Enhancing the Impact of Humanitarian Relief
Since its founding, InterAction has provided member organizations with coordination, consultation and advocacy services to strengthen NGOs’ disaster response and relief capabilities and effectiveness. Major humanitarian crises in which InterAction has played a key role include:
Ethiopian Famine, 1984
InterAction members played a leading role in the American response to one of the most devastating famines to affect Africa in modern times. InterAction helped coordinate high-profile outreach activities, which prompted a very generous response from the American public.
Somalian Famine, 1991–1993
InterAction is credited by some authorities with playing a lead role in the call for U.S. humanitarian intervention as hundreds of thousands of Somalis perished in a famine brought on by civil war and banditry. Member organizations were prominent in the subsequent relief activities that saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Somalis.
Rwandan Genocide, 1994
InterAction members rushed to the assistance of the million-plus refugees who poured out of Rwanda into neighboring countries and were caught up in a health crisis that resulted in the death of an estimated 50,000 refugees in eastern Congo. Lessons drawn from the inadequate response of the humanitarian community led to many reforms in which InterAction played a significant, and sometimes lead, part.
Hurricane Mitch, 1998
InterAction helped members coordinate their responses to the huge hurricane that devastated the Honduras and Nicaragua and the organization also worked closely with the administration to facilitate private contributions to NGO relief activities. In the aftermath, InterAction undertook a public education campaign on appropriate donations policy to try to avoid repetition of the well-intended but inappropriate donations that clogged relief supply lines.
Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2004
The American public contributed $ 1.6 billion to InterAction members for their response to this regional disaster. Given the magnitude of the trust placed in the membership, InterAction collected and published three detailed reports on how the money was being spent by its members in the affected countries.
Hurricane Katrina, 2005
In an exception to its usual policy of responding only to foreign disasters, InterAction assisted members trying to bring their foreign experience to bear in the massive but chaotic relief activities following the hurricane that sent millions fleeing northward from the Mississippi Delta. Member organizations’ impact was limited by the resistance of many authorities to outside help.
