Typhoon Haiyan: Remittance payments are best hope for disaster victims

Filipino families spread across the globe are well placed to help their loved ones struggling against enormous odds in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan says Dr Paul Kailiponi. Based at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at The University of Manchester, he urges NGOs to take heed.

"Aid is always likely to be slow in getting to the people who need it disasters like those afflicting the Philippines, especially in a country with where there are so many isolated island communities. In fact, I'd be more surprised if our NGOs and media reported that everything was going well. But as the terrible crisis in the Philippines unfolds, the public clearly want to help those people so devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. Everyone agrees that NGOs have a responsibility to ensure that when the aid does arrive, it gets to those people who need it most. Sadly, this is often not the case.

"The Philippines is a country where many people's incomes are sustained by remittance payments from loved ones living abroad. And that's a considerable number: you'll find Filipino workers in the UK, China, Japan, Middle East and many other countries. Those people will continue to send money to their loved ones, even amidst such destruction. Even though some ATMs and banks may have been knocked out by the typhoon, the basic financial infrastructure remains solid. Once immediate needs are taken care of and access is established, these remittance payments will become a direct method of aid that can be difficult to replicate.

"But compare this to how the NGOs work, publishing full page spreads in national newspapers, urging the public to give generously. Getting the cash will not be the difficult part; the real issue is getting the money to those people who need it most. NGOs use intermediaries that are often not aware of the needs of local people - unlike the remittance payment system which does. This is why we should encourage those NGOs to reply on reputable local organisations to spread aid according to local knowledge and transparent criteria.

"And there's a related issue: accountability. It's fair to ask how incentivised NGOs really are to get aid to the people who need it most. After all, NGOs are accountable to their donors, not local people and past history tells us how badly things can go wrong in terms of the aid effort . So if they are to really help those stricken communities, NGOs must work with local governments ,who are in a better position to coordinate of the relief work and target those people who need it most. Like those families giving overseas, they are more accountable to the people who need them most.

Provided by University of Manchester