It tends not to get a lot of attention, but “process management” at the White House — and a strong National Security Council staff — are what allow the U.S. government to lead effective international response efforts when unforeseen disasters erupt in unexpected places, according to Jeremy Konyndyk, the former director of the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.
“That bureaucracy does not work together well organically, and it doesn’t work together automatically. It has to be pushed, and it has to be organized into a workable structure, and that can only come from the White House and the National Security Council,” Konyndyk, who directed disaster efforts under President Barack Obama, said at the National Press Club Wednesday.
At the peak of the Ebola virus outbreak, for example, the U.S. government was supporting more than 10,000 people on the ground — many of them humanitarian workers — responding to the crisis. The White House mobilized its foreign disaster team to pull in different parts of the U.S. government and align them under a common operational framework.
About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
