Malnutrition in emergencies: How can we do better and where do the responsibilities lie?

Over many years, the international relief system has been repeatedly critic ised in terms of slowness of response, poor inter-agency co-ordination, and technical incompetence on a larger or smaller scale. Notwithstanding many initiatives to improve co-ordination and other aspects of international rel ief performance, relief failures, including epidemic malnutrition, continue to occur. The reasons far these failures are discussed from the perspectiv e of the characteristics of the international system, and the way in which this would be expected to perform under different conditions. The chief lim itations of the international system identified are: the lack of any focus far imposing co-ordination, other than governments of affected countries; t he lack of any requirement for donor nations to ensure that adequate resour ces are supplied. and a tendency for the system to respond uncritically to the international media. A broad typology of international responses is pro posed. It is suggested that relief failure can be recast in terms of the la ck of any system which can ensure the correct allocation of food and other resources between emergencies, and ensure the systematic distribution of su ch resources as are supplied It concludes that the scope for further improv ement in the performance of the international relief system is now limited, but that the most promising area for investment would where possible, supp ort governments in affected countries to take greater control of the manage ment of the international relief system.