This critical analysis of aid organizations illustrates the expanding role of NGOs in international relief operations, and highlights the problems confronted by humanitarian groups. The book presents an overview of recent trends in the international relief community. Various relief operations are compared, to demonstrate why NGO co-ordination has become such an important issue. Case studies show how enhanced international co-ordination could improve the overall performance of NGOs and the United Nations.

Jin Bennett was the director of the NGO Coordination Programme at ICVA. He is now a freelance consultant and research Associate of the Refugee Studies Programme, University of Oxford.

Foreword * Preface * Introduction: Recent Trends in Relief Aid: Structural Crises and the Quest for a New Consensus * Chapter 1: Afghanistan: Cross-Border NGO Coordination, 1985-93 * Chapter 2 Ethiopia: NGO Consortia and Coordination Arrangements, 1984-91 * Chapter 3 Eritrea and Tigray: Changing Organisational Issues in Cross-Border Relief Assistance, 1983-92 * Chapter 4 Mozambique: Post-War Reconstruction and the LINK NGO Forum, 1987-94 * Chapter 5 Kenya: NGO Coordination During the Somali Refugee Crises, 1990-93 * Chapter 6 Lebanon: The Lebanese NGO Forum and the Reconstruction of Civil Society, 1989-93 * Chapter 7 Central America: NGO Coordination in El Salvador and Guatemala, 1980-94 * Chapter 8 Cambodia: NGO Cooperation in a Changing Aid Context, 1979-94 * Index