Demining suits were among equipment on display at Geneva expo.
File photo
GENEVA (AlertNet)- Trying to gather the humanitarian world and its friends under one roof inevitably meant that last week's Aid and Trade expo and conference resembled a cross between a street market and a political meeting.The equipment was there, from satellite phones to trucks and demining suits, as well as stands promoting food aid, tents for refugees, and even the arts and crafts of developing nations, while speakers debate, praise and condemn all aspects of poverty, development, economics and conflict.About 250 exhibitors were arranged in serried shopfronts, most of them companies big and small but there were also U.N. agencies, parts of the Red Cross and a scattering of NGOs, though too few of the major aid multinationals; ADRA Germany, yes, but no Oxfam or Save the Children, for example.The expo offered a glimpse of the new context of aid, so often dominated by the military, with uniformed officers giving displays of humanitarian goods sold by companies also profiting from conflict or its threat, and stands offering sinister-looking combat and security outfits or shiny police cars.The legacy of war was also on show, with up a dozen demining NGOs and firms, including Germany's Demira, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), and the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action. Mine Action's Eric Vuillemin struck a positive note: "There's been a big change in the mentality about demining. It used to be that one had to be a big organisation; now a small group like us is well accepted by bigger agencies, governments and the military because they appreciate we can be fast and locally focused."Martin Dahinden, director of the GICHD, said that the Ottawa treaty banning landmines remained unratified by major countries, from the United States and Russia to China, India and Pakistan, and international donor funding for demining appeared to have reached a plateau of just $200 million a year.Offering hope was Green Cross International, whose "Water for Peace" programme aims to get governments that share rivers and catchment areas to agree cross-border conservation efforts rather than treat the resource as a point of conflict.Mission officer Dorothy Slepyan said that, in the run-up to March's World Water Forum in Kyoto, they were already seeing progress among Namibia, Angola and Botswana over the Okavango Delta and between the six countries that shared Africa's Volta Basin.Heading downstream shortly will be the latest vessel of the Mercy Ships fleet, whose 16,000 tonne African Mercy -- a former ferry -- is being refitted in Britain before steaming around Africa ports to act as the focus for ship-board and onshore medical, disability and dental treatment, as well as programmes in education, water, agriculture and micro-enterprises.25TH ANNIVERSARYSenior staffer Dorothy Davies said Mercy Ships was marking its 25th anniversary in 2003, adding: "We will need 450 international volunteers able to pay their way for a place on the new ship."Aid groups may already be familiar with the U.S.-founded Gifts In Kind charity, mainly concerned with domestic goods, but new at Aid and Trade was the Crossroads agency from Hong Kong and Australia, which has larger ambitions.Director Sally Begbie explained that it was launching the web-based "Global Hand" -- Humanitarian Aid Network for Distribution -- service to match charity requests and company offers of products worldwide. As well as thousands of contacts, it has a useful database of country-by-country customs regulations for aid agencies.Another young organisation offering free items was the New Zealand-based Transport Aid Japan, which sends good quality used vehicles -- cars, pick-ups, minibuses and even tractors -- to non-profit groups in Africa for the cost of shipping, which ranges from £$1,200 to $2,900.Yet more recycling was on show, including several companies offering new uses for old shipping containers, from the self-explanatory Container Kitchen Systems and Danish Container Supply's laundries and bakeries to the four-container Marshall Surgical Facility.At the other end of the scale, CDP-Emballage was exhibiting its range of recyclable self-assembly furniture constructed from cardboard.It was clear that some countries took the business of aid very seriously, so there was a strong showing from Finland, a substantial Czech stand, plenty of Middle East companies and people using Aid and Trade for exhibition or promotion from as far apart as Brazil and China, Ukraine and Korea. Britain's presence raised issues of morality for some NGOs by using a specialised agency that supports arms exports to promote aid-related British goods and services.Communications companies were well represented, such as Danimex, EMS Satcom and LiveWorks, which demonstrated equipment and services likely to be crucial if there is a war in Iraq.There was the Thuraya satphone, whose satellite shadow conveniently takes in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Caucasus -- and the first of the portable Bgan terminals, which offers fast data communications for field e-mail, Internet connection and more via a laptop, and the LiveLink video system, which could be used by agencies to feed television footage of their Iraq operations to broadcasters.RIGHT TO REFUSE DONATIONSTechnology -- the gene variety -- was a concern for the EuronAid network of dozen of agencies active in food aid and food security, which has supported the right of famine affected countries to refuse donations of genetically modified organisms, such as corn or soya. Technical team coordinator Hans Le Nobel said that, with food crisis in Ethiopia and southern Africa and the risk of an Iraq conflict diverting political attention and funding, EuronAid was stepping up its services in training and procurement to help all NGOs improve the quality of their work, whether in buying, storage or distribution.Transport is crucial for aid, and there was both good news and vital products at Aid and Trade, from the vehicle roll cages and passenger restraints offered by British-based Safety Devices to developments at the NGO Riders for Health, whose operations manager Martyn Cox reported that it was extending its role and reach, with the start of consulting work, a contract for the British Department for International Development to explore how transport could improve mother and baby health in Nepal -- its first foray beyond Africa -- and taking on more outsourced government vehicle management in Malawi.Despite its global agenda, Aid and Trade's conference side appeared less successful.Seminars on doing business with particular U.N. agencies were predictably full of firms keen to make a profit, efforts to open out discussion by having roundtables instead of presentations were less well attended, perhaps because this year's Aid and Trade was linked to events on emerging markets and so sessions were strained to include issues of investment, private banking and ecotourism alongside disaster response and conflict recovery.Aid and Trade's next event should bring it back to humanitarian realities and frontline priorities. With backing from the Red Cross and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Aid and Trade Africa will be held in Nairobi on June 25 and 26.LinksADRA Germany: http://www.adra-gmbh.de/Aid and Trade: http://www.aidandtrade.com/CDF-Emballage: http://www.cdf-emballage.ch/Container Kitchen Systems: http://www.cksltd.co.uk/Crossroads: http://www.crossroads.org.hk/Danimex: http://www.danimex.comDanish Container Supply: http://www.dcsgroup.dk/Demira: http://www.demira.org/EuronAid: http://www.euronaid.nl/Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining: http://www.gichd.ch/Global Hand: http://www.globalhand.org/Green Cross International: http://www.greencrossinternational.net/Inmarsat: http://www.inmarsat.comLiveWorks: http://www.liveworks.co.ukMarshall: http://www.marshallsv.co.uk/Mercy Ships: http://www.mercyships.org/Riders for Health: http://www.riders.org/Safety Devices: http://www.safetydevices.co.uk/Swiss Foundation for Mine Action: http://www.mineaction.ch/Transport Aid Japan: http://www.transportaid.com/
