Posted on October 20, 2005

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Increase in Natural Disasters Worldwide Contributing to Donor 'Fatigue'

The Indian Ocean tsunami and hurricanes Katrina and Rita have soaked up funds that might have gone to other international crises and have contributed to a serious case of "donor fatigue," the Washington Post reports.

According to Trevor Rowe, a spokesman for the United Nation's World Food Program, the global community has faced a growing number of natural disasters over the past fifteen years. In response, the UN is scrambling to find new sources of funding and establish a more reliable funding stream through the creation of a Global Emergency Fund. But UN officials as well as private relief officials say that, while governments and the public remain willing to fund international disaster-relief operations, they have trouble focusing on more than one disaster at a time.

Care USA, for example, managed to raise just $40,000 in August in response to an online appeal for Niger famine victims, and then watched as donations dried up altogether after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Similarly, the American Red Cross raised $1.2 billion for Katrina and $556 million for tsunami relief operations, but to date has raised only $1.6 million for victims of the Pakistan earthquake and a negligible amount for Central America, where at least two thousand people died in recent flooding and mudslides triggered by Hurricane Stan.

"The disparities with Central America are stark," said George Rupp, president of the International Rescue Committee. According to Rupp, Katrina has made Americans much more sensitive to the needs of foreigners affected by natural disasters, but it has also made them more aware of the limitations of aid in getting people back on their feet. "They have a more sober understanding of the limits to what a contribution can achieve," said Rupp. "I guess we could say that's a form of donor fatigue."

Lynch, Colum. “Donations Slowing as Disasters Mount Worldwide.” Washington Post 10/16/05.

Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Secondary Subject(s): Tsunami Relief, Hurricane Relief
Location(s): International, United States

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