Presentation given by Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Universität Bochum during UN-SPIDER Workshop, UN Campus Bonn, Germany 30 October 2007

1. Legends and realities in
international humanitarian
assistance
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

2. Information sources about
disasters
• Media reports and pictures within a few
hours
• Therafter, aid agencies start fundraising
based on these media-reports
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

3. Disaster-criteria
Aid-agencies Media
• Number and needs of • Death-rate
victims to avoid • Spectacular pictures
unnecessary death and
suffering
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

4. Reports about international
disasters
Media Aid-agencies
• Spectacular • Spectacular
• Exaggerated • Heroic
• Advertising
• Not representative
headlines
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

6. Aid-agencies legend of relief-
workers
 brave
 strong
 decided
 Sacrifices himself
 Is full of energy

Is a surgeon
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

7. Reliefe-workers are
condemned to be heroes
by both the media and
the aid-agencies
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

8. Good intentions are
more important than
competences
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

9. Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

10. Headlines
„… dead bodies are a
„… epidemics…““
threat of victims are
desperately waiting for
„… help….“ is
each hand
needed…“
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

11. Legend
Disasters are
black
Heroes are white
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

12. consequences
• Disasters are „made“ by the media
• There is only one disaster at a time
• Funding of relief-operations depends on
media-attention
• Relief-operations are media-driven
• Unspectacular disasters are forgotten and
underfunded
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

13. Media-disaster
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

14. Media-disaster
Spectacular relief-
operations are more
important than
useful ones
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

15. Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

16. „… in other relief-
operations, we always
ran out of money. After
the Tsunami, we ran
out of victims….“
Aid-worker; Sumatra; march 2005
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

17. Comparison
Earthquake
Tsunami Kashmir
Death-rate: Death-rate:
< 200.000 86.000
Injured: Injured:
Ca. 60.000 Ca. 80.000
homeless: homeless:
1.500.000 3.500.000
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

18. Comparison
Earthquake
Tsunami Kashmir
Donations after 4 weeks: Donations after 4 weeks:
~ 10.000.000.000. USD ~ 400.000.000 USD
per beneficiary: per beneficiary:
~ 6500 USD ~ 110 USD
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

19. Legend 1
• „…. Victims are
shocked and paralysed
and desperately waiting
for help….“
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

20. Realities 1
• Humanitarian assistance is started
immediately after a disaster by the
survivors
• 98% of lifesavings are happening in the first
48 hours after an earthquake
• External surgical teams will need at least 5
days before being operative in the field
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

21. Example Bam/Iran
• 8 iranian sniff-dogs rescued more than 100
buried earthquake victims in the first 48
hours
• From day 3 after the disaster, more than
1500 sniff-dogs arrived from all over the
world
• Number if victims rescued by all these
external teams in total:
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

22. Example Bam/Iran
Zero!!!!
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un

23. Something to remember
• „… Humanitarian assistance
is what you are doing with
us, when we are in such a
horrible situation, that we
can not afford to refuse it…“
Rwandese refugee in Benaco-Camp/Tanzania; Mai 1994
Dr. med. Richard Munz MA - IFHV - Ruhr Un