Humanitarian actions and development policy: What complementarities and interferences?

American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research (AJHSSR) 2019
A J H S S R J o u r n a l P a g e | 37
American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research (AJHSSR)
e-ISSN :2378-703X
Volume-3, Issue-2, pp-37-47
www.ajhssr.com
Research Paper Open Access
Humanitarian actions and development policy: What
complementarities and interferences?
Dr KASY Emile
Researcher Faculty of Law, Management and Economic science. UNIVERSITY OF TOAMASINA; Madagascar
ABSTRACT: Poverty continues to overwhelm a large proportion of the population despite some
improvements in the standard of living in some parts of the world. In an extreme situation, the fight against
poverty begins with humanitarian actions to save lives and repair human damage. In another aspect,
development policies are adopted to trigger economic and social dynamism. These are supposed to provide
mechanisms that must be sustainable to support continuous development. It turns out that between humanitarian
actions in a context of extreme poverty and development policies in the strategic sense, there are encroachments
that create the risk of distortion up to the reciprocal neutralization of these two notions. . This paper will try to
make a comparative and reciprocal analysis of these two actions in order to detect their differences, their
complementarities and the interferences in order to draw lessons for a better effectiveness for the population
concerned. The approach combined a legal vision in the sense of human rights and an economic vision in the
sense of basic needs. And the economic approach with the use of the Keynesian-cross has clearly demonstrated
the stakes. These steps have revealed that humanitarian actions and development policies have their place in
specific contexts respectively, but best reciprocal combinations and rationalizations are necessary and
beneficial. for the population. It remains to be seen how to find the best contextual and temporal connections so
that humanitarian actions can serve as solid bases for human rights and trigger sustainable and sustainable
development
KEY WORDS: humanitarian actions - development policy - complementarities – interference –Keynesian-
cross.
I. INTRODUCTION
Each country or group of countries in the world is labeled and identified according to its economic place and the
socio-economic level of its population. While the G8 countries are known for their extreme wealth and
dominance in the global political arena, those of the G20 (G8 enlarged) are known by their emergence. On the
other hand, the other major groups live in poverty mainly in Africa, South Asia and Latin America characterized
by food insecurity and malnutrition. In 2013 alone, just fewer than one billion people (842 million) worldwide
suffer from malnutrition, so much so that the actions carried out in this disaster combine urgent humanitarian
actions and development policies in the base. In fact, in the context of poor countries and particularly in Africa,
after the worsening of poverty, the proliferation of projects has instilled in the spirit of mass and even at the
governmental level a kind of spirit of assistance. This spirit has gone so far as to consider that projects led by
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are the only way to achieve development. But in most cases, when
NGOs intervene, it is much more to respond to a situation of urgent need for humanitarian assistance. Because
from the outset, aid and humanitarian assistance are rather the resonance of NGOs while development policies
depend instead on government In this multi-objective intervention cocktail, there is a tendency for humanitarian
actions to continue and gain ground at the expense of strategic development actions. And the urgency of the first
is not inconsequential for the second. Hence a risk of negative encroachment where both can be neutralized.
This work will try to provide an observation and an attempt to analyze the complementarities, the scope and the
limits of the coexistence of these two actions mainly in the poor country including Madagascar. Two
complementary approaches will help in this work: a legal approach in the sense of human right and humanity
and an economic approach in the sense of basic economic needs, consumption and development. The human
rights-based approach finds its interest in the fact that humanitarian actions involve the application of human
rights principles. The definition of expected results in this principle is referenced on the basis of human rights
norms and standards taking into account the identification and targeting of structures that keep people in poverty
and inequality in society. In this sense, the legal approach will give many explanations and reflections on the
understanding of the mechanisms of conception, realization and analysis of the humanitarian actions on the right
side of the man. In complementarities with this legal approach, the economic approach will contribute to

reflections on economic and physical mechanisms. In fact, there is no need to explain that the evolution of
human life can be summed up in three stages in terms of basic needs: need for survival, need for personal
development and need for fulfillment and esteem. Abraham Maslow has defined five stages in this stage:
physiological needs (food, sleep,), security needs (jobs, health, ..), social needs (love, friendship,), need of
esteem (trust, personal esteem) and finally the need for personal fulfillment. In this economic logic, if at the base
are mechanisms and issues that concern physical suffering, the more one goes up the ladder, the worries become
more and more psychological. And so the economic mechanisms play a very important role. Economic analysis
will therefore be added to the legal reasoning to understand in a transversal way the problem raised by
humanitarian actions and development policies. The economic approach will borrow and use the famous model
of the economist John Maynard Keynes called "cross Keynesian" because in considering the basic needs, this
model highlights the evolution of basic needs to savings capacities the most elevated in the economic sense
which is a sign of fulfillment.
This paper will first focus on the conceptual and analytical observation of poverty. It will be more about
definitions and understandings of concepts on poverty and development. In a second step, the work will give
details on the theoretical and practical foundations of humanitarian actions with their scope and limits. And
finally, the paper will finish its analysis on a reciprocal analysis of the complementarities and the interference of
the two for a better efficiency with a view to the better being of the population.
I- Extreme poverty: a threat of humanity
1.1. A brief description of poverty
1-1- 1- Poverty and development policy
Poverty is the condition of a human being who is deprived of resources and means. In the economic sense, it
refers to the natural and financial shortcomings that are experienced by people, a group of people or a region of
the world. It constitutes a social phenomenon, which is a situation to which we do not perceive an immediate
and radical solution. Lack of material resources, such as food, access to clean water, clothing, housing, and
education, remain a major problem for this social phenomenon.
It exists in many forms including pecuniary poverty (lack of money leading to difficulties, for food, clothing and
shelter, material poverty by living conditions which consists of dissatisfaction with the primary needs that lead
to A decent life in today's society Roughly speaking, poverty has other dimensions besides economic and
financial as well as social, cultural, political and ethnic dimensions, the problems of which greatly complicate
policies to fight against poverty.
In this logic, two dimensions of poverty can be distinguished
- The economic dimension which favors the standard of living from the consumption of goods and services
- The non-economic dimension which favors the deprivation of rights and lack of opportunities It stipulates that
the lack of access to the resource can justify a lack and leads to poverty. Poverty also results from individual
inability to enforce access rights to resources. This approach has been highlighted by Amartya Sen (1997).
For him, poverty is understood as a deprivation of basic capabilities and not only as a weakness of income. For
this approach, we must not only take into account what individuals possess, but also their capacity, their
freedom to use their goods ... The main concepts of this theory are those of "modes of operation" (functionings)
and "capabilities" or "abilities". The first are what an individual can achieve given the goods he possesses (to
feed himself enough, to move without hindrance, to know how to read and write) - this describes his condition -
while the seconds are the different possible combinations first, for an individual.
Seen from this angle of Sen, break the spectrum, you have to
empower the people so that they can achieve what they need based on what they have. This then raises questions
of faculties of realization and enjoyment of freedoms in the sense of social justice. If the questions of faculties
can be resolved through an economic and technical mechanism, the second can be acquired through the
establishment of social justice. But the broadening of the fields of application of the theory of capabilities of Sen
gives much more significance for the emancipation of the poor population. By logic, he then gives more weight
to "... personal factors of conversion, such as the physical condition, the sex or the intellectual aptitude of an
individual, ... or even the social factors of conversion, such as public policies, social norms and social norms. ...
..Societal hierarchies, and even ... the environmental factors of conversion such as the influence of climate or
geography. "
In a macroeconomic orientation, Sen's model states that resources, goods and services or rights granted by the
state are examined according to the achievements that an individual can achieve through them.
It follows then that the resolutions of the situation must deploy all means of rights and human development
The approach is subdivided into three aspects:
- The social aspect in the form of exclusion linked to the absence of rights
- The political aspect (deprivation of civil rights, political impossibility to defend its economic and social
rights.
- The cultural aspect with exclusion and non-recognition of cultural identity

In the African context, poverty is a combination of several factors including low income with limited
purchasing power, chronic malnutrition and persistent hunger, lack of access to medical care in case of
sickness, the obligation to walk long distances, to buy inputs, sell products and look for work, water or
firewood and exposure to drought and other environmental hazards .
What is poverty, indeed, in an African context? Poverty in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is
unfortunately a combination of several factors
- Low income with limited purchasing power;
- Chronic malnutrition and persistent hunger, including the lack of decent housing and potable tap water;
- The impossibility of receiving medical care in case of illness and the loss of children or family members
due to diseases - especially infectious diseases - that can be prevented;
- The need to travel long distances on foot to buy inputs, sell products and look for work, water or firewood;
Exposure to drought and other environmental hazards such as deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion and
overexploitation of fish products and other natural resources.
But this poverty, in the sense of Sen, has a deeper aspect of the problem of law:
- Gender inequality and unequal access to high incomes, especially access to productive assets such as land,
social services and employment opportunities;
- The feeling of helplessness, the loss of all hope, dignity, control of one's destiny, etc...
- The impossibility of attending school, reading or speaking correctly;
With the worsening of poverty in monetary terms, where poor people living on less than $ 1.25 a day (World
Bank) are considered poor, the depth of the problem can be seen with the following figures: on average 22.40%
of the population of all developing countries live below the poverty line, with 47% in Sub-Saharan Africa,
30.7% in Ethiopia, 63.20% in Rwanda and 81.30% in Madagascar. Materially, poverty manifests itself in the
lack of basic needs.
In a general view, many factors have made this poverty in this serious state with structural causes including
climate and war, the problems of political and economic governance (corruption, misappropriation, bad
economic policy)
As real structural causes on the side of poor countries, we can cite misappropriation, corruption and
mismanagement, social inequalities, poor performance of agriculture, lack of planning and social projects, and
lack of vision. regional and continental commune.
The real structural causes of the outside concern, among others, the plundering of wealth, the problems of debt,
the deterioration of the terms of trade and the chronic character of war. The latter consumes much more
investment than food In some aspects of the analysis, many experts argue that globalization plays a significant
role in these external causes of poverty.
1.2. Development policies to fight against poverty
As we have just seen, many factors have made this poverty so serious. Both to understand and to fight against
plagues, theories and policies have been deployed respectively. And through rather chronological observations
we can have a much broader vision on the causes of poverty.
Underdevelopment as delay: liberal theories
In the 1950s, the liberal analysis of underdevelopment regarded the latter as an expression of the mere
backwardness of poor countries, which only had to copy the development model of rich countries. In this logic,
it is Rostow (1960) who, in 1961, highlighted the five stages of growth of countries to develop:
- "traditional society": economy of subsistence, without accumulation, specialized in agricultural activities. An
economy with very low growth rates;
- the "prerequisites for development": they consist in a change of mentalities towards accumulation and growth;
- the take-off: the appearance of technical progress, the investment rate increases sharply, which launches
economic growth. This period is assimilated to the industrial revolution of the developed countries of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries;
- the "march towards maturity": diversification of production sectors through the diffusion of technical progress,
increased productivity gains;
- the "mass consumption": increase of the income of the population which allows it
to achieve a high standard of living based on mass consumption: capital goods, leisure, etc.
Without getting into the discussions of this theory, especially those made by Kuznets according to Acemoglu
and Robinson (2002) on the empirical data justifying these steps, it is very easy to see that in the third
millennium, many of the poor countries are still in the first phase of the Rostow stages, while living, of course,
with the technical and electronic gadgets of rich countries
The dualism
Others like Arthur Lewis according to Ranis (2004) advance dualism as a source of underdevelopment where
coexists:
- a modern, capitalist sector, which is the source of accumulation and productivity gains

- a traditional, subsistence sector, which weighs on the modern sector because of low productivity gains.
Later, this thesis could be considered as explanatory of the existence of the informal sector alongside the official
economy. The informal sector being one of the dominant sectors currently in poor countries
The center-peripheral relationship
This notion is launched by the so-called structuralist authors from the United Nations Economic Commission
for Latin America (ECLAC). For them, they consider that underdevelopment is the consequence of the
international division of labor that engenders the polarization of the world. world between a center (the rich
countries) and a periphery (the poor countries): it is the analysis "center-periphery". The technological progress
and the position of the center make it possible to organize relations with the periphery for its benefit. Dominant
analyzes of trade degradation come from this analysis
Social organization and socio-cultural attitude as a factor....
Other arguments that are not less consider the sources of underdevelopment to the predominance of socio-
cultural behavior that are not always compatible with the economic mechanism in the universal sense...
And imperialism...
The other explanation lies in the fact that underdevelopment is born of imperialism according to Samir Amin
(1973) and the unequal exchange between the colonizing country and the colonized countries where the
underdeveloped countries cannot compete on equal terms with rich countries that already have considerable
economic progress...
Hence a cumulative cocktail of factors that do not facilitate the task to eradicate it
With this succession of problems, many approaches have been adopted to reduce or eliminate poverty so that
these countries can take the path of development.
To achieve this development, various economic policies and strategies are adopted but all this can be summed
up in the logic that follows
- The elimination of poverty, which is one of the central objectives of contemporary development policies
- The gradual and continuous improvement of economic and social structures
- And then, development policies related to performance and strategic positioning
This logic drains with it the combination of various sectoral policies including:
- Agricultural policy: aimed at improving agricultural productivity and food availability.
- Industrial policy: aiming for an increase in industrial productivity.
- Commercial policy: aiming at commercial competitiveness
- Financial policy: aimed at improving the financing system.
- Infrastructure Policy: Infrastructure Development
- Education policy: development of education and its system, knowledge and its transmissions,
- Health policy: improvement of health, its structure and system since health is both the basis of economic
productivity (healthy worker) and its consequences (good productivity leads to high income,
- Cultural development policy: aiming at strengthening and protecting cultural identity
1.3. The intrusion of humanitarian actions
Despite all the actions carried out in the context of development policies, for the various internal and external
reasons that can be linked to each other, poor countries have progressively and chronically engulfed themselves
in an extreme poverty where their lives are in permanent danger in lack of food, drinking water, and
geographical and financial inaccessibility of the health center. War, famine and disaster being, survival for
millions of people is a deadly challenge. As an indication, they only have ¼ of the daily calorie requirement, 7
liters of water per person maximum per day and less than $ 2 a day become. Food insecurity and malnutrition
have become their daily mortal enemies
Sometimes the problems came from within with the environment that does not trigger the economic mechanism
but sometimes as we have seen, external problems have created internal distortions. And extreme poverty was
gradually settling down.
To see the seriousness of the situation here are some indications of the realities in countries experiencing
extreme poverty:
According to Sphere Project (2004), if normal basic needs are set at 3,000 calories / day for a teenager and 2,700
calories / day for an adult, the poor population has only 850 calories a day. For water needs, if the normal
requires 50 to 100 liters per day per person, the poor have only 45 liters per family / day is 7.5 l / pers / day
These situations have led to national and international mobilizations for the redeployment of humanitarian
actions for the survival of the poor population.
II - HUMANITARIAN ACTIONS
2.1. The concepts: origin, international legal bases and regulations
Humanitarian aid, which primarily targets people in developing countries, includes not only immediate relief but
also disaster prevention and reconstruction actions.

For the time needed, these actions are focused on needs, of a sudden nature, created by natural disasters (floods
and earthquakes) or caused by man (wars and conflicts) as well as by extraordinary circumstances comparable
If the justification for humanitarian aid is undeniable, their usefulness can be explained by:
- Existential distress: people are threatened in their very existence. Assistance is absolutely essential for the
material and social survival of those affected.
- The need to be rescued: the population in distress needs basic staples (protection, food, medical assistance,)
that the community of solidarity concerned cannot or will not provide sufficiently quickly and efficiently.
- Volunteering: help is provided without obligation and with disinterestedness, stakeholders are not required by
legal or social standards to help and they should not expect to obtain benefits or exchanges for their
commitment.
But humanitarian actions are characterized by the importance of external interventions for the following
reasons:
- Victims cannot be effectively rescued by their own authorities.
- This is an important aspect of external relations, and by focusing on the provision of goods and services, the
policy strives to prevent and alleviate human suffering.
- To carry out an effective and comprehensive policy, work between the Member States and the Commission is
reinforced by cooperation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations.
In this very negative evolution, there is therefore the almost chronic existence of an extremely vulnerable
population group with physical and moral suffering. Hence the imperative to relieve suffering with actions and
humanitarian assistance. In a context of absolute destitution of the population, the actions are mainly aimed at:
save lives in emergency situations;
• provide assistance and relief to the affected populations; by deeper and lasting crises (drought, famine, flood,
cyclone, conflicts, and wars);
• develop, in the short term (post-emergency), rehabilitation and reconstruction works;
• cope with the consequences of displacement and resettlement, where appropriate;
• ensure preparedness for the hazards concerned and use an appropriate early warning and response system.
- Humanitarian action is aimed at every man in crisis, regardless of race, nationality, religion...
- Impartiality and neutrality: independence of all, impartiality of victims and camps, neutrality vis-à-vis States.
- Respect for dignity: save lives and "restore men in their capacity of choice".
- Aid cannot be provided in any condition (it cannot alienate the victims, nor attack their dignity, nor operate
against their will);
- And, the assistance is not limited to "the gesture that saves": it aims to restore the conditions of freedom
Under these conditions, three principles must be respected:
- Humanitarian imperative: the survival of a population must be in danger to force humanitarian actors to
actively relieve suffering.
- Organizational ethical framework requires a multitude of actors to be engaged in this mission to analyze
different mandates and traditions within the humanitarian movement
- Political environment (which reduces the maneuvering space of aid agencies). The crisis can affect
massive political interests: assistance to population groups delivered by foreign organizations affects the
political interests of those in power. Or, if the crisis takes place in a country or region that is at the heart of
diplomatic or even military quarrels, the humanitarian mission will also concern the interests of the donors.
On the basis of UN resolutions, these humanitarian actions draw their legal sources on:
a) the right to live in dignity: present in the provisions of international law, and more particularly in human
rights measures related to the right to life, the right to life entails the obligation to protect life when she is
threatened
b) the right to receive humanitarian aid: indispensable to the right to live in dignity. It includes the right to
adequate living conditions, including adequate food, water, clothing and shelter and the means to be in good
health, which are expressly guaranteed in international law.
(c) the right to protection and security: based on the provisions of international law, on several United Nations
resolutions
These same resolutions gave birth to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) after a long evolution due to gurres,
the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross and especially the expansion of humanitarian aid to
civilian victims after the 2nd World War world
International Humanitarian Law: to protect humanity in danger
IHL is a set of rules aimed at protecting those who do not participate in hostilities in times of armed conflict and
at limiting methods and means of warfare to mitigate their effects. It is a pragmatic right: it is based on the
reality of conflicts.
The rules of IHL apply to all armed conflicts, regardless of their origins or causes. They concern all parties to
the conflict, regardless of who is engaged in hostilities.

- the right to live in dignity: present in the provisions of international law, and more particularly in measures
concerning human rights relating to the right to life. The right to life entails the obligation to protect life when it
is threatened
- the right to receive humanitarian aid: indispensable to the right to live in dignity.
It includes the right to adequate living conditions, including adequate food, water, clothing and shelter and the
means to be in good health, which are expressly guaranteed in international law.
- The right to protection and security: based on the provisions of international law, on several United Nations
resolutions
This part confirms the approach based on the human right. Indeed, the paramount consideration of human rights
leads to the preservation of life, dignity, the faculty of independence with all the principles of human protection.
In this sense, the approach favors the human face in the legal sense. In other words, assist people because they
have these rights. Failure to ensure these rights and therefore not to do humanitarian work for the needy is
therefore a violation of fundamental rights.
International humanitarian law is the main line of humanitarian action.
2.2. Practical arrangements for humanitarian actions
The principles of protection of humanitarian actions follow logic of saving lives and protection of human lives
- During crises: it is about doing rescue and protection operations. In this context, it is possible to carry out
nutritional surveys and the distribution of food, water and medicines. For these activities, actions may include
INRC facilities: Intensive Nutrition Recovery Center or ANRC facilities: Ambulatory Nutrition Recovery
Center.
The quantities of water needed for domestic use depend on the context and can vary according to the climate,
available sanitary facilities, people's habits, their religious and cultural practices, the foods they repair, the
clothes they wear.
Needs are indicatively defined as follows:
Table 1: Indications of needs
Needs Quantity Observations
Needs to ensure survival:
drink and food
2,5 to 3 l per day Vary by climate
and physiology
individual
Basic hygien practices 2 to 6 l per day Vary according to
social norms and
cultural
Besoins de base pour
la cuisine
3 to 6 l per day Vary by type
food and
social norms and
cultural
Total needs of
water base
7,5 to 15 l per day
Source : Oxfam, Sphere Project 2004
As an indication, here are some articles that are distributed during the actions on ground
- Water container with a capacity of 10 to 20 l for transport: one per family
- Water container with a capacity of 10 to 20 l for storage: one per family
- 250 g of soap One per person per month
- 200 g of laundry soap One per person per month
Just after the crises, reconstruction and rehabilitation actions are undertaken including the reconstruction of
houses, roads, sanitary infrastructure and water sources
But in view of all this and in relation to the contextual evolutions of the poor countries, many stakes arise before
during and after these humanitarian actions so useful for the life and the survival of the poor population.
2.3. Political, sociological and economic issues
In practice, permanent challenges and challenges are faced by those responsible for humanitarian actions:
- Technical standards are difficult to respect because of the specificities of countries and their environment
- The necessary resources are not always available since the demands very often exceed the mobilization
capacity

- Interventions are subject to political considerations with local, national and geopolitical issues. The
interventions very often follow the geostrategic data and the positioning of the leader’s vis-à-vis the
stakeholders is a parameter that should not be neglected. Even interventions can be exploited by belligerents in
case of war
- Psycho-social shocks exist among the victims which does not facilitate the interventions
- Victims may not live or understand the philosophy of humanitarian aid
- Difficulties for withdrawal strategies: the strategy of disengagement and adaptation of programs is difficult to
implement because the conditions of economic and social dynamism are not met
- The interventions have a significant effect on the country's economic data, which is not without consequences
for local mechanisms. They affect production, purchases, trade, consumption, transactions, policies economic.
They even act on habits, behaviors, on the way of life.
But the actions do not only cause economic and political stakes. They act on education and culture.
- They affect education with limited effects
- They act on the health (save lives) without being perennial (functioning of the system)
- They act on culture without gaining pride
III- Humanitarian actions and development policies: ideal or infernal couple?
3.1. The conceptual and existential stakes
Recall that if humanitarian actions are designed to save and rebuild lives policies are set for a gradual
improvement of the economic and social structural conditions in human dignity of long-term independence.
There is therefore a very clear separation of the two which can be illustrated by the following table
Table I: DEVELOPMENT POLICIES HUMANITARIAN ACTIONS
Development policy Humanitarian actions
Nature Multi-face strategic Accurate actions on a specific
context
Form A policy document with medium and long-term
strategies and objectives
National and international actions
according to the calls / needs on a
specific context
Duration Must be long to medium and long term Must be short term
Target The entire population One or more population groups
Effects For a better living environment continues To remove the dangers of death,
suffering, loss of human dignity
Initiator The Government of the country The United Nations, friendly
countries and international non-
governmental organizations
Measure GDP / capita, annual income life expectancy, poverty
line, unemployment rate, social security coverage,
investment rate
Number of lives saved, number of
people assisted, quantity of food
distributed
Financing Public financing, bilateral or multilateral loans with
conventions
All-out donations without
distinction, not to repay
Source: Author's construction
The picture can show that continued insistence on humanitarian action is dangerously reducing the effects of
development policies. However, to see African examples, particularly in Madagascar, there is a general
tendency to focus on the former to the detriment of the latter. There is much talk of malnutrition and food
insecurity interventions as economic and social investments. It is much more about helping the poor than about
much more strategic issues. And over time, we will witness the sustainability of humanitarian assistance as the
sustainability of development. Humanitarian actions lie at the base of survival. Moreover, most of the struggles
against poverty with the characteristics of the actions and the gravity of the situation fall short of the strategic
objectives of development policies: most of the actions are in the field of humanitarian assistance. And,
development policies have an ambition of "development" for countries and their strategies themselves are
placed "often in the shadows"
- Complementarities: Humanitarian actions condition the implementation of development policies but without
development policies, the population knows a vicious circle with humanitarian actions
- Overlay: Given the seriousness of human suffering, humanitarian actions tend to dominate the field at the
expense of development policies. On the other hand, the presence of humanitarian actions has a confusing
influence on the need for development policies
When politics interferes in the humanitarian

• Humanitarian aid can only help the most vulnerable if it is freely distributed (Erich Goemare MSF DG)
• There are authorities that deliberately deprive victims of assistance because they belong to the opposing camp,
Humanitarian actions, already complicated in operation and in results, can not ensure the objectives
aggravating situations immediately and lengthening the duration of interventions, which hampers reconstruction
and development,
Sociological problems arise permanently: Even if the population is in a situation, some groups can benefit from
it. Competition between regions can be aggravated. They can even make it difficult for humanitarian actions, or
even long-term reconstruction actions. It may even be that leadership conflicts can come into play and
influential groups try to shift the course of the situation.
In addition, the political stakes intervene to make the actions difficult: the humanitarian actions are with urgent
character. But politics has another aspect, another dimension
And the blurs between the short, the medium and the long term settle down. Similarly the situation between
development policy and humanitarian actions
And considerations of international political dimension are not minimal: humanitarian aid starts from the
principle of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and naturally they must be neutral. But the situation
varies from one circumstance to another
If in natural disasters the urgency is of a neutral nature before switching to subjective considerations, in
conflicts, which are not natural but political crises, it is very difficult for humanitarian actions to respect
objectivity.
Reaching the sovereignty issues of the country where interference issues come into play such as:
- The right of interference: the recognition of the right of one or more nations to violate the national sovereignty
of another State, within the framework of a mandate granted by the supranational authority (Revel, 1979,)
• The duty of interference: the obligation of every state to ensure respect for international humanitarian law.
• Humanitarian intervention: justified by the moral of urgency "we do not let people die". (Decl, Human rights,
provision made by a supranational authority ...)
Opposite, the State concerned weakened by the crises, loses in one way or another "sovereignty": a situation
favorable to all international drifts
Each country, agency and NGO has its principles: sometimes, countries that have a close relationship to
countries in crisis that follow suit. These countries (or with the intermediaries of its agencies) have their policy.
Development actions and humanitarian actions are then linked to the respect of specific intervention policies
(protect citizens, economic interests, political interests ...)
An economic explanation of the complementarities and interferences
Let's see how, in a Keynesian approach, the two actions can appear in their continuity and their
complementarities. (Dobson and Palfreman, 1999)
We put Y = Income, C = Consumption S = Savings
We have the expression Y = C+ S so S= Y- C
But C = CO + c Y
Picture 1: Income and consumption in Keynesian cross

In a normal situation, income is divided between consumption and savings. In other words, consumption and
savings depend on income. But before consumption depends on income, there is what is called incompressible
consumption, which does not depend on income. Incompressible consumption is a mandatory level to ensure the
survival of a person or it will be the death,
At first, and naturally, the man must eat to his hunger even if he has no income. This level of consumption is
incompressible if the person concerned will be dead. Then if he has, his income, in the sense the development of
the term; must increase until it reaches the level of its incompressible consumption, At this point, Income =
Consumption
Picture 2: Humanitarian actions and development policy: separation and combination
It therefore turns out that humanitarian actions have an economic limit in the sense that they only target survival.
It is beyond the level of incompressible consumption that consumption plays a preponderant role on production
with what it assumes as a multiplier through the propensity to consume. This is the importance of development
policies that play a triggering role
Economic-political interference: humanitarian actions jostle internal situations
• International actions / aid influence sociologically, economically and politically the society concerned.
• There are aids that create tensions with development objectives such as the case of consumer product markets
in the presence of food donations: the production and commercial strategies of development are disrupted
• The operating systems of certain domains are also influenced: from the paying situation to the situation of
gratuitousness
3.2. What recommendations for a logical, effective and sustainable succession
In view of all the negative interferences that affect efficiency and positive complementarities, the following
principles are to be considered
• Separation of conceptual bases: if humanitarian actions are designed to save lives and development policies for
progressive improvement in human dignity, we must find a logical separation and strategic succession between
the two with a specific evolution
• Coordination of strategies: humanitarian actions must be a starting point for achieving the objectives of
development policies:
- by distributing donations, the measures aiming at economic and social independence must be planned
- reconstruction actions must take into account the bases of sustainable development policies
- Conceptual strategies in articulation in human logic
- Respect the logic of needs: humanitarian actions must provide the best way for the population to take care
of themselves

- Ensure that development policies must provide in their design the means to trigger an environment
conducive to economic improvements,
- Provide measures to mitigate economic-political interference and support the functioning of social systems
- Provide progressive measures for independence
3.3. The reciprocal bridge between the two: in what sense and for how long?
- In the sense of human rights and in an economic vision, humanitarian actions and development policies
are equally useful and complementary actions. The interferences come from the fact that the internal
and external environment in terms of politics makes conflicting interests come into play. This does not
facilitate the chronological correspondence of saving human lives and giving them skills to take charge
of their lives.
- Principles must therefore be respected and taken in all these logics so that, in fact, both contribute in
the same direction of the welfare of the population
- Here are some principles that must be observed
- Strategic Coordination: Humanitarian actions must be a starting point for achieving development policy
objectives. In distributing donations, measures aimed at the economic and social independence of the
population must be provided for. In addition, reconstruction actions must take into account the basics
of development policies.
• Separation of emergency, post-emergency and development actions: Emergency actions should be limited to
relief, life saving and damage mitigation (deaths), while post-emergency actions should focus on reconstruction,
conditioning for development trigger. As for development actions, they must be aimed at starting production and
social conditioning activities.
• Respect for the principles of effectiveness: from the outset, there must be a provision for intervention of
humanitarian actions in development policies. In addition, principles of rationalization are to be foreseen to
avoid the negative impacts of the aid. Operational strategies: Separate emergency, post-emergency and
development actions:
Conclusion
In poor countries and for a long time, both in decision-making circles and at the level of the population, the
confusion between humanitarian actions and development policies greatly limits economic dynamism. The
gravity of the situation of the poor population being, all the actions carried out on ground is based mainly on the
preservation of life and the protection to the survival.. And this until the point where most of the time, the
priorities are given to the short-term emergency actions, therefore purely humanitarian actions. The general
enthusiasm has even led to humanitarian actions taking over because of the need to save lives, ensure survival
and protect life. The worsening of the situation in extreme poverty has greatly influenced the minds of the
masses and the experts regarding the number of deaths and the number of human beings who risk their lives
every day. In this logic of need, most decisions of actions and projects favored humanitarian actions as essential.
Place food distributions, various material assistance until extremely vulnerable groups reach a level that allows
them to take charge. But this kind of economic and social independence is difficult to acquire because of the
absence of stimulating mechanisms and spirits of dependence on assistantship. There is very little room for
reflection and much more strategic and long-term action with effective development policies. And we will even
consider humanitarian actions as development actions. With the vital necessities and the protection of life, so
useful and effective as they are, humanitarian actions can not trigger a dynamic mechanism in the economic and
social sense. The latter, as we know, have rather short-term spans. The main point is therefore for poor
countries, to become aware of economic emancipation by exceeding the spirit of assistantship that blocks groups
of people above the threshold of incompressible consumption. Ultimately, this awareness must lead to much
more effective strategies with wider reach on the standard of living to remove the spectrum of poverty.
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