We don't want your restricted diaster gifts

Bianca over at Charity Blog Network pointed out an incredible quote given by a senior Medicines Sans Frontieres (MSF - also known as Doctors Without Borders) official during a debate at the London School of Economics.

Gorik Ooms, head of MSF-Belgium said that massive public appeals by aid agencies in the wake of disasters are wrong and should stop. He went on to say such appeals did more harm than good and were based on a "convenient illusion" of benefit shared by nongovernmental organisations and the donating public.

If we take this money we end up doing things we shouldn't do," he said. "Many NGOs don't have real disaster relief capacity but they go for an appeal because it is a source of funding. NGOs that have real capacity are crowded out by those that don't."

Seven days after the tsunami hit in December 2004, MSF announcing that it had received too many donations and would divert them to other emergencies.