Meeting Needs

This critical analysis of aid organizations illustrates the expanding role of NGOs in international relief operations, and highlights the problems confronted by humanitarian groups. The book presents an overview of recent trends in the international relief community. Various relief operations are compared, to demonstrate why NGO co-ordination has become such an important issue. Case studies show how enhanced international co-ordination could improve the overall performance of NGOs and the United Nations.

Argues for the implementation of Primary Health Care, emphasizing equity, participation and the prevention of disease, to supplement or replace the current concentration on medico-technical intervention.

Jin Bennett was the director of the NGO Coordination Programme at ICVA. He is now a freelance consultant and research Associate of the Refugee Studies Programme, University of Oxford.