While ReliefWeb provides current information, ICRC offers more historical background and context. Agencies must comply with ethical standards that are spelled out in great detail under Private Voluntary Organization Standards, at right on the homepage. The members list at left is a good way to find the main U.S. relief organizations. Alternatively, the Disaster Relief section at right offers a manageable set of links to the uninitiated, with information on humanitarian hot spots, how to donate, and related sites. It is less useful for those trying to locate current situation reports for other emergencies.
More timely information is available elsewhere on the site.
Visitors can learn about relevant legislative action in the U.S. House and Senate under Action Center and about foreign policy developments under Press Room. A potentially useful resource for improving the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance is the evaluation database, under Project Lessons Learned, at left. However, the organization of this section is weak, and some links have expired. This general confusion continues elsewhere on the overstuffed site. The site map presents a very simplified overview of the subsections.