Devex: Delivering health care in crises
Ala Alwan, regional director of the Eastern Mediterranean region of the WHO

“…Clear laws and conventions prohibit attacks on health workers and facilities, yet in many places, they are being ignored. Despite repeated calls for the respect and protection of health care by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, these attacks continue, depriving people of their fundamental right to health, severely disrupting humanitarian operations and undermining health systems and long-term health development goals. We must not accept this as the status quo. … Unless immediate action is taken by all to protect health workers and health facilities, these attacks will continue, threatening to become the norm and sealing the fate of millions of people. … The summit is the opportunity for all of us to come together to make a strong call on all parties to armed conflict to respect the rules they have endorsed in international humanitarian and human rights law…” (5/18).

IRIN: Why more money alone won’t improve crisis response
Kristalina Georgieva, vice president of the European Commission

“…Putting humanitarian aid funding on a sustainable trajectory requires systemic change. … We ought to make the system simpler and more attuned to best practice. To make this happen, the donors and the implementers of aid need to come together to pioneer a model of collaborative efficiency that we decided to call … the Grand Bargain. The Grand Bargain is all about making more resources available on the frontline of needs, and spending less on administrative procedures that lead to waste because of duplications and overlaps. We desperately need to raise more money to fund humanitarian needs but this will only happen if we can get more bang for our buck. … Success will depend upon reaching a consensus around anticipation, transparency, research, and collaboration. … In a world increasingly vulnerable to shocks and strains, we can build confidence in our collective ability…” (5/18).