Comments on: Haiti earthquake relief seems less cost-effective than everyday international aid

by: Holden

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:17:31 +0000

Aram, you’re right that pledges are different from gifts, but note that the most recent Chronicle tally has close to $1 billion reported in actual revenue just by U.S. charities. I’m not sure I follow you re: crowding out local efforts - as we discussed in this post, infrastructure may be a serious bottleneck and it definitely seems possible for aid to “get in the way.”

by: Andrew

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:25:48 +0000

Perhaps a bit off-topic, but I wonder how much latent guilt is involved in the American response to the Haitian quake. Perhaps almost none, given that most Americans probably have little or no familiarity with our proud history with the Haitian people. But I can’t see the valiant Anderson Cooper reporting on CNN Heroes: Saving Haiti without thinking just a bit about the mentality underlying some of the attention.

by: Andrew

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:16:55 +0000

In addition to the heart-rending images, I wonder how much donors are motivated to give to disaster relief because the challenge feels easier to comprehend and “solve” than something systemic like “poverty.” Disaster victims need food/water/shelter/basic health care. Buy them, bring them in, and you’re done. Of course, this isn’t the case at all: disaster relief is quite complicated and presumably at risk of massive waste and inefficiency.

by: aram

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 09:58:26 +0000

Your larger point is credible, but there are two caveats you should mention.

1. “Pledged” is very different from “donated.” What fraction of that $1.2B do you think it likely to materalize?

2. One advantage of disaster/crisis relief is that, at least in the short-term, there is little risk of crowding out local efforts. Duplication is another story, of course.

by: Sam Gardner

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 06:37:05 +0000

While this is blatantly true, and has been known for a long time in the sector, this is just not how human moral compass works: we don help our depressive,suicidal neighbor, but do rush to his help when his house burns.

Also, in disaster reaction, preparedness is way underrated. In the Caribbean, there are regular hurricanes, and the ‘prepared’countries have so much less victims.