Helping the Philippines: What the World Should Learn From Disasters Past

Estimates of the toll from Typhoon Haiyan suggest as many as 10,000 dead and 600,000 displaced. A considerable global humanitarian response is already underway, with the U.S., as usual, taking the lead. The U.S. gave $3.8 billion in official humanitarian assistance in 2012, about 29 percent of the global total. If the past is a precedent, the international community will play a vital role in limiting further deaths and providing immediate relief in the next few weeks.

But the history of previous disasters suggests the international community will be far less effective in meeting the challenges that come after the immediate delivery of relief. A fragmented rebuilding effort that is ill-coordinated and unresponsive to the true needs of the people of the Philippines is likely to produce disappointment. Donor agencies should get it right this time—by working transparently and under government coordination, providing cash rather than projects wherever possible, and recognizing that relief and reconstruction are two different things.