Humanitarian Organizations Unite to Improve Emergency Response
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invests in more rapid, effective relief operations

ATLANTA (March 18, 2005) - In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, seven of the world's leading humanitarian organizations are collaborating to expand the pool of qualified aid workers, helping address key shortages in skills.

The Emergency Capacity-Building Initiative, funded with a grant of $5.18 million over two years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, aims to combine the agencies' collective knowledge and experience to improve the speed, quality and effectiveness of emergency response.

The grant will help humanitarian organizations hire and train personnel who can lead rebuilding efforts in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, replacing emergency workers who now have to return to their usual duties in other countries. Most new staff will be citizens of the countries in which they work.

The partnering organizations of the Emergency Capacity-Building Initiative are CARE, Catholic Relief Services, the International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, Oxfam GB, Save the Children Federation and World Vision International.

"Many people responded to our call for experts in water, sanitation, and shelter reconstruction, and they offer great technical skills," said John Palien, manager of human resources operations at Catholic Relief Services, a member of the coalition. "The problem is that most do not have international experience and very, very few have prior experience in disaster contexts such as this one."

The initiative will invest in mechanisms to build capacity of local staff and more rapidly deploy them in times of crisis. It will also launch programs with communities and governments to reduce their vulnerability to disasters and enhance their ability to respond when disasters do occur. Project activities will improve speed, quality, and effectiveness in saving lives, improving the welfare and protecting the rights of people in emergency situations.

The coalition will use the Gates Foundation funding over a two-year period to build their capacity for emergency response, as well as improve processes that measure results and ensure accountability.

"This timely grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will allow our organizations to save more lives when catastrophe strikes," said Peter Bell, president and CEO of CARE USA, on behalf of the coalition. "We have a responsibility to arrive as quickly as possible, help as many affected people as we can, and remain until their lives have been rebuilt."

Suzanne Cluett, the Gates Foundation’s associate director for Global Health Strategies, added, "As the enormous tsunami relief and rehabilitation effort in Asia demonstrates, the world depends on private humanitarian organizations to play a major role in caring for those devastated by disaster. We believe that the Emergency Capacity-Building Initiative will help ensure that future disasters are responded to even more rapidly and effectively.”

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