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Conditions for Appropriate Commodity Contributions
The following is a list of conditions which are necessary to ensure that a commodity contribution is appropriate. These conditions can serve as a guide for potential donors to determine whether or not to contribute certain commodities.
- A humanitarian organization with staff in the affected region should request the commodities being offered. The request must be very specific and the organization should approve the commodities after having reviewed all relevant technical specifications. The requesting organization should also have the capacity to distribute the commodities to the beneficiary population or be partnered with an organization in the region that does.
- The commodities offered should not be available for purchase in the affected region. Or if they are available locally, their procurement within the region should be cost-prohibitive. The reason for this condition is that relief efforts should strive to support the regional economy through local procurement whenever possible, in order to promote sustainability and self-reliance. In addition, local procurement ensures cultural and environmental appropriateness.
- The commodities being offered must be useable and sustainable. The commodities should be adaptable to local technical and environmental conditions, such as voltage, dust, temperature, humidity, etc. When relevant, local language must be used (for example, computer operating systems, instruction manuals, and pharmaceutical labels should be in the local language). When necessary, appropriate technical training must be provided. The beneficiaries must be able to obtain associated supplies (for example, paper and toner cartridges for printers and copiers). Repair services for the commodities must be available locally.
Commodity offers that meet the above criteria can be registered with the Center for International Disaster Information for possible linkage with humanitarian organizations. In addition, InterAction maintains a list of its member organizations that sometimes accept commodity contributions.
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