Chinese construction companies in Angola: A local linkages perspective

China tends to spearhead its economic overtures to African countries through high-level bilateral negotiations. These are frequently in the form of China Exim Bank loans for large-scale infrastructure projects, repaid by resource exports to China. While much is made of China's resource-based activities in Africa, less focus is placed on the converse of this relationship—the infrastructure provision that African resources buy from China. This article takes the positions that local linkages development is one of the clearest ways that African countries can benefit from Chinese construction companies' market engagement. The prevailing view is that Chinese companies contracted to undertake the construction projects financed in this way do not use local labour, materials or any other inputs in the undertaking of their contracts. Focusing on the strategic orientation of large Chinese companies state-owned enterprises (SOEs) operating in Angola's construction sector, this article seeks to uncover the determinants of their sourcing behaviour, and the manner in which this is reflected in their use of local inputs.     

Aid in the midst of plenty: oil wealth, misery and advocacy in Angola

This paper examines advocacy initiatives by humanitarian and human rights organisations to address problems of governance in resource-rich and conflict-affected countries, focussing on the case of Angola. Humanitarian principles preclude the use of indiscriminate conditionality and point towards a cautious approach to advocacy aimed at assisting vulnerable populations. Furthermore, the relatively insignificant amount of aid supplied to resource-rich local authorities means that individual agencies have precious little leverage, especially when commercial interests rather than humanitarian or 'good governance' principles influence the priorities of bilateral donors. A context of resource wealth calls for: high levels of coordination and cooperation between human rights groups, aid agencies and donors; balanced use of conditionality, based on the drawing, by donors, of a clear distinction between emergency and development-oriented assistance; and a sustained effort to highlight the responsibilities of local authorities, foreign governments and businesses in meeting humanitarian and development objectives.     

Public Nutrition from an Approach to a Discipline: Concern's Nutrition Case Studies in Complex Emergencies

The Public Nutrition approach, like that of Public Health, is context specific. It places an emphasis on populations rather than individuals and is inter-disciplinary in nature. Both approaches seek to understand the complex aetiology of a clinical outcome such as malnutrition within the widest possible framework. Public Nutrition uses the UNICEF conceptual framework and adapts and expands it. The authors of this article argue – through the examination of a number of case studies taken from the work of Concern Worldwide (hereafter referred to as Concern) in southern Sudan, Rwanda, Angola, Tanzania and DRC – that there are two critical constituents of the Public Nutrition approach. These are: a contextual analysis (including the use of surveillance information for programme design and advocacy) and community involvement at all stages of the project cycle. Some of the key obstacles to the adoption of the Public Nutrition approach are identified by illustrating two practical programme settings. For the Public Nutrition approach to be more widely used, the authors recommend a number of key strategies including the further dissemination of case studies and the clarification of the scope and boundaries of the approach. These strategies will enable Public Nutrition to evolve both as a practical programme framework as well as an academic discipline.     

Humanitarianism and Local Service Institutions in Angola

The role of local service institutions is not a major focus of current discourse on humanitarianism and complex emergencies. These institutions, in the few places where they are mentioned, are usually presented as either the seed of civil society and future democracy, or as pawns and components of the predatory economic, political and military élites. Few would deny that examples can be found which conform to both of these stereotypes. This simplistic representation of local institutions ignores the perspectives of the actors themselves — the nurses, extension agents, school teachers and others who actually staff most NGO-supported projects. The debate has focused on what ‘we’ should do; the moral dilemmas of aid agencies and their expatriate staff, inevitably leading to the question of whether or not humanitarian workers should stay or leave situations in which aid may be causing more harm than good. Without denying the fundamental importance of these issues, it is important to consider also how the discourse has unfortunately moved away from those humanitarian workers who have no such choice, since they live there. Current concerns about keeping humanitarian aid from feeding local political and military struggles may inadvertently and paradoxically serve to constrain room for man?uvre in the field, particularly among those individuals with the greatest tacit understanding of the predatory environment. There is a need to understand how actors in local service institutions make sense of their own situations, including the factors which frame their moral dilemmas and their day-to-day choices. By analysing the organisational processes within local service institutions, this study is intended to provoke consideration of how these individuals and their institutions may be effectively supported in complex emergencies through a focus on how they themselves deal with danger and complexity. It is suggested that there is a value in considering the lessons learnt in recent years about how service organisations in the North function in turbulent environments. This experience points to the importance of allowing workers the discretion to develop a relationship with their clients, and in so doing make sense of a confusing and ambivalent environment.     

The Northridge Earthquake: Community-based Approaches to Unmet Recovery Needs

The 1994 Northridge, California earthquake has proven to be one of the most costly disasters in United States history. Federal and state assistance programmes received some 681,000 applications from victims for various forms of relief. In spite of the flow of US$11 billion in federal assistance into Los Angeles and Ventura counties, many victims have failed to obtain adequate relief. These unmet needs relate to the vulnerability of particular class and ethnic groups. In response to unmet needs, a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have become involved in the recovery process. This paper, based on evidence collected from hundreds of in-depth interviews with the people involved, examines the activities of several community-based organisations (CBOs) and other NGOs as they have attempted to assist vulnerable people with unmet post-disaster needs. We discuss two small ethnically diverse communities in Ventura County, on the periphery of the Los Angeles metropolitan region. The earthquake and resultant disaster declaration provided an opportunity for local government and NGOs to acquire federal resources not normally available for economic development. At the same time the earthquake created political openings in which longer-term issues of community development could be addressed by various local stakeholders. A key issue in recovery has been the availability of affordable housing for those on low incomes, particularly Latinos, the elderly and farm workers. We discuss the successes and limitations of CBOs and NGOs as mechanisms for dealing with vulnerable populations, unmet needs and recovery issues in the two communities.     

Humanitarian Crises: What Determines the Level of Emergency Assistance? Media Coverage,Donor Interests and the Aid Business

This paper proposes a basic hypothesis that the volume of emergency assistance any humanitarian crisis attracts is determined by three main factors working either in conjunction or individually. First, it depends on the intensity of media coverage. Second, it depends on the degree of political interest, particularly related to security, that donor governments have in a particular region. Third, the volume of emergency aid depends on strength of humanitarian NGOs and international organisations present in a specific country experiencing a humanitarian emergency. The empirical analysis of a number of emergency situations is carried out based on material that has never been published before. The paper concludes that only occasionally do the media play a decisive role in influencing donors. Rather, the security interests of Western donors are important together with the presence and strength of humanitarian stakeholders, such as NGOs and international organisations lobbying donor governments.