UN panel: Too often only half of aid money get to the needy

UNITED NATIONS — The co-chair of a UN-appointed panel says too often only half of the money from donors is getting to the millions of people devastated by conflicts and natural disasters who desperately need humanitarian aid.

Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commission’s vice president for budget and human resources, said the nine-member panel trying to find new financing to help the rapidly growing number of people needing humanitarian help is urging donors and aid organizations to work more closely to drive down costs.

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She told a briefing Wednesday on the panel’s report that “humanitarian money is like gold” but “by the time it gets to the recipient it shrinks to only half of what it is worth.”

Georgieva said this is because of transaction costs, administration and “because of us creating bureaucracy.”

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