians are lagging in the drive to help Pakistan’s desperate flood victims. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has pledged more than $40 million and has made the welcome decision to extend its program to match private donations until Oct. 3. But private donors have been less generous, with around $10 million pledged to date.

Contrast that with Pakistan’s great need. The UN is seeking $460 million in urgent aid, and billions will be needed to rebuild the country.

Canada’s tepid response is a far cry from our prompt generosity in other disasters, including the Haiti earthquake and Asian tsunami. And while donor fatigue, summer distraction and nagging fears that aid might be wasted have been cited to explain the sluggish response, there may be another factor at work, as well.

Britain’s 13 major aid agencies, including the Red Cross, Oxfam, Christian relief groups, Save the Children and Islamic Relief are simply doing a better job of reaching out to the public. Back in 1963 British agencies banded together under a Disasters Emergency Committee umbrella to pool their efforts and galvanize public support on major crises. With help from the media, banks, phone and postal services, their dynamic outreach efforts are paying off. Alerted to the crisis, British donors are responding.

It’s a model that several leading Canadian aid agencies adopted five years ago, on a smaller scale. CARE Canada, Save the Children, Oxfam Canada and Oxfam-Quebec agreed to pool their efforts as the Humanitarian Coalition to respond to the most serious crises. They’ve been helped by CTVglobemedia, Astral media, eBay and PayPal. In the case of Pakistan, they are helping more than a million people. But the British experience suggests that far more could be achieved.

When moved, Canadians are a compassionate people. But as Pakistan’s crisis is showing, that compassion can’t be taken as a given."

 

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The following Letter to the Editor was sent in response to the Toronto Star on Monday, September 20, 2010:

To the Editor,

Re “Pakistan’s aid lesson” Sept. 17 – It is very gratifying to see more and more Canadians, and Canadian media, recognizing the value of what our organizations have been trying to accomplish through the Humanitarian Coalition. As Federal Minister John Baird recently put it, Canadians are known for their “legendary generosity.” By combining our efforts during global emergencies like the Haiti earthquake and the Pakistan floods we are making it easier for Canadians to be generous, and assuring their generosity is used in the most effective way possible to help those in need. We did want to note that in your editorial you missed one key partner who has played a major role in helping us to help the people of Pakistan: the CBC. The work the CBC has done to first of all make Canadians aware of the disaster in Pakistan through their reporting, and secondly through the visibility they have given to the Humanitarian Coalition, is directly responsible for significantly increasing the level of donations from Canadians these past few weeks. The CBC has our gratitude, and we hope in future emergencies we will see other media partners come on board and work together with us as they have. Likewise, as Canadians and the Canadian media show a growing appreciation for what the Humanitarian Coalition represents, we hope other Canadian humanitarian organizations will also see the interests of both Canadians and the people affected by disasters are best served by standing together in times of need, not standing apart.

Kevin McCort, President and CEO, CARE Canada
Robert Fox, Executive Director, Oxfam Canada
Pierre Véronneau, Directeur général, Oxfam-Québec
David Morley, President and CEO, Save the Children Canada