Dara - NEWS

INTERVIEWS

Interview with Michel Ogrizek media and humanitarian action

Michel Ogrizek, senior adviser of DARA, analyses in this interview the role of the media within the humanitarian action. Ogrizek explains how the communicative processes influence on the importance that the different crises deserve.

Interview with Silvia Hidalgo about the HRI

Silvia Hidalgo, Director of DARA, analyses the strengths, weaknesses and challenges of humanitarian action to mark the occasion of the launch of the Humanitarian Response Index. A new tool for donors that will provide key information to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian responses.

Interview with Jan Egeland about humanitarian action

DARA spoke with Jan Egeland, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General. With more than 25 years of experience in peace negotiations and humanitarian operations throughout the world, Egeland has held important positions in the United Nations, as well as in non governmental organizations. In this interview, he reveals some of the issues he will analyze in greater detail in his chapter of the Humanitarian Response Index.

Interview with Johan Schaar about the GHD Initiative

Johan Schaar, Special Representative of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent for Tsunami Operations, explains the significance of the Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative (GHD). According to Schaar, the Humanitarian Response Index will help ensure that the GHD is a continuously developing, dynamic process. These and other issues will be analyzed extensively by Johan Schaar in his chapter of the Humanitarian Response Index, which will be presented in the month of November.

Interview with Riccardo Polastro about the crisis in Pakistan

In October 2005, Southern Asia suffered one of the most devastating earthquakes of the century in the region. The earthquake’s epicentre was located in the area of Kashmir and North-western Pakistan, two regions where poverty levels have always been highly elevated. In Pakistan alone, the death toll reached 73,000 and numerous infrastructures were badly damaged. Riccardo Polastro visited the area to complete the HRI surveys with first-hand information on the emergency and explains the particularities of the crisis that took place in one of the most mountainous regions, and also the most prone to seismic movement.

Interview with Marta Marañón about the crisis in Niger

Considered the poorest country on the planet by the UNDP Human Development Index, Niger suffered one of the worst crises in the world in 2005-2006. The long period of drought, in conjunction with a plague of locusts, aggravated the food shortage. The desert geography and low levels of development make Niger highly vulnerable to natural hazards. Marta Marañón, Deputy Director of DARA, explains the circumstances that produced the 2005-2006 humanitarian crisis and the challenges the international community faces to promote long term recovery.

Interview with Ricardo Solé about the crisis in Haiti

Haiti’s sporadic history has submerged the country into a complex crisis characterized by the absence of a strong government, inexistence of basic infrastructure and high levels of poverty, corruption and violence. The recent elections held in February 2006 allow certain hopes to emerge for the country that is ranked last in the Human Development Index for the American hemisphere. The challenges of a crisis like that of Haiti are numerous and complicated. Ricardo Solé, who visited Haiti to conduct the HRI survey process, explains some of them.

Interview with Gilles Gasser about the crisis in Lebanon

In July 2006, Lebanon suffered the consequences of an armed conflict in which the Shiite group, Hezbollah, faced Israel. The harsh attacks brought the country into an acute humanitarian crisis whose consequences would take years to surpass. Gilles Passer analyzes the results of a war that, in the words of Kofi Annan, caused, “death and suffering on a wholly unacceptable scale.”

Interview with Augusto López-Claros about the methodology of the HRI

In recent years, the resources allocated to face humanitarian crises has increased to such an extent that it is at the highest amount in history. This situation requires tools and mechanisms that increase the benefits from humanitarian action, and promote and guarantee its accountability and transparency. The Humanitarian Response Index (HRI), created by DARA, meets this need, as it provides detailed information about each of the donors. Augusto López-Claros, Project Director, explains the methodology used to create this new tool.

Back