4 Ways Business Owners Can Lead During a Humanitarian Crisis

In December 2004, an earthquake triggered a powerful tsunami in the Indian Ocean, releasing the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atom bombs. A series of waves killed more than 150,000 people and left millions homeless across 11 countries. Rebuilding from a disaster is a daunting task for any nation. Developing nations, specifically, simply don’t have the resources to address immediate needs. But private companies do.

During humanitarian crises, private sector organizations are often better positioned to help than their public sector counterparts. Immediately following the 2004 tsunami, IBM mobilized its Crisis Response Team which brought onsite emergency management experience from more than 70 events in 49 countries In addition to financial support, IBM established primary IT and communications support so other organizations could quickly provide help.

Following are four reasons why it’s a good idea to turn to private-public partnerships during times of crisis.

1. Bridge gaps.

In the United States, collaborations between the private and public sectors are the model for disaster relief. The Federal Emergency Management Agency actively works to increase the level of collaboration in every phase from preparedness, to mitigation, to recovery and response. The same model should apply to international crises where the private sector can help bridge a wide gap of opportunity and need that many governments simply can’t meet.

2. Solve ongoing problems.

In Pakistan, there is an ongoing humanitarian crisis because they government is unable to spend more than 1 percent of its gross domestic product on public health. The country spends between 75 percent to 80 percent on debt and defense.

As a result, hospitals are barely functioning. More than 27,000 Pakistani women die each year from pregnancy and childbirth, and more than 1,500 children younger than five die each day. Many other poor nations face similar circumstances.

When natural disasters like earthquakes or droughts occur, governments already struggling to address ongoing humanitarian crises are effectively crippled. Businesses can fill the void.

3. Focus on need.

Emergency aid in the 1970s followed a charity model–emphasizing the desires of the donors, rather than the needs of the recipients. In the 1980s and 1990s, humanitarian efforts started to shift toward a human rights based approach that focused on the priorities of the populations affected by emergencies, according to Ron Waldman, a professor at George Washington University.

Private sector involvement in humanitarian aid began in the 1990s, but increased significantly after the 2004 tsunami. Private funding as a share of humanitarian aid grew from 17 percent in 2006 to 32 percent in 2010.

4. Take advantage of expertise.

The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has worked on 33 partnerships with private companies or individuals. Among the most successful have been Ericcson establishing telecommunications systems during emergencies and DHL organizing cargo shipments into airports during a disaster.

Similarly, Coca-Cola has worked with the Tanzania Ministry of Health in partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria because the company can leverage its supply chain expertise to help deliver medicine. In each case, businesses brought expertise to the table that relief organizations and governments lacked.

Still, aid workers are often distrustful of private sector involvement. They see companies step forward for “popular” disasters, which perpetuates the notion that companies are primarily focused on building their brand. Companies trying to help also express their own frustrations with government agencies and nonprofits that move too slowly or lack the expertise to coordinate.

Despite these challenges, an opportunity remains because of one unfailing truth: Response to humanitarian crises will always require specific infrastructure or process needs that the private sector has already honed.