Libya floods: why cash is the best way to help get humanitarian aid to people affected by disasters

• As you watch the disturbing scenes of this disaster on the news, you might wonder about the best way to help.
• Such “in-kind donations” (physical items such as food, clothing, household items and medicine) can actually place a heavy burden on the humanitarian aid network.
• To avoid such backlogs, research shows donating money in cash or via bank transfer to verified international humanitarian organisations is the most helpful and efficient response to humanitarian crises.
• Giving cash rather than in-kind donations also respects the dignity of beneficiaries, and prevents duplication and delivery of unneeded aid.

Delivering humanitarian aid to Derna

• Libya is divided into zones ruled by different militias and two governments on the east and west of the country.
• Worse, Derna is a neglected city in eastern Libya controlled by a rival administration to the western government.
• The region’s government does not allow free access of humanitarian organisations to Derna so it’s unclear if much-needed aid is reaching the right people and being distributed equally.
• The port of Derna was also closed due to security issues for about three years until 2021, affected the local economy.

The compounding effect of concurrent disasters

• When disasters happen in a setting already hit by other crises, there is a compounding effect.
• Responding to concurrent disasters is more challenging and can require more resources from humanitarian organisations.
• The compounding effect of prolonged civil conflict makes delivering humanitarian aid challenging, but climate change is adding another layer of complexity to such situations.