Rethinking humanitarian issues for more effective aid

The humanitarian sector is changing at a speed and on a scale that are unprecedented. In their reports, the United Nations, the Red Cross Movement and NGOs agree on the global trends that threaten the aid system: demographic growth (overpopulation, urbanization, migration), resource scarcity, inadequacy of the international financial system, geopolitical changes, climate upheavals. The United Nations actually predicts a doubling of the population in the "target humanitarian" countries between 1990 and 2025. The proliferation of the players, their geographic diversification, and the growing weight of new sectors (military, religious, private) augers a derationalization of the system. These factors also reflect an increasingly firm grip over the projects by the traditional beneficiary countries. And the politicization of aid is complicating the understanding of the projects and exacerbating the pressures that weigh on professionals and volunteers.

Organizing interactive seminars on sustainable humanitarian aid

Current events demonstrate that the sector is looking for answers and seeks to organize urgently to contend with a lack of anticipation. Between 2010 and 2013, many publications have reported doubts about the future of the humanitarian sector and the effectiveness of aid. To try to provide answers and solutions, the Red Cross Fund plans to organize interactive research seminars on sustainable humanitarian aid in the target countries (Burkina Faso, , Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Haiti and Laos) starting in November 2014. These seminars, deliberately planned on a small scale, and in French, are aimed to initiate and foster a direct and local dialogue between players, beneficiaries and researchers of the humanitarian sector. They will also promote the differentiation between international humanitarian action, development policies and local charitable projects. To do this, and to ensure that humanitarian aid is as effective as possible, they question the concepts, strategies and humanitarian impacts at the junction of outlooks, disciplines and experiences. The seminar scheduled in November 2014, in Dakar, Senegal, is entitled "Humanitarian Transition and Ethics: Outlook and prospects".