Happy Dog Takes on the World: When Disaster Strikes, Who Really Pays?

The Cleveland Council on World Affairs, the City Club of Cleveland, International Partners in Mission, and the Northeast Ohio Consortium of Middle Eastern Studies (NOCMES), team up to bring you a panel discussion on hot global issues located at the Happy Dog in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, followed by a major aftershock on May 12, 2015. More than 9,000 people were killed and 23,000 were injured. According to the United Nations, nearly 2.8 million people still require continued vital humanitarian assistance.

Yet humanitarian aid is fraught with challenges. Delivering funds and much-needed supplies in a swift and timely manner can be daunting in a devastated country, where basic services may not have been widely available even before disaster struck. Not to mention trying to deliver aid in a country torn by conflict. Humanitarian assistance is often complicated by local politics, competing interests among aid agencies, poor coordination and/or local spoilers seeking to turn others’ distress into their profit.

What are the logistical challenges that governments in developing countries face when dealing with an invasion of non-governmental organization (NGOs) after a major disaster?  What are the specific issues that Nepal is now facing, for example? How well does the international community work together toward bringing impacted individuals aid? How does mismanagement occur when these are all aid professionals and the eyes of the world are on them?

Panelists include:

Joseph F. Cistone, Chief Executive Officer, International Partners in Mission

Michael P. Scharf, Interim Dean and Director, Frederick K. Cox International Law Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Law

This discussion will be moderated by WCPN host/producer Tony Ganzer

Location: The Happy Dog, 5801 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland