ALNAP: Where to Now? Agency Expulsions in Sudan: Consequences and Next Steps

On 4 March, the government of Sudan expelled 13 international NGOs and revoked the licences of three national NGOs. In all, 7,610 aid workers have been directly affected in Northern Sudan (including Darfur), where these agencies accounted for 40% of aid workers, delivering more than half the total amount of aid. NGO services – access to water, health and medical services, food rations – have been jeopardised. Assistance to Darfur 's 2.7 million-plus displaced people has been severely compromised, and a number of health-related crisis are already emerging. In the Three Areas, the repercussions of these expulsions could undermine the gains made in realising the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). In Eastern Sudan , the expulsion of these agencies has deprived the region of critical food, livelihoods and medical assistance.

This joint ALNAP-HPG paper focuses on the recent expulsion of NGOs from Sudan. The paper provides a snapshot of what expelled aid agencies were doing at the time of their departure; where they were based and the type of assistance they were providing. It outlines the immediate implications of the expulsions including issues around contingency plans, remote working capacities and the challenge of scaling up operations to make up for the shortfall in services. The paper then suggests ways forward for the UN system, donors and international NGOs.

You can download the paper from the ALNAP website.

An experience of cash transfer programming in Somalia

From Vasco Pyjama.

'...in theory, our method for selecting beneficiaries was picture perfect. Theoretically speaking, we should have got the poorest third of households in each village. ... The donor loved our beneficiary selection methodology. They even told other NGOS to use the same methodology.

In practice, I'm not sure what happened. Last October, during my final trip to Somalia, I went out to talk to beneficiaries the day before the cash payment was due. "What will you do with the money you earnt?", I asked. Invariably, they told me that they would share it with another three to five households. Typically, four others. Apparently, people said that the amount of money was so large (EUR50) and the need within the community was great. They did not feel that one family should be entitled to the grant. So they would share it five ways. Each family receiving a measley sum of EUR10. Just enough to buy a sack of sorghum, and that's all.

I was furious! Our careful targeting was a waste of time! Plus, I was convinced that the elders were placing pressure on the poor to share their money. But a colleague pointed out a few valuable points to me. Somali culture, she said, was sophisticated and nuanced in its coping mechanisms and sharing of resources. The fact that the poor families shared this precious cash probably meant that, later on, they could call on the other four households to support them in lean times. And perhaps, this way, even though they 'gave away' EUR40, they essentially leverage much more in future support. Or perhaps, they were just bullied and their money taken away.'

Tufts: Afghanistan: Humanitarianism under Threat

by Antonio Donini

This briefing paper is an update of a 2006 study on perceptions of humanitarian action in Afghanistan, which was part of the Humanitarian Agenda 2015 research program. The paper highlights critical issues affecting the provision of humanitarian action and suggests how they could, at least partially, be redressed.

Building on data collected through interviews in the aid community as well as with ordinary Afghans, the briefing paper finds that humanitarianism is under deep threat in Afghanistan because of the perceived association of aid agencies with the US-led intervention. Humanitarian actors and the principles they profess are under attack. The ability of humanitarian agencies to address urgent need is compromised by internal and external factors, i.e., both by the organization and modus operandi of aid agencies on the ground, and by an extremely volatile and dangerous operating environment.

The aid community in Afghanistan faces severe challenges that need to be urgently addressed so that civilians in need can be protected and assisted and the credibility of the humanitarian enterprise restored. Opportunities for more principled humanitarian action, by separating or insulating it from political and military agendas, should not be missed. Failure to do so will have dire consequences for Afghans and for the future of humanitarianism worldwide.

View or download the report from the Tufts website.

MICROCON Working paper: Migration, Displacement and Refugees

RWP10: Consumption Growth, Household Splits and Civil War - Ana María Ibáñez and Andrés Moya

Internal conflicts entail large asset losses for certain segments in the civilian population. Asset losses may compromise the future welfare of households, thus leaving a legacy of structural poverty that is difficult to overcome. The purpose of this article is to analyze how asset losses occur during internal conflicts and the process of asset accumulation following the initial shock. To do this, we concentrate on a particularly vulnerable group of victims of war—the displaced population in Colombia.

The results indicate that recuperating asset losses or accumulating new assets is a rare event; only 25 percent of households are able to recover their original asset base, while asset ownership still seems insufficient for overcoming poverty. In addition, displaced households do not catch up even as settlement at destination sites consolidates. Therefore, unless a positive intervention is implemented, displaced households become locked in a low income trajectory, and are unlikely to leap forward to a high return asset level.

Download the Paper as a pdf from the Microcon website.

BRC Sierra Leone Child Advocacy Programme

BRC Bangladesh DP Programme

BRC video: Bangladesh Recovery programme