International Dialogue on Strengthening Partnership in Disaster Response: Bridging national and international support: Background paper 3

This background paper was written in the context of the International Dialogue on Strengthening Partnership for Disaster Response. In October 2011, the Dialogue gathered representatives with authority for managing national disaster response and the entry of international assistance to the affected countries, as well as representatives from select NGOs, UN agencies, and regional organizations for a meeting. This background paper explores the relationship between international and national disaster management systems during humanitarian crisis. It argues that supporting disaster management systems at a local, national and global level of crisis-affected states must become more prominent. This study was conducted in three countries: Mozambique, Indonesia, and Colombia. They were selected because they illustrate how international relief organizations have taken step to support the local domestic disaster response system. This research tries to answer the question “what is particular about these situations that led to effective response and what can be learned from them to pass on to other states?”.