Please note - this is a temporary window. id21 is joining forces with Eldis and therefore the id21 website has been suspended. Soon all id21 content will be available on the Eldis website.

Lifting the veil of silence on corruption and humanitarian aid

Humanitarian relief is worth around US$10 billion annually. Complex logistics of aid delivery provide scope for mismanagement, diversion and corruption at each level of the relief chain. Agencies can submit fraudulent accounts to donors, supplies can disappear and vulnerable recipients of aid may be asked for bribes or sexual favours.

A report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) urges the humanitarian community to do more to analyse corruption risks, to strengthen mitigation systems and involve recipients in aid delivery and monitoring.

Relief, unlike most development assistance, is often delivered in areas where governance is poor as a result of conflict or natural disaster and corruption is deep rooted. Humanitarian agencies have procedures for accounting and managing their assets but systems of accountability flow upwards, with aid agencies justifying expenditure to donors. Progress on downwards accountability, of aid agencies to the people they are trying to help, has been far slower.

Aid deliverers may be able to report that the right amount of food was distributed to the right number of people, but this says little about whether bribes were paid, what proportion of the food went to local government officials, whether those on beneficiary lists actually fitted vulnerability criteria or what bribes were demanded by local militias.

Purchase, storage and transport offer widespread opportunities for corruption as transport services, fuel and spare parts are always in demand. Most agencies are familiar with a range of fees/bribes/taxes at every level of contact with existing authorities. The point at which an acceptable incentive becomes unacceptable corruption will always be unclear.

However, agencies can stop encouraging corruption by:

behaving in responsible ways which do not give rise to allegations of arrogance and inefficiency
not paying inflated prices for accommodation, vehicles and staff
resisting pressures from donors, supporters and press officers to rapidly establish programmes
not putting pressure on staff to spend money quickly, regardless of whether control systems are in place
hiring local staff by checking references and providing proper induction and keeping expatriates on short contracts
ensuring managers regularly visit distribution centres and warehouses.

Published literature on corruption in emergency relief is scarce. Corruption is a sensitive matter as the relief system is highly competitive and it is very difficult for any one agency to admit to problems.

It is time to acknowledge corruption. Just as agencies routinely conduct security assessments, and develop and disseminate security guidelines, so risk assessments for fraud and corruption should be a standard part of good management practice.

ODI recommends:

better assessment of the risks and opportunities for corruption
trying to find ways to provide assistance through communities and representative institutions in order to activate local networks of obligation and accountability
rejection of the common assumption that international staff are less likely to be corrupt
investing in local staff to encourage loyalty: control systems designed without input from local staff are less likely to be followed.

Source(s):
‘Managing the risks of corruption in humanitarian relief co-operations: A study for the UK Department for International Development’, Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute, by Barnaby Willitts-King and Paul Harvey, March 2005 (PDF) Full document.

Funded by: UK Department for International Development

id21 Research Highlight: 20 July 2006

Further Information:
Paul Harvey
Humanitarian Policy Group
Overseas Development Institute
111 Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7JD, UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 7922 0335
Fax: +44 (0)20 7922 0399
Contact the contributor: p.harvey@odi.org.uk

Overseas Development Institute, UK

Views expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of DfID, IDS, id21 or other contributing institutions. Articles featured on the id21 site may be copied or quoted without restriction provided id21 and originating author(s) and institution(s) are acknowledged. Copyright © 2009 IDS. All rights reserved.

id21 is funded by the UK Department for International Development. id21 is one of a family of knowledge services at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. id21 is a www.oneworld.net partner and an affiliate of www.mediachannel.org. IDS is a charitable company, No. 877338.