The aftermaths of typhoons, earthquakes and tsunamis — arguably the holy trinity of natural disasters — have mobilized some of the biggest humanitarian efforts the international development community has ever seen.
For instance, the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 brought in more than $6 billion in disaster assistance, of which $1 billion went to Indonesia alone. The Haiti earthquake in 2010, meanwhile, generated $9 billion in disaster aid pledges. And to date, nearly $2 billion in disaster assistance has been pledged in response to Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines in 2013.
While large sums of disaster assistance have certainly helped these countries in their recovery and reconstruction efforts, not all of the pledged amounts go to their intended beneficiaries — some get lost in corruption, for instance.
About the author
Lean Alfred Santos@DevexLeanAS
Lean Alfred Santos is a former Devex development reporter focusing on the development community in Asia-Pacific, including major players such as the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. He previously covered Philippine and international business and economic news, sports and politics.
