Interacting to save lives: 'a cry for help.'

One of the greatest challenges to professionals working in the field of disaster mitigation is the inevitable chaos and breakdown of communications that can occur as the world responds to a cry for help.

By now, there is no more familiar sight to relief workers than that of poorly-wrapped and unlabelled boxes of emergency donations left unused on airport tarmacs because there is no time to sort them out, or the visits to a disaster-stricken area of foreign VIPs that distract attention from coping with the crisis at hand.

These are only two of a laundry list of examples of why there is such a pressing need for coordination and communication between foreign aid donors and disaster prevention agencies, as well as local relief teams and government officials. As disaster prevention has grown, so has the need to educate those volunteering to help out on the "dos and don'ts" of responding to disasters.

"I network with the public and with ethnic groups in this country to get them to try not to send inappropriate items", said Lisa Mullins, Programme Officer for Foreign Disaster Assistance of the Washington, D.C.-based InterAction network. "A part of my job is to educate people about what's needed in a crisis."

InterAction is a broad coalition of 125 private and voluntary organizations that provide international humanitarian assistance of various kinds, such as development, education, refugee assistance, literacy and international public policy.

InterAction was founded in 1984 as "a professional forum for cooperation, joint planning and an exchange of information" about disasters. Its purpose is to maximize available public and private resources, avoid duplication of efforts by private and voluntary organizations, and encourage preparedness planning.

It also serves as a liaison between such frontline UN agencies as the Office of the UN Disaster Relief Coordinator (UNDRO) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), among others. When a disaster strikes, UNDRO will send emergency teams to assess the needs of the affected community, then alert InterActin, which helps coordinate the response of both voluntary agencies and public donations.

"Some of the principal disaster agencies operate in the United States", explained Ms. Mullins. "There is a strong need for coordination and to compare notes. For example, if an agency has made inroads in a country or has a special contact that might be useful to another group, then we'll pass that information along."

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