Decision Making
Deciding when to Respond
Crises and emergencies occur regularly throughout the world. We cannot respond to them all. Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeals are reserved for major disasters and emergencies that cannot be dealt with by the usual in-country coping mechanisms, and where DEC member agencies are in a position to respond quickly and effectively. DEC members have to be able to make a difference and be confident that they can spend public donations effectively.
Read more about what happens in the time of an appeal.
Sharing Information
The Secretariat organises information-sharing teleconferences to monitor situations in several “at-risk” countries. This mechanism enables members to benefit from each other’s field reports and analysis and strengthens preparedness prevention strategies.
In the period leading up to an appeal, member agencies share relevant information, which in turn enables the DEC Secretariat and trustees to assess the gravity of the disaster or emergency concerned and the likely level and effectiveness of any collective response.
Three Principles
Three principles have been adopted to provide a guideline for trustees and others involved in deciding whether a national joint appeal is the appropriate response to a particular emergency:
- The disaster must be on such a scale and of such urgency as to call for swift international humanitarian assistance.
- The DEC agencies, or some of them, must be in a position to provide effective and swift humanitarian assistance at a scale to justify a national appeal.
- There must be sufficient public awareness of, and sympathy for, the humanitarian situation so as to give reasonable grounds for concluding that a public appeal will be successful.