Neglected Emergencies

For more information, contact Robyn Shepherd

For the past two years, it seems that natural disasters are always in the media spotlight. From the Indian Ocean tsunami to Hurricane Katrina, to the Pakistan earthquake, we have seen pictures of devastation and human suffering that have sparked generous reactions from the public.

Though these natural disasters seem to be happening more often, they are isolated events in which most of the human deaths occur in the first 24 hours; the majority of the response is psychosocial programming, reconstruction and economic recovery activity. However, in many places in the world, there are on-going humanitarian emergencies caused by human conflict, killing people occurring over an extended period of time.

These crises are often long-term in nature and require political intervention to be resolved. They are often difficult to describe to the general public and may not capture the world’s attention in the same way as a natural disaster. How does one show pictures of villagers dying silently in a Congolese forest or illustrate in words the destruction of the family structure in northern Uganda due to child abductions and long-term displacement? Download this issue of Monday Developments!

Resources

Democratic Republic of Congo: An Overview

How CARE is Responding in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Nepal: An Overview

Uganda: An Overview

West Africa: High Vulnerability Persists During Political Transition