Viewpoint paper: The dilemma of well meaning help that costs too much

TL;DRAbstract

In the immediate aftermath of large-scale natural disasters in developing countries, when the media furnish images of horror and suffering, purse strings are loosened and, expectedly, donations accumulate from within the richer countries . Their governments also donate, often in kind. Despite this generosity, aid falls far short of the cumulative needs. Evidence is now emerging from the field that this approach can lead to an irrational use of resources. Instead of exporting costly items of high added value (costly because they incorporate work paid for with donor countries’ high salaries), financial and logistic support should be given to coordinated initiatives spread among unaffected and/or neighboring regions with their lower built-in costs. However, other problems arise such as finding where best to acquire the needed goods and services. This viewpoint paper looks at the consequences of the problem of relative costs in terms of information needed for decision-making. Strategic pro

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