Angry in the Great White North

From the UN News Centre:

4 September 2005 – The United Nations announced today that the United States Government has accepted the world body's offer of help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

A small UN Coordination team is in Washington now consulting with government officials on how the UN can best complement the US's own emergency efforts.

“The UN's coordination team in Washington will be based at the newly established USAID Hurricane Katrina Operations Center, where offers of international assistance are being coordinated,” a UN spokesman said in a statement released in New York.

Among those “ready to provide emergency staff and a wide variety of relief supplies as and when necessary” are the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), according to the statement.

No word at the White House web site, but the president's radio address seemed clear that the US was not planning to look much beyond it's own resources:

The emergency along the Gulf Coast is ongoing; there's still a lot of difficult work ahead. All Americans can be certain our nation has the character, the resources, and the resolve to overcome this disaster. We will comfort and care for the victims. We will restore the towns and neighborhoods that have been lost in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. We'll rebuild the great city of New Orleans. And we'll once again show the world that the worst adversities bring out the best in America.

I expect some tasteless jokes to be made about the rape and pedophilia associated with other UN humanitaran efforts. To be fair, those charges were leveled specifically at peacekeepers, and in particular, those from African nations.

Nevertheless, I find it odd that the US would need the help of the UN. For instance, the WFP doesn't seem likely to fulfill a need:

At the request of the local government, WFP sets the well-oiled wheels of its emergency response procedure into motion. Over its 40 year history, the agency has turned the complex business of getting the right food to the right people in the right place into a fine science.

First, Emergency Assessment teams are sent in to ask the key question: how much food aid is needed for how many beneficiaries and for how long? And, how can the food be delivered to the hungry?

Equipped with the answers, WFP draws up an Emergency Operation (EMOP), including a plan of action and a budget. This lists who will receive food aid, what rations are required, the type of transport WFP will use and which humanitarian corridors lead to the crisis zone.

Next, WFP launches an Appeal to the international community for funds and food aid. The agency relies entirely on voluntary contributions to finance its operations, with donations made in cash, food or services. Governments are the biggest single source of funding. More than 60 support WFP's worldwide operations.

Somehow, I think the US will have the food situation under control by them time the WFP is ready to do something. Similarly, the UNHCR seems to duplicate the work already well in hand by state and federal agencies:

Providing fleeing civilians with emergency help is often the first step toward their long term protection and rehabilitation. To meet these and other operational needs, UNHCR has developed a global network of suppliers, specialist agencies and partners. Projects can range from dispatching emergency teams to the scene of a crisis, providing emergency food, shelter, water and medical supplies and arranging major airlifts for a large exodus of refugees or a flotilla of small boats for smaller numbers of fleeing civilians. Among a host of other programs, there are projects to help protect the environment, build schools and raise awareness of such problems as HIV/AIDS.

Despite what the headline says, the United States has only accepted to look over what, if anything, the UN can do of value. No actual aid from the UN is on the way. If I had to guess, I'd say the US needs medical supplies, in particular acute care antibiotics, in the short term, and construction specialists over the long term. I guess we'll know in a few days what the US decides the UN can bring to the table.

[With word of the troubles with the relief effort, adding the UN's legendary inefficiency (and worse) seems like a bad idea.]