Launch of the Humanitarian Response Index 2011: Addressing the Gender Challenge

Since 2007, DARA’s Humanitarian Response Index (HRI) has provided an independent assessment on how well donor governments apply the GHD Principles with the aim of improving the quality, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of governments’ aid. The HRI 2011 report indicates that government’s humanitarian aid budgets are not being maximised effectively to the detriment of vulnerable populations. The fact that most of the crises analysed were predictable reveals the international community’s inability to address chronic vulnerability by strengthening resilience and increasing capacity for prevention and preparedness, as demonstrated by the famine in the Horn of Africa. By not linking relief to recovery and development, many previous efforts are undone. The HRI 2011 also found that gender – the focus of this year’s report- remains more of a political commitment than a practical reality. Other issues include the ongoing politicisation of humanitarian assistance and how it continues to deny millions access to aid.