Too tired to help?

It may seem like a different era, but it was only a few weeks ago that a third of the country was under water. The millions who were displaced remain so today. If anything, the challenges of disease and hunger have become worse. The state has moved on, and those claiming that their right to govern was taken away by a conspiracy of the highest magnitude cannot seem to be bothered by the misery of a few million. But it is not simply the apathy of the state and the politicians, support from individuals has also started to wane. Any discussion of post-flood rebuilding or recovery does not make the front or the back page of the newspapers. To blame this denial of care to the vulnerable simply on the ever-changing politics of the country would be an incomplete analysis. There is no question that the fast changing political events do divert the attention, but there is more to general apathy. As we have seen during prior crises, the attention span of citizens is short, and empathy beyond the initial week or two is hard to find, even when the country is not in a political freefall. There is a real fatigue on behalf of philanthropists, donors and support groups who spring into action quickly but are unable or unwilling to sustain their efforts.

This donor fatigue is not simply an internal or a Pakistan specific phenomenon.

A similar phenomenon is playing out across the world. Last year, the total funding needed to meet the very basic needs for survival of those affected by the humanitarian disaster in Yemen was $2.9 billion. Even after multiple efforts at the highest global level, all that could be raised was less than half of the target. Afghanistan has faced a similar challenge. Just in the domain of food, there is a shortfall of a billion dollars — meaning that millions are likely to suffer from acute malnutrition. Earlier this week, UN High Commission for Refugees announced that they are unable to provide basic support and supplies (including soap) for displaced communities affected by conflict and disease including those impacted by the Ebola outbreak in Uganda.

There are several factors that contribute to donor fatigue — whether internal or external. Of course one cannot deny the role of racism and Eurocentricism that remains a bottleneck in helping countries that are outside Europe. However, this argument is weakened when one looks at national trends of support, and support from rich donors in the region (e.g. Gulf states and philanthropists there). Global and local economic slowdown also contributes to the fatigue, however there is more than macroeconomic trends that are play. In addition to racism and economic uncertainty, a key factor underlying donor fatigue, both locally and globally, is an erosion of trust. There is a general sense even among those who have the means and an interest that their support is unlikely to make an impact due to corruption, bloated bureaucracy and inefficiency among the implementing parties. Little has been done to rebuild this distrust. If anything, it has gotten worse. In the recent past, we have seen both locally and globally, that large organisations suffer from inertia, inefficient systems, poor governance and lack of accountability. There is also a concern that bureaucratic structures of various organisations are unfamiliar with local realities, cultures and tend to prioritise self-advertising and focus on arbitrary metrics of impact that make them look good, rather than actually making a difference on the ground. The lack of trust in some institutions negatively affects many other organisations that actually are doing good work on the ground.

History tells us that local political climate will always be unpredictable, and crises will emerge in the times of economic upswings and downturns. But until organisations and institutions build trust — through transparency at all stages, engagement with local communities, a permanent commitment to ethical responsibility and a sense of humility — the support to the needy will always remain transient, whether they are in Afghanistan or Tigray, Sindh or Sana’a.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2022.

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