Corruption in humanitarian assistance

Abstract

This chapter shows that there is very little scholarship on corruption and irregularities in humanitarian aid and assistance in South Asia. Apart from a few standard practices the issue has not been sufficiently researched, nor has it generated any significant discussion from a policy perspective. While corruption in the public sector and now increasingly in the private sector occupies a central position in the corruption discourse prevailing in the South Asian countries, there has virtually been no focus on real and potential governance deficits in humanitarian action in emergency situations, whether natural or man-made. Recognising the significance of addressing corruption for ensuring quality, accountability and sound management in humanitarian operations, this gap has been filled to certain degree by the contribution of several NGOs led by Transparency International in the assessment of corruption risks and in the development of social accountability tools to monitor aid disbursement processes. The author demands an end to corruption through stringent legal framework in disaster management as a sin qua non of sustainable DRR.